“Yes,” I sighed. “So, so tired.”
We got to our feet. Maddie’s arms were immediately around my waist, her cheek against my chest. “You do not have to fight anymore,” she whispered, her soft voice a balm to my nerves. “We are all safe. Rider is too. You no longer have to fight.” She lifted her head and her green gaze fell into mine. “You can live now, Bella. We are all happy. You are too. There is no more war for you fight.”
My face contorted as I cried, my shoulders racking with the impact of her words. Lilah’s and Mae’s arms wrapped around me too—this time it was them comforting me, saving me . . . protecting me.
“This is all I ever wanted,” I managed to say. “This moment, right now . . . all of us free. It is all I ever dreamed for us for so long.”
“And you have it. You got it for us,” Mae said. My sisters held me in their tight embraces for many minutes. When the tears had gone and the night grew still, I lifted my head. One by one they kissed my cheek and stepped away. But before Lilah did, she said, “Be happy, sister. That is the gift we have all been given.”
“I will . . . ” I said. “I am.”
Lilah smiled. And it was beautiful.
As they walked away, I asked, “Will you come and see me sometime?”
Mae looked over her shoulder. “We will be here every day, Bella. Every single day.”
I covered my heart with my hands in thanks. I was surprised I could not feel it swelling under my palm. I went back into the cabin, taking the food they had brought. The small lamp in the corner was the only light in the house. I cast my gaze over the three small rooms . . . and I smiled. It was clean. It was ours . . . It was home.
I placed the dishes on the counter and went over to the bed. Rider was now dressed in only his underwear. His skin glistened in the heat. He must have removed his clothes when he was too hot.
I shed my dress and climbed onto the bed. It was still strange to feel a soft mattress under my back. But it was a luxury I was becoming used to. Especially with Rider sleeping beside me.
As I rolled to face my husband, his sleepy eyes blinked open. His top lip hooked into a smile. “I love you, baby,” he whispered and, with a hand on my waist, guided me closer to his chest.
I shuffled forward with a new lightness in my heart, and a freedom in my soul. “I love you too, Rider . . . I love you too.”
We fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Finally at peace, no more wars to be won.
Happy in love.
Such liberating love.
Epilogue
Rider
Two weeks later . . .
The sound of wheels screeching outside made me jump up from the couch. My ribs still ached, but they were getting better each day. Bella scrambled up from beside me.
“Who is that?” she asked with a frightened face.
I walked to the door and peered through the keyhole. Slash, Smiler’s young cousin and Hangmen prospect, was rocking nervously on the porch. I opened the door. “Rider,” he said hurriedly. “We need your help. It’s Smiler, man. He’s fuckin’ hurt.”
I lurched into action, getting on my shoes as quick as I could. Bella was behind me doing the same. She never let me out of her sight.
The second we were in the truck, Slash took off down the dirt road to the clubhouse. “What the hell happened?” I asked.
“The stupid prick came off his bike, just outside of the compound.”
“What?” I asked in disbelief. Smiler was one of the best fucking riders I knew.
“I know! Fuck knows what happened to him,” Slash said. I could hear the concern in his voice.
Smiler was the only brother I ever saw. He’d surprised the fuck out of me when he turned up last week with a six-pack of beers. We sat outside all night. We didn’t get into heavy topics of discussion, but fuck, it felt good to have someone to talk to . . . someone who hadn’t given up on me like everyone else.
I owed him more than he got from me.
“I haven’t got any medical supplies,” I said to Slash.
“Smiler has them in his room. Said they used to be yours anyway.”
“What does he mean?” Bella asked.
I dropped my head. “I used to be a healer, I suppose. Back at The Pasture, I was taught medicine. When I lived with the Hangmen, I was kind of their doctor. Not officially, but I could deal with lighter stuff. Stuff that happens a lot in this life—their life,” I corrected myself.
Bella’s blue eyes shone with a new kind of pride. “You are a healer? Why did you never tell me?”
I shrugged with embarrassment. “It was in my past, baby. Just never thought of it as my life anymore.” Bella threaded her hands through mine. She always had my fucking back.
Slash pulled up to the clubhouse. I froze.
“I can’t go in there, Slash.” The kid swallowed nervously. “Do the brothers know I’ve been called? Does the prez know? He will go apeshit if he sees me here. His orders were clear—I have to stay the fuck away.”
“He told me to come get you,” Slash said.
“Rider,” Bella said dubiously. I could see the immediate concern on her face, in her soft voice. She didn’t want me to go in.
Bull appeared at the door of the truck and yanked it open. “You’re needed,” he said coldly. “Get the fuck out. Keep your fuckin’ head down and don’t do anythin’ you’re not asked to.”
I took a deep breath, then followed him. The built Samoan looked ready to lose his shit.
I rushed through the bar. I felt the hard stares of the brothers who were in there, but I kept my eyes forward. My heart slammed in my chest as I ran down the hallway to Smiler’s room. I burst in the door and saw him on the bed. Someone had stripped him of his leathers, and his right side was torn the fuck up. “Shit,” I said as I walked over. I met his eyes. “What the fuck happened?”
He hissed in pain. “Aquaplaned.”