Epilogue
Bones
I sat in the private office at Chaos with four powerful men.
Colt Weston drank rye.
Elijah Padgett drank Irish whiskey.
Ramsey Buchanan drank SINNERS single malt scotch.
Sasha Petrovich drank Krasnyy, his own personal brand of vodka.
Chaos was Elijah’s wine bar, and the private office had been built into a military-grade faraday cage where no electronics were allowed. I didn’t know what kind of deals Elijah had made from this room, and I didn’t ask, but nothing that was said here could ever be recorded.
The Tarnished Angels handled security for his wine bar and our relationship was professional.
Elijah kept shooting glares at Sasha Petrovich, who calmly sipped his vodka.
Sasha turned his head, and in a Russian accent said, “I might be blind in one eye, but I could still be out of my chair and snap your neck before you knew what was happening.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Elijah stated in a thick Irish brogue. “And with a mouth like that, you’re lucky that Ramsey calls you a friend.”
“Before the fists fly,” Colt drawled. “Maybe we can get down to business.”
“I’ll give you the location of the warehouse where the Russians are being held,” Elijah said. “But you and your club clean up the mess. And if there’s any blowback, I’m not involved.”
“Fine,” Colt said.
“I’ll call Alexei personally when the deed is done,” Sasha remarked. “And that should close out the matter.”
“There’s just one thing,” I said, looking at Colt. “The club isn’t involved in this.”
“We’re involved,” Colt said. “Because Pyotr came after your woman.”
“Brother, the club just went legit. There’s no way in hell I’m jeopardizing your families for this. I’ll take care of it on my own.”
“Like hell you will,” Colt stated.
“He doesn’t have to do this alone. I’ll go with him,” Ramsey interjected.
I looked at him. “Why would you do that? Get yourself involved in something that has nothing to do with you?”
“I have my reasons,” Ramsey said. “And I’ll explain them to you after it’s done, if you let me.”
I looked at Elijah. “Works for me. I’ll have the location now.”
Elijah rattled off the address. “Everything you asked for is there.”
Ramsey and I both stood and Sasha handed me a set of keys. “There’s an unmarked black Sedan in the back. It’s bulletproof, not that I expect you’ll need it, but you can never be too careful.”
“Thanks,” I said, turning away from the scarred man. Even in the dim light of the room, I could see that half his face had been badly burned.
I looked at Ramsey. “It’s time.”
Ramsey threw back the rest of his scotch and nodded.
We stepped out into the night. Those awake at this hour were either looking for trouble, or trouble was looking for them.
Nothing good happens in the night.
I climbed into the driver’s side and Ramsey got in on the other. He shut the door and then latched his seatbelt.
“You sure you want to do this?” I asked.
“I’m sure.”
“And you won’t tell me why you’re doing this until after?”
“No.”
“All right, then.”
I put the car into gear and we drove off. Adrenaline hummed in my veins and my attention narrowed. Anticipation coursed through me as I thought of the two men waiting for my retribution.
Forty-five minutes later, we pulled up to a warehouse surrounded by barbed wire. Several pieces of specialty machinery sat quietly in the dirt. I waited for Ramsey to get out and open the gate for me to drive through. He closed the latch behind me and then he jumped into the passenger side again. We drove around to the back and parked.
Even though we were far enough away from the city that there was hardly any light pollution, and we were in the middle of nowhere along a stretch of highway, there was no use drawing attention to what we were doing.
The back door was unlocked and I flipped the light on as we walked inside. Harsh fluorescent lighting illuminated the entire space—a giant square cement room without any windows. There were unmarked crates stacked along the wall, along with a few oak barrels—liquor, no doubt. Guns, maybe.
There were two men in the center of the warehouse. Their wrists were cinched tightly with ropes that had been thrown over the rafters in the ceiling and pulled tight so that both men’s feet barely touched the ground. They were clearly exhausted, and there was no possible way they could escape.
Pyotr Novikov lifted his head. He glared at me and spewed angry Russian words.
“He called you a cock sucking son of a whore,” Ramsey translated.
“You speak Russian?” I asked in surprise.
“A bit,” Ramsey said.
I walked up to Pyotr and slapped his cheek, hard enough to turn his head.
“You slapped him?” Ramsey asked in surprise. “Like a man slaps a woman?”
“Can’t have him unconscious for what I’m about to do to him.”
My grin was feral.
The other man made a noise, turning my attention. “I haven’t forgotten about you, Gregor Kuzmin.”
I walked to the oak barrels and took off my leather cut, and then I looked around for the supplies Elijah had left for me. I found them next to an empty crate with the lid off and plastic lining the bottom.
Next to the crate, there was a pile of folded blue tarps, a hammer, a hand saw and a blow torch.
I picked up the hammer and looked at Ramsey. “Ready to learn how I got the name Bones?”
