Chapter One #6
Olivia takes a breath. “When I first saw you,” she says quietly, “I didn’t understand what I was feeling.
I just knew something in me recognized something in you.
” I can’t look away from her. “You scared me,” she admits, smiling slightly.
“But somehow you also made me feel safer than anyone ever had.” Emotion presses hard against my ribs.
“You found me at my worst,” she continues.
“You held me together when I thought I’d break.
You never asked me to be less. Never asked me to survive quietly. You loved me exactly as I was.”
Her voice trembles slightly now. “I stayed because I chose you. Not because I was trapped. Not because I needed saving. Because somewhere along the way, you became home to me.”
Fuck.
My chest feels too tight.
“I love every part of you,” she whispers. “Even the dangerous ones. Especially the honest ones. And no matter what comes next, I’ll never regret staying.” Silence settles around us. Not empty. Full.
Twisted looks at me.
My turn.
I stare at Olivia for a long second before speaking. I don’t know how to do pretty speeches. She knows that.
So I give her truth. “You’re the only peace I’ve ever had.
” Her breath catches. “I didn’t think men like me got this.
” I glance around once. “Family. Home. Any of it.” My hand tightens around hers.
“But then you walked into my life and suddenly every fucking thing changed.” Her eyes shine immediately.
“I’ll protect you until my last breath,” I say.
“I’ll love you exactly the way you deserve.
And there is nowhere on this earth you could go that I wouldn’t follow.
” Her face crumples softly with emotion.
“You’re mine,” I tell her roughly. “And I’m yours. Permanently.”
Twisted clears his throat suspiciously hard beside us. “Good enough,” he mutters.
The yard erupts. Cheers. Whistles. Laughter. The women look unbearably smug. The men still look stunned.
Joker points at Raven. “You people coordinated dresses.”
“Obviously.”
“That’s terrifying.”
“You’ll live.”
Blaze grabs Bella around the waist. “I need everyone to know I was emotionally manipulated.”
Bella kisses him. “Correct.”
Music starts somewhere near the patio. Kids run screaming through the yard again.
Food appears. Someone hands Logan a beer while Mac immediately starts bossing him around about his knee again.
Carter dances with Brooke in the grass while Dom holds Remy and stares at Kya like he still can’t believe she’s real.
Shadow stands slightly apart with Shaina tucked against him like he built his entire life around protecting that exact space. Joker actually smiles. A real one.
I sit at one of the picnic tables later with Olivia in my lap, her head against my chest while the party swirls around us.
Alive.
Happy.
Mine.
After all the violence, all the fear, all the war and blood and darkness…we built a family anyway.
Music blasts across the yard while kids weave between picnic tables like tiny drunk tornadoes.
The brothers are finally loosening up after the absolute emotional ambush they just survived.
Blaze has his arm around Bella while she threatens to murder him for trying to steal icing flowers off the wedding cake.
Joker and Raven are slow dancing off to the side while pretending they’re not.
Logan’s sitting with Mac practically in his lap while Knox sleeps against his chest, and Cain’s trying to convince Amy that no, she cannot have a motorcycle at thirteen.
“You got one at thirteen,” she argues.
“I was also feral.”
Emma points at him. “Still are.”
Everyone laughs.
I’ve got Olivia tucked against my side on one of the picnic benches, her fingers absentmindedly tracing over my knuckles while the noise of the party wraps around us. For the first time in a long fucking time, everything feels…steady.
Then somebody screams from the gate. “Help!”
Every head turns instantly. Conversation cuts off mid-word. The shift is immediate. Years of instinct snapping into place all at once. Connor’s already moving toward the gate when we see her.
A girl. Young. Maybe mid-twenties. Standing just outside the entrance with one arm cradled against her chest like it’s injured. Dirt streaks her jeans. Her breathing looks uneven even from here. And before a single one of us can react…
Hammer shoots to his feet so fast his chair crashes backward into the dirt. “ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT.”
The entire yard freezes.
Hammer points violently at Connor, who’s still halfway to the gate. “Don’t even fucking look at her!”
Connor blinks. “What?”
Hammer’s already moving across the yard at a near sprint. “It’s my turn now, you vultures!”
Blaze chokes on his beer laughing.
Joker doubles over against Raven. “He called dibs on the injured woman!”
“You assholes all got one!” Hammer yells over his shoulder. “This is statistical fairness!”
The girl at the gate looks horrified.
Connor looks offended. “I wasn’t trying to steal your mystery woman!”
“The fuck you weren’t!”
Logan drags a hand down his face. “Hammer.”
“No, Prez, I’ve waited patiently through like five separate emotional support kidnappings. This one’s mine.”
Bella is laughing so hard she’s crying.
Even Shadow looks like he’s fighting a smirk.
Hammer reaches the gate, immediately softening his posture when he gets close to the girl. “You okay, sweetheart?” he asks, suddenly calm as hell.
The entire yard erupts.
“OH, HE’S USING THE VOICE,” Blaze shouts.
“Goddamn,” Jimmy mutters. “He fell in love in under thirty seconds.”
Hammer throws a middle finger behind him without turning around. “Shut the fuck up.”
Olivia laughs against my shoulder, shaking her head while the clubhouse descends back into absolute chaos. And somehow, surrounded by family, noise, love, and complete fucking insanity… it feels exactly like home.
Turn the page for a sneak peek of Matteo and Nina’s story…