Epilogue
Righteous
Six years later…
“She’s faking it,” I mumbled, doing so with my mouth barely moving.
“Shut it, Ally.” I heard Sniff’s voice coming from the bud in my ear.
“Totally faking it,” I kept at him, succeeding in not smiling, but doing this since I had lots of practice.
We were discussing Sniff’s love life. And teasing him about it.
Totally lots of practice.
Suffice it to say, Roam nor Sniff had found their Rock Chick equivalents.
But they’d been practicing for the time they made that discovery.
Copiously.
“Sniff’s convinced he gives good lovin’,” Roam put in.
“That’s ‘cause I do,” Sniff’s deep pissed-off voice clipped. “No complaints so far.”
“And that’s because they’re faking,” I said.
“Cut the chatter on the line,” Luke butted in, ending our fun.
I pressed my lips together in a further (successful) effort to fight my smile and did a scan of the club. I was in an LBD, strappy sandals and had big hair.
In other words, I was a honey trap who would, eventually, withhold the honey.
The skin at the back of my neck prickled when I saw him.
“Got eyes on him. He just entered,” I muttered, the microphone in my cleavage picking up my voice.
“Copy,” Lee came through. “Positions?”
“Check,” Roam said.
“Check,” Sniff said.
“Affirmative,” Luke said.
“Roger that,” Lee said. “Brody, got eyes?”
“Do I ever not have eyes?” Brody asked, offended.
“Appropriate responses are check, affirmative or negative,” Lee growled.
Years of this, my brother still found Brody annoying.
I, on the other hand, found him hilarious.
“Whatevs,” Brody replied. “Affirmative.”
“Roger that. Ally, you’re a go,” Lee told me.
“Copy. Out,” I told him.
Lifting a hand and pulling out the ear bud, I dropped it in my purse, clamped it shut and slid off the barstool, eyes on my target.
Fun and games done.
Time to get to work.
* * * * *
I opened the front door to Ren’s and my house, entering and seeing the space dark except for the flickering light of the TV.
My husband.
Since I was kidnapped, he waited up for me.
Always.
I closed and locked the door, walked in, was assaulted by our brown and white Boxer, Payton, and stopped.
This was because I needed to give my dog some loving. It was also because it was way late and my man was flat out on his back on a couch, head turned, eyes to me and our two year old daughter was dead asleep, curled up on his chest.
“You do know she has a bedtime,” I noted quietly.
“What Katie and I do during father daughter nights is up to us, baby,” Ren replied, just as quietly.
I rolled my eyes on a, “Whatever,” and moved their way.
I bent low, touching my lips to his then putting my hands to my girl. Lifting and turning her, I held her to my chest and she snuggled deep.
Even asleep, she knew Momma was home.
Loved my girl.
Totally.
I looked down at Ren. “Putting her down.”
He looked up at me, and even with the flickering light I could see his eyes were warm and sweet. They got that way frequently, but they got the way they were right now when he was looking at his wife with his daughter.
And I loved my man.
Totally.
“Right,” he replied.
I moved to the stairs, Payton following me, seeing as he doted on his sweet Katie.
Halfway up, the flickering light went out.
I put her down. She shifted around a second and I stood by her with a hand on her back until she settled. But I didn’t leave her until I’d touched her ear, her dark hair and the soft fuzz of her cheek.
Only then did I leave, Payton settling with a groan in her room. He’d start there. He’d come to Ren and me later.
I entered Ren’s and my room, closing the door halfway behind me, and saw him walking out of the bathroom in chocolate brown pajama bottoms.
Delicious.
“She wake?” he asked.
“Not really,” I answered, moving to the bed and sitting on it.
I leaned down to unstrap my sandals.
“Unh-unh.”
That came from Ren.
My happy place spasmed as I bent my head back to look at him.
“What?”
“F*ckin’ you with those on,” he told me and continued, “You can lose the dress, though.”
Eyes never leaving him, I stood up and lifted one of my hands to the side zip.
Slowly, I pulled it down.
Ren’s eyes watched as his mouth asked about my night’s activities, “You get your man?”
“Yep,” I answered.
Zip down, I tugged up my dress and it was gone.
Strapless lacy black bra, high cut lacy black panties, and heels.
Ren’s eyes didn’t leave my body when his mouth noted, “You’re gonna do that twice tonight, baby.”
Righteous.
I grinned at my husband.
My husband lunged at me.
* * * * *
“Ren,” I breathed.
I was on my back in our bed, Ren over me, my legs spread, knees high. He had my hands held in his at the sides of my head, pressed into the pillow, our fingers laced, but he’d angled up so he could watch as he thrust into me.
But when I spoke his name, his eyes came to mine.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he ordered.
I complied.
He kept being the kind of bossy I didn’t mind (at all). “Move with me, baby.”
My hips complied.
“F*ck yeah,” he growled, going faster and doing it deep. “That’s it.”
It definitely was.
“Dig in, Ally.”
I dug the heels of my sandals in, gaining purchase to tip my hips.
He rammed in deeper.
“Baby,” I panted.
His head dropped so he could watch again and he groaned, “F*ckin’ beautiful.”