By the time the sun came up, the screams of the dead men had finally begun to fade from my ears. We placed their bodies in the tarps and then put them in the crate Elijah Padgett had left for us. When we hammered the lid on, I noticed the crate had a shipping order attached to it with an address for a fish processor in Romania. Those bodies would leave the country and disappear forever.
Ramsey called Sasha to let him know it was done.
“I’m meeting Sasha at The Rex,” Ramsey said. He looked me up and down. “You should probably shower before going home to your wife.”
“Drop me off at the clubhouse,” I said. “It’s on the way to The Rex. And then you can take the car and return it to Sasha.”
I’d been running on fumes since Hayden had been brought to the hospital, but now that she was safe, I allowed Ramsey to drive. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the seat. I slept the entire way to the clubhouse, only waking when Ramsey turned off the main road onto the dirt one that lead to the clubhouse gates.
The prospects opened the gates and we drove through.
“Sure you don’t want to stay and have a drink?” I asked. “You’ve earned it.”
“Can’t,” he said. “Have to get to The Rex. And if I stay and have a drink, I’m liable to fall asleep for a few days.”
I clapped his hand in mine. “Thank you for your help. Are you finally ready to tell me why you offered?”
Ramsey explained what he needed.
I nodded. “I’ll be in touch when I have some information.”
“Appreciate it.”
I climbed out of the car and headed up the front porch steps. I was running hot despite the cool autumn temperature. I was covered in blood, my knuckles were bruised, and I was in desperate need of a shower.
My phone beeped. It was a message from Charlie telling me that Hayden slept through the night and had no nightmares. Marilyn had taken first watch and then Charlie took the second. Hayden was on some heavy painkillers that had knocked her out—but I was glad she’d slept soundly. She’d had enough real-life nightmares. She didn’t need them in her sleep, too.
I opened the front door of the clubhouse, expecting to find it empty at this hour, but Raze was sitting on the couch having a cup of coffee. He took one look at me and nodded.
“It’s done, then?” he asked.
“Yeah. It’s done.”
“Why don’t you look relieved?” he asked.
“Aside from the fact that I’m covered in this shit?” I moved past the couch toward the stairs. “I’m gonna shower.”
“What aren’t you telling me, brother?”
I paused and looked at him over my shoulder. “What wouldn’t I be telling you?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. But I do know you’re keeping something to yourself when you have that look on your face.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Fuck you,” he said lightly. “What wouldn’t I understand?”
When I didn’t reply, his expression cleared.
“Oh. You think it has to go down like that?”
“Yeah Raze, I do.”
Raze rubbed a thumb along his jaw. “You sure that’s what you want to do? I mean, really sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“You don’t think you can have both?” he asked. “It has to be one or the other?”
“One or the other. You gonna try and talk me out of it?”
He frowned. “We’ve been through it. You, me, Smoke, Kelp…Viper. Does that not mean anything to you?”
“It means everything,” I said quietly. “But there’s something that means more.”
It was late morning when I pulled my motorcycle into the driveway. My steps were heavy with exhaustion as I punched in the door code. I quickly silenced the alarm and waited to hear movement from the living room. But no one came to greet me.
I didn’t want to yell in case Hayden was sleeping. But then I heard laughter from upstairs and my chest immediately eased.
The sight that greeted me brought a smile to my face. Hayden was in the middle of the bed, Charlie and Marilyn flanking her. They were propped up against the headboard, the three of them tucked underneath the covers.
I’d never seen my mother-in-law without a face full of makeup. It was unlike her to dress comfortably, but the last week had clearly taken its toll.
“Hi,” Hayden said, her smile bright when she met my gaze. Her eyes asked a thousand questions—questions I couldn’t answer with Charlie and Marilyn in the room.
“What are we watching?” I asked, my eyes sliding to the TV.
A black and white sitcom played across the screen and Hayden laughed again. The sound warmed my cold insides.
“I Love Lucy,” Marilyn said. “Charlie bought the anniversary DVDs and we’ve been watching them all morning.”
“Have you seen it?” Charlie asked me.
“No.”
“Classic,” Hayden said. “The chocolate factory episode is the best.”
“No way,” Charlie negated. “Vitameatavegamin wins, no contest.”
“You’re both wrong,” Marilyn stated. “It’s the one where they’re in Paris and Lucy goes on a hunger strike until Ricky buys her a designer gown.”
“Clearly I’m going to have to sit and watch this show and see for myself,” I stated.
Marilyn lifted the covers off her and she got out of bed. “Now that you’re home, I can go.”
“Me too,” Charlie said, getting up.
“Thank you,” Hayden said.
Marilyn leaned over and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “We’ll come back tomorrow.” She walked toward me and brushed her cheek against mine. “We can show ourselves out.”
I gave Charlie a side hug and then the two women left the bedroom. Hayden and I were quiet until we heard the front door shut.
