Cowboy slammed his Jack down on the table I was using and turned to Hush. “You gotta want a piece of this white power action, man? It’s gotta be your fuckin’ birthright or some shit to take these fuckers out.”
Hush smiled and his blue eyes shone with excitement. “Always up for polluting the WASPy bloodlines.”
Cowboy whistled in excitement. “Then the Louisiana contingent are in.”
“Gonna piss off Governor Ayers and Landry. But they had this shit comin’ anyhow. They’ve fucked with us too many times for us to just let it be,” AK said.
All the brothers nodded in agreement.
“Y’all sure you wanna go in?” the VP asked. They all nodded again. Ky turned back to face me. “The sooner the fuckin’ better with that intel.” I wrote down the rest of what I knew, then handed it to Ky. “This doesn’t mean shit,” he spat. “Now get the fuck back to that cabin and out of my fuckin’ face. My ability to hold back from stabbin’ you in the skull is fadin’ fast.”
Ky’s attitude slowly began to piss me off. I got they were seething. But I could only take so much. A hand pressed on my arm. “Rider?” Bella said softly, looking worriedly at the other men. “I want to go home.”
I took her hand without saying anything. I felt the brothers watching me as I left. For once, I didn’t care. Not with Bella by my side. She calmed me.
We walked out the door and past the painted Hades patch on the club’s wall that had first met me long ago, and I sighed a deep sigh. So much had happened in the five years that had passed. Some good, most bad. But I was fucking here now. I used to look at Hades’ soulless eyes and feel nothing but darkness and sin. Now, when I looked at his evil face, all I saw was liberation.
Freedom.
Survival.
Love.
Bella squeezed my hand, staring up at me with those fucking ice-blue eyes. A smile pulled on her face.
I cupped her cheeks in my hands. “Let’s go home.”
Hours later, I lay with Bella’s head on my chest as I tried to catch my breath. Our bodies were slick with sweat as we lay on the floor—we hadn’t even made it to the bed. The floorboards were uncomfortable under my back.
I didn’t much care about that.
I ran my hand through Bella’s hair. Bella sighed and lifted up on her elbow. She smiled as she ran her palm over my buzz cut. “You’re gonna give me a damn rash if you don’t stop doing that,” I joked.
Smiling mischievously, she moved her fingers to do the same over my short beard. “I like the feel of them both,” she said breathlessly. She kissed me, withdrawing only to drop her body onto my chest. “We should endeavor to make it to the bed,” she said, but I could hear the reluctant smile in her voice.
“Soon,” I rasped. “Soon.”
Bella tipped her head to the side and her face lit up with love.
“Bella?”
“Yes?”
“Are you happy? Is everything you were put through, that we are still going through, worth it to you?” I sighed. “I couldn’t bear it if I was robbing you of a better life.”
Bella’s expression grew serious and she reached for my hand. My left hand, with my wedding ring still firmly on my finger—I had never taken it off.
Bella lifted the ring to her mouth and kissed the band of gold. She smiled as she ran her thumb along it. She stole my fucking heart. “Mrs. Bella Carter,” she said, and I froze. Her eyes met mine as she said that surname. I wanted to hate it, everything it stood for . . . but the pride on her face made that impossible.
Mrs. Bella Carter.
I swallowed. “You know that our marriage wasn’t legal, Bella. We were married in The Order. It’s not even real.”
Bella clutched my hand tighter. “It is real,” she argued. “Our marriage is real. I believe it, we live it.” She glanced at the ring again. “And if this is not enough of a vow from me to you, know this. It is my eternal right to love you. And I will fight for that right until the sun sets on my life.”
“Bella,” I hushed out.
“It is true, Rider. I am happy, and I am yours. This is my dream.”
Bella’s breathing hitched as I rewarded her with a smile. Because it was true. She was mine.
She was my fucking wife.
I guided Bella to lie back against my chest and closed my eyes. I treasured this moment. I treasured every single second I took breath. I had survived when many had died. And I had a love I never thought I would gain.
I had no idea what the days ahead would look like. I had no idea how things would go with the club. But right then, in that moment, I only let myself feel the beautiful woman in my arms. The woman who won my heart through a wall of stone. The one who fought for me with an unrivaled intensity . . . and one I would die to protect.
I focused solely on the moment, letting the past drift away. Because only this was important. No religion, no duty, no club . . . just us. Just her.
The woman in my arms.
My heart.
My soul . . .
. . . my deepest redemption.
The End
DAMNABLE GRACE
Hades Hangmen #5
AK and Phebe’s Story Coming Soon!
Hades Hangmen Series
It Ain’t Me, Babe (Hades Hangmen #1)
Heart Recaptured (Hades Hangmen #2)
Souls Unfractured (Hades Hangmen #3)
Deep Redemption (Hades Hangmen #4)
Upcoming Hades Hangmen Novels
Damnable Grace (Hades Hangmen #5)
Crux Untamed (Hades Hangmen #6)
Darkness Embraced (Hades Hangmen #7)
And many more…
Playlist
The Sound of Silence—Disturbed Same Old Same Old—The Civil Wars Murder Song (5,4,3,2,1)—Aurora I Got You—The White Buffalo
First Light of Winter—Miranda Lee Richards Save Yourself—Claire De Lune
Darkness—Bobby Bazini
Rise Up—Andra Day
Up We Go—Lights
Dearly Departed (feat. Esme Patterson)—Shakey Graves Burden—Foy Vance
House of Mercy—Sarah Jarosz
River—Leon Bridges
One More Chance—Ira Wolf
Heaven’s Gate—Dawn Landes
Devil May Care—Half Moon Run
The Warpath—Conner Woungblood