Oh yeah.
It totally was.
But I was close.
My hands clenched in his. “Ren.”
He drove in faster, harder.
“Ren,” I whispered, and suddenly I had his weight, his mouth, his tongue and that did it.
I came. Thighs squeezing, heels digging in, fingers clasping, moaning against his tongue, hard.
It took a while, but when it left me, he rolled so I was straddling him and lifted up, taking us from missionary to lotus.
My number one.
Righteous.
One of his hands went between my legs as his other one gripped my hip encouragingly. “Ride me, honey.”
I didn’t need to be asked twice. My arms sliding around his shoulders, I rode him and did it fast, taking him deep, my lips to his, eyes locked, breath mixing.
His thumb pressed in and circled.
I whimpered.
“You’re goin’ again,” he demanded.
I hoped so.
“Okay,” I breathed, moving faster.
“F*ck,” he muttered, his hand sliding up my hip, side, in over my ribs to cup my breast, his thumb dragging over my rock-hard nipple. “Get there, Ally.”
Too late.
I was there.
My head flew back, but Ren drove a hand into my hair and tipped it forward.
I gasped. I bucked. I gave him a show he liked and I knew it when his arm wound around me and ground me down. He shoved my face in his neck and I took his groan in mine.
My whole body shivered.
Sweet, God, my man, so sweet, after he came down, his lips and tongue worked my neck as his hands slid lightly over my skin. His mouth ended at the guitar pendant dangling at the base of my throat and I felt his tongue sweep it inside. I knew he sucked it deeper when I felt the gentle tug at the chain around my neck.
Another whole body shiver.
While he did this and after I felt him release the pendant, I returned the favor with lips and tongue and hands (without the pendant part, of course) and we did this for a while.
Finally, I lifted my head, put my hands to either side of his neck and announced, “If it’s a boy, he and I get mother son time.”
Ren went still.
“And we’re naming him Darius.”
Ren stared up at me.
“He, or she, depending, will be here in seven and a half months, give or take a few days.”
Ren didn’t move nor speak.
“I’ll be clearing certain cases. I’ll tell Daisy she needs to refer out now inappropriate ones. And I’ll talk to Lee about agreed limitations. But after Katie, they know the drill.”
Ren kept staring at me.
By the way, I wasn’t alarmed at his reaction. When I told him I was carrying Katie, he behaved the same way.
He liked the news he was going to be a daddy (even part two), and liked it so much it made him speechless.
“I like to think it happened during that time on the stairs. But according to the doctors, I think it’s that time in the sauna.” My eyes wandered away. “Or on the landing.” I tipped my head to the side. “Or the dining room table.”
“Baby, look at me.”
I looked at my husband.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Oh my God.
I stopped breathing.
He wasn’t done.
“And you keep getting better.”
God.
Seriously?
I.
Loved.
My.
Man.
I loved him for many reasons. One of them was because he said shit like that to me all the time.
And I never got used to Ren Zano taking my breath away.
I dipped my head so my lips were to his and only then did I grin and whisper, “You happy?”
Ren didn’t whisper back. “F*ck yeah, I’m happy.”
That was when I smiled, and right before I kissed him, I said softly, “Righteous.”
* * * * *
The next morning, Ren walked into the bedroom just as a tater tot went flying past him.
Katie was in a “feed Payton” mood, which occurred daily, three times and was, I suspected, why Payton doted on Katie.
I lounged next to my daughter in our bed, phone to my ear, lips curled up as I watched my husband watch the potato treat fly and land on the floor in the landing.
He then ignored it, and Payton chasing after it, and continued into the room with two fresh mugs of coffee.
I bit back laughter as Indy asked, “So can you pick it up?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“The cake’s kinda important,” she told me.
“Uh… duh,” I told her.
“You forget things,” she informed me.
My back snapped straight.
“I totally don’t forget things,” I informed her.
“Lee’s birthday that year,” she said.
“Uh… I was kinda in the middle of pushin’ out my kid two days before Lee’s birthday that year,” I reminded her. “I think Lee gets I had my mind on other things.”
She was not deterred. “The balloons you were supposed to pick up for that thing for Sam.”
“I didn’t forget. I just didn’t do it because Vance told me not to. He said at the thing for Max, Jules had so many balloons, he was running into them for days and stepping on them for days after.”
“Ally, you’re a Rock Chick,” Indy snapped. “You don’t do what the Hot Bunch says.”
“Indy, I work with Vance. I was around when he was balloon cranky. You do not wanna be around when he’s got a newborn, two hellions, otherwise known as male species toddlers, and balloons all over his house. Trust me.”
“You’re always picking the Hot Bunch over the Rock Chicks,” she complained.
“That’s because they keep me from getting shot at,” I retorted.
I felt eyes and looked to Ren who was now lounging on his side across the bottom of our bed, keeping an eye on Katie feeding Payton. I caught his expression and made an, I’m lying to make a point face with a shake of my head even though I wasn’t and, instead, was silently lying to Ren.
He sighed and turned to Katie.
He knew I was lying.
I returned my attention to Indy when she murmured. “Crap, Tod and Stevie are here. They’re early and I haven’t done my hair.”