“You look tired,” Hayden murmured.
“So do you,” I stated.
“I slept the night though, apparently.”
“I know. Charlie texted. But it’s pain meds sleep. It’s more like it knocks you out, but I don’t think it’s all that restful.”
She patted the bed. “Come here.”
I sat on the edge of the mattress and stripped down to my boxer briefs. I slipped into bed next to her and gently cradled her in my arms.
Her warm breath fanned my skin and I was careful not to slide my fingers through her hair to avoid accidentally grazing the stitches at the back of her head.
“It’s finished,” I said.
She inhaled sharply but didn’t say anything; she only hugged me tighter.
“There’s something else.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’m leaving the club.”
She slowly pulled out of my arms to stare down at me. “Say that again?”
“I’m leaving the Tarnished Angels.”
“But why?” she asked. “You’ve been part of the club for twenty years. You can’t just walk away. They’re your family.”
I brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “You’re my family now.”
“I didn’t ask you to do this,” she said, her brow wrinkling.
“I know. But I have to. You’ve been through too much.”
“I don’t understand. You’re just not going to be a biker anymore? Just like that?”
“Just like that,” I said.
“I still don’t understand.”
“You and I come from different backgrounds.”
“We’ve established that.”
“Yeah, but we haven’t established how we’re going to overcome that. We could go on this path for a while. Me in my life, you in yours, but eventually, what will we have? Two people who might love each other who haven’t built a life together. I don’t want that.”
“You’ll resent me,” she said quietly. “You’ll resent me at some point. You’ll blame me for giving up your life just so you can live in my world.”
“I’m not giving it up. Raze, Smoke, Kelp, Viper, and everyone else…they’re still family. But I can’t pretend that I can still be part of the club and also be your husband. I can’t go to galas with bloody knuckles and black eyes. I can’t be involved in strip clubs?—”
“Strip clubs?” I screeched.
“It’s not even worth talking about. Because I’m choosing. I’m choosing you and the family we’re going to make together.”
She turned her head away, but I gently grasped her chin and forced her gaze back to mine. “I want you to be able to stand by me and not have to lie about what I do for a living. I don’t want to have to tell you it’s club business. I don’t want to have to keep those kinds of secrets from you. I haven’t wanted to be Royce Dalton in a long time. But Duchess, you make me want to be a better man. You make me want to be Royce again.”
Her lips quivered and her brown eyes shone with tears. “You promise you won’t resent me?”
“I promise.”
“You promise this is your choice and that I didn’t pressure you into this?”
“I promise,” I said.
“Do you promise to love me forever?”
My mouth softened. “I promise.”
She leaned forward and gently brushed her lips across mine before pulling back. “I guess it’s my turn to tell you something.”
I arched a brow and waited.
“I want to go forward with my charity with Charlie. It’s where my heart is.”
“What about your father’s company?—”
“It’s still my father’s company,” she said. “I’ll still have voting rights, I’ll still be active. But I don’t want the daily responsibility. I’ve never wanted that. My father would want me to be happy. And after everything that’s happened…there’s no more time to waste. I’m going to make my dreams come true. I’m going to live a happy life.”
“I’m proud of you for coming to that conclusion, Duchess,” I said gruffly. “Who’s going to take over as Chair?”
She beamed. “My mother.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “It was her idea. She wants to do something more than just organize events and go to Pilates. She needs a purpose. I think this will be good for her. Good for me—and us—too. Does that make you happy?”
“I’m happy if you’re happy.”
“I’m happy.” She ran a thumb across my lips. “Just one teeny, tiny, little problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Do I have to change your name in my phone? I kind of like that you’re in my contacts list as Bad to the Bones.”
I laughed hard. It was deep and joyful and came from the depths of my soul.
“You don’t have to change a damn thing,” I said.
“You don’t have to change a damn thing either,” she quipped. “Especially not the tattoos. You can keep those, right?”
“Normally, I’d have to remove the club’s logo. But the brothers held church and voted. After twenty years, they’ve decided I can keep mine. I’m still their brother in flesh and blood—but I have to give up the cut.”
Her fingers began tracing along my body, wandering, and dipping. “You still haven’t gotten a tattoo for me, yet.”
“I will.” I closed my eyes. “Duchess, you gotta stop touching me.”
“Why?”
“Because if you keep that up, I’m going to want to do things. And you need to rest.”
“I’ve rested enough.” She wiggled against me. “We can do things.”
I opened my eyes and stared down at her, my woman, my wife, and one day soon, the mother of my child.
“We can’t,” I protested.
“We can,” she insisted. “We’re trying to start a family. Do you know how that happens?”
I let her push me onto my back and then she draped herself across me. I smirked. “No, I don’t know how that happens.”
She grinned and kissed my chin. “Lay back, Bad Decision, and I’ll show you.”