Epilogue – Angel
A Year and a Half Later.
The front door creaks as I push it open, and I immediately notice something's different. Rose petals create a path through our house – red and white, scattered across the hardwood floors we installed together six months ago.
My heart starts racing. After a year and a half together, I know Ruthless isn't typically the romantic gesture type. Our love shows in different ways – in how he always checks my bike before I ride, how he kisses my forehead when he thinks I'm sleeping, how he trusts me to have his back in club business.
Following the petals, I find him in our living room, pacing back and forth. He's still in his cut, his hair messy like he's been running his hands through it repeatedly. He hasn't even noticed me yet, which is a first – Ruthless always knows when someone enters a room.
"Baby?" I say softly.
He spins around, and for a moment, I see something I've never seen before in his eyes – uncertainty.
"Angel." He takes a deep breath. "You're home early."
"My talk with Dad ended sooner than expected." I step closer. "What's all this?"
Instead of answering, he closes the distance between us in three long strides. Before I can process what's happening, he's down on one knee, holding a small black box.
"Fuck," he mutters, "I had a whole speech planned."
I can't help but laugh, even as tears start forming in my eyes.
"Since when do we need speeches?"
He grins, some of his nervousness fading.
"Fair point." He opens the box, revealing a beautiful ring – vintage-looking, with a black diamond surrounded by smaller clear ones. "I love you, Angel. Have since before I should have, will until my last breath. Marry me?"
Simple. Direct. Perfect.
"Yes," I whisper, then louder, "Yes!"
He slides the ring onto my finger before standing and pulling me into his arms. The kiss is fierce, passionate, full of promise. When we finally break apart, we're both gasping.
"Did you ask my father?" I ask, though I already know the answer. Ruthless is old school that way.
He chuckles against my hair. "Yeah. Took some convincing, but Chloe helped. Think she's been working on him for months, actually."
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm. She said something about how she hadn't seen him as happy as he's been since we got together. Apparently, seeing you happy makes him happy, even if he's still grumpy about who's making you happy."
I laugh, pressing closer to him. "He'll get over it. He always does."
"True." His hand finds my face, thumb brushing over my cheek. "You sure about this, baby? About forever with me?"
I look up at him – my Ruthless, my protector, my partner in everything. The man who can break someone without blinking but touches me like I'm made of glass. The enforcer who everyone fears but who holds me through nightmares and makes me laugh with terrible jokes.
"I've never been surer of anything," I tell him. "Forever with you sounds perfect."
His smile – the real one, the one only I get to see – lights up his whole face.
"I love you, future Mrs. Ruthless."
I wrinkle my nose. "We're definitely discussing that name situation."
He laughs, a deep rumble that I feel against my chest. "Whatever you want, baby. Though I have to warn you – Crow's already planning the bachelor party."
"Of course he is." I play with the lapels of his cut. "Did he help you pick the ring?"
"Nah, that was all Chloe. Said I needed a woman's perspective, and since you two are close..." He shrugs. "She suggested the black diamond. Said it was badass but elegant, like you."
I look at the ring again, watching how it catches the light. "It's perfect. Though I'm surprised Chloe could keep this secret. She's terrible at keeping surprises."
"That's because she doesn't know I actually did it today. She helped me pick it out months ago, but I've been waiting for the right moment."
"Months?" I pull back to look at him. "How long have you been planning this?"
His expression softens. "Remember that raid on the Outlaws' last drug route? When you took down their enforcer without breaking a sweat?"
I nod, remembering the adrenaline-fueled night six months ago that effectively put us ahead in the war with the Outlaws—the beginning of the end.
"That's when I knew I couldn't wait any longer. Watching you fight, seeing how you've grown into this incredible force of nature..." He shakes his head. "I went ring shopping the next day."
"How romantic of you," I tease, but my voice catches.
"Only for you, baby." He kisses me again, slower this time. When he pulls back, there's mischief in his eyes. "Now, how about we celebrate properly before we have to go tell everyone?"
I pretend to think about it. "Well, the club meeting is over, and I have nothing else planned..."
Before I can finish, he's lifting me up. I wrap my legs around his waist, laughing as he carries me toward our bedroom.
"I love you," I whisper in his ear.
"Love you more, Angel. Always will."
And as he lays me down on our bed, as his hands and mouth begin their familiar worship of my body, I know this is exactly where I'm meant to be. Because sometimes the most beautiful love stories aren't the perfect, pristine ones.
Sometimes they're messy and complicated, full of danger and passion and healing. Sometimes they're about a young woman finding her strength and an older man finding his peace. Sometimes they're about family and loyalty and the kind of love that's worth fighting a war for.
Sometimes they're about an Angel and her Ruthless warrior, finding their way home to each other.
And sometimes… That's the best kind of love story there is.
Thank you for reading it!