Epilogue
CLEO
“So let me get this straight. You have been a nomad for years, but always find your way back to the Three Kings MC, Vegas charter?” I ask, looking at my man like he grew a second head.
He nods. “Yeah, for some strange reason, they always felt like home to me.”
I am sitting up on a medical bed in the Rugged Skulls’ clubhouse. Forge patched me up yesterday when I was brought here after that fucker beat me up. Thankfully, I have no major injuries, just some cuts and bruising.
War has not left my side, making sure that I do not do anything that may cause me more pain.
He’s been attentive in caring for me. I have to admit, I like it. There is just something about a big burly biker who acts all rough, ready, and gruff but a soft teddy bear for a woman.
Something inside me settles, showing me that what I feel in my heart for him is something I have known for a while.
I am safe here, with him. The chaos, the bruises, will fade, but my love for Mason ‘War’ Naylor will not.
“You want me to move to Las Vegas with you, and you will hand in your nomad patch and become a permanent member there?”
He nods. “Yes.” He takes my hand. “Never thought I would get a second chance to find a woman who I love, Cleo, but here we fucking are.”
I gasp, hearing him say the words for the first time.
“You love me?” My vision blurs as tears fill my eyes, but I see a mark on his handsome face.
He has a bruised cheekbone, plus a cut just under his eyebrow, but it adds to his ruggedness. This man killed for me, and I know that I should be scared, but nothing will make me fear him.
“With everything that I am, baby. Lilian was my past, and you are my future.”
“I love you, too,” I say, looking him in the eyes.
I need him to feel my words.
“It took me years to trust men again. The Rugged Skulls MC men helped; they enforced faith in men for me, but you, Mason. You showed me that I can love someone who will not intentionally hurt me. You are someone who will kill for me.”
He leans in, kissing me gently, not to hurt my bruised mouth. That prick got a good hit on me.
“Move to Vegas with me. I will get you your own tattoo studio, and you can manage it. Hire anyone you want.”
I pull back, looking at him with shock. He grins at my surprised face, then nods.
“I have spoken to the club, and Tote is more than happy to front a shop for you. The club would get a discount but we think that you will rake in the green, babe. Your work is fucking amazing, best I have ever seen. And I cannot wait for you to ink me.” He winks.
I let his words sink in. Move to Vegas. Leave Phoenix, and leave the Rugged Skulls MC, leave Target, and my guys. The idea of leaving them makes my stomach twist tightly, but the thought of War leaving without me, makes my heart ache in a way that's sharp enough to steal my breath.
My mind spins as everything I have worked for flashes through my head. The people who have stuck by me, helped, and supported me are here.
But when I look at Mason, something inside me wants to leap into the unknown for him. We are new, so neither of us know what tomorrow or next year will bring, but seeking out a new adventure seems like a damn good plan to me.
My hands tremble as I reach for his, grounding myself in the warmth of his skin. His gaze meets mine, my heart beating rapidly in my chest as I decide on our future.
“Vegas.” I giggle. “With you. Always.”
“Fuck yeah, baby.” He kisses me again, and I get lost in the tender kiss.
The door opens, and we pull apart, turning to look at who walked in. A handsome— hell, fuck no, this man is sexy, and he smiles at me as he steps to the bed.
“Brother.”
“Smoke, I want you to meet my Ol’ Lady, Cleo. Baby, this is Smoke. He is a member of the Three Kings MC.”
I shake the hand Smoke offers. “Nice to meet you, darlin’.”
“You too.”
“How you feeling?” he asks me.
I shrug. “Okay. It could have been worse, so I am grateful for that. I am just glad that the fucker is dead so he cannot hurt anyone else.”
He smiles at Mason, and they speak without saying anything, a smirk firmly on Smoke’s face.
“She is good wife material, brother. Lock that shit down.”
“Smoke, what do you want?” Mason asks, making Smoke’s grin widen.
“Just thought I would come and check on you both. Pres wanted an update.”
“She agreed to move to Vegas with me.” I hear the pride and love in Mason’s voice, and it makes me smile.
My heart is fucking full, something I never thought I would get.
“Now that I do like to hear. I will pass it on to Pres. Taya and Lottie will be happy to have another Ol’ Lady around the club. You take care now, sweets. Do not let this big oaf boss you around.” He winks and leaves before Mason can speak.
Mason climbs onto the bed with me, careful not to jolt my battered body. I sink into his hold, feeling warm and secure. His big arms are like a safety net, keeping me from falling.
“I knew something was wrong. My gut was telling me, and then I heard a voice.”
“What do you mean?” I keep my eyes closed, snuggled into his body.
“I heard Lilian telling me that you were in trouble and that I needed to go to you. I fucking knew you were in trouble. Then Rogue came in with information, and I knew that I had to get to you.”
“She helped save me.”
He pulls back, frowning as he looks down at me, but I see confusion and shock etched on his face.
“You believe in all that mystic shit?”
“I do. I believe that there is a spiritual power that is around those who need guidance and reassurance that they are going to be okay.”
“There is a part of me that believes that, too. The night of the Halloween party, the night I met you, you did something to me. I tried to push it down but a spell was cast the second you looked at me. Then, while I was at the bar, this landed in front of me.”
He produces a black feather, making me gasp.
“How?” I finger the soft black feather, my heart rate picking up speed.
“What do you mean, how?”
“Mason, since that night, I have been finding black feathers in random places. At home, at the studio. There was even one tucked under the wiper on my car. What does it mean?”
“The last Halloween party Lilian and I went to, she wore a black feather boa. I believe that this is her way of giving us her blessing. But do you want to hear something extra creepy?”
I nod, unable to take my eyes off the feather.
“Savage has a black feather tattoo on his arm. I asked him about it, and he told me it was a reminder of a fucking amazing night he had when the club came to Vegas for Halloween. He hooked up with some guy who had a black feather boa, because some woman gave it to him while walking down the Strip.” His smile is wide, full of love and wonder.
“Lilian gave her feather boa to the guy Savage hooked up with?” I edge.
“It is too big of a coincidence for it not to be. I think Lilian led me to you, baby. She picked you for me.”
His words sink in, and everything finally makes sense. The inexplicable pull I feel toward him, the way my heart seemed to know him long before our paths ever crossed. It’s as if every black feather was guiding me to where I was always meant to be.
A simple black feather, the love of a woman who cared enough to give her husband a second chance—somehow, they’ve woven our stories together.
I believe in fate, in signs, and in mystic powers that be.
We are all here for a reason and mine was to find and love Mason, to give him a future that Lilian was unable to.
“I love you, Mason.”
“God, I love you too, Cleo baby. My life starts with you.”
I bask in his warmth and safety and fall asleep knowing that he will be here when I wake up, ready to move onto the next chapter of our lives.
I am glad this shift is over. I am always tired anyway, being alive for three hundred years now and all, but especially today. I was glad to hear that War got to our Cleo in time to save her when that creep from his past broke into her house.
"We sure did a lot of work to get those two together, huh, girl?" As I am finishing up wiping the bar, a black feather floats down from above and lands on the countertop. Looking up, I thank her.
"Thanks again, Lil. You were right about them being the perfect match. Easiest spell I ever had to cast." I blow her a kiss as I flip off the lights and lock the door to the diner. "Time to move on, I guess. My work here is done..." I snap my fingers and disappear into the night.
THE END