They were early because Tod and Stevie completely doted on Indy and Lee’s kids, Callum and Suki (never fear, that was just my niece’s nickname, used so we wouldn’t have confusion; my big bro and BFF named their daughter after me, which… was… righteous).
And Indy shouldn’t be surprised. Tod and Stevie took every opportunity to “pop by” or “come early” and usually ended up essentially kidnapping the kids until Indy had to call and beg them to bring them back (or Lee had to call and threaten them; Lee’s tactic worked better).
Unfazed, they kept doing it.
“Like they’ll care,” I replied. “Anyway, ask Tod to do your hair. He’d love that.”
“He’s already claimed Suki,” she said swiftly. “And I want the kids here today, and Tod’s got that look in his eye that says ice cream, mall, extreme spoiling and me with two children who don’t understand why everything he or she points at isn’t at their command.”
This was true. I’d witnessed it. Repeatedly.
“There are worse things,” I pointed out.
This got silence before a soft, “Yeah, there are.”
I grinned and said, “Cake.”
“Don’t forget,” she repeated.
“Cake and catfight if you keep saying that,” I returned.
“Whatever,” she muttered then, “Later.”
“Later, chickie,” I replied and we disconnected.
“So I take it we’re picking up the cake,” Ren asked, and I looked to him.
“Yeah,” I answered.
Katie threw another tater tot. Ren looked to his girl and poked her gently in her rounded belly.
“You’re supposed to eat them, baby,” he told her.
She giggled.
She also threw another one.
That was when I giggled.
Ren just smiled.
Then he leaned in and kissed his daughter.
After that, he leaned further and kissed me.
It was Sunday breakfast in bed at the Zano house.
Yeah.
You guessed it.
Righteous.
* * * * *
“Yo!”
That was Lee.
We were in the kitchen at Indy and his house: Lee, Indy, Tex, Nancy, Jet (with her latest son, Cesar, or son number three, attached to her hip), Eddie, Ada and me.
The Kevster and Leo, Stella’s bassist, were wandering through, heading toward the back door.
Lee was scowling at Leo and Kevin.
“What?” The Kevster asked.
“Keep it in your pocket or give it to me,” Lee ordered.
“What?” The Kevster repeated, trying to look innocent.
And failing.
“You say ‘what’ one more time, I’ll pat you down, confiscate it and it’ll be in the garbage disposal,” Lee warned.
Kevin gave up the ghost and cried, “But it’s a party!”
“You don’t smoke that shit at my house,” Lee informed him.
“We weren’t gonna,” The Kevster replied. “We were gonna smoke it in your backyard.”
I could swear I heard Lee growl.
“Kevin, just abstain, all right?” Indy waded in.
The Kevster looked at Indy then looked at Leo. “You’re famous, right?” he asked.
“Yup,” Leo answered, and he was.
The Blue Moon Gypsies had hit the big time. Totally. Red carpets. Their frequent brawls splashed all over the tabloids. Pong even had a sex tape that was still circulating the internet.
Totally rock ‘n’ roll.
“So, do you have, like, a limo or something?” Kevin asked.
“We ride around in Escalades,” Leo shared. “That doesn’t say rock ‘n’ roll. But they’re roomy.”
“Do you have one here?” Kevin asked.
“Yup,” Leo answered.
“Let’s go,” The Kevster said, and they switched directions but got only a couple of steps in before Ada was there.
“Are you two young men going to smoke a doobie?” she asked.
Leo just stared at her.
The Kevster tipped his head to the side and hedged, “Maybe.”
“I’ve never smoked marijuana,” she informed them excitedly, her meaning clear to everybody. Including Kevin and Leo, who were unclear about most everything.
“Jesus. Someone shoot me,” Lee muttered.
“Live large, mama,” Leo said to Ada, an invitation coupled with an arm going out, leading the way.
Ada sent a happy grin to Nancy and shuffled out, followed by one famous and one infamous pothead.
I shared a smile with Indy and Jet before I looked to Tex because he was booming.
“I was wrong,” he stated. “Shit never gets boring. It just gets more and more freaky.”
He was not wrong.
“And just now, that old woman gettin’ stoned with the stoner to end all stoners and a rock star, just plain crazy,” he went on.
He was not wrong about that, either.
And Tex, being all kinds of crazy calling something crazy, said a lot.
But we were used to crazy.
And, none of us, not a single one (okay, maybe the Hot Bunch were exempted), would have it any other way.
“You have chocolate crumbs in your beard, honey,” Nancy told him, lifting a hand and brushing away crumbs and Tex (yes, Tex) let her. “And what’s that?” she asked. “Caramel?”
“Loopy Loo’s brownies,” he shared.
“Tex, you’re not supposed to eat anything until the special guests arrive,” Indy snapped.
His brows shot up. “Woman, you think I’m gonna wait for a brownie?”
“Yes,” Indy answered.
“Well, you’re wrong,” Tex stated the obvious.
My mom walked in, Katie on her hip, her eyes going to Lee. “Sweetheart, do you know where Luke or Ava are? Ralphie’s got Maisie and he says she needs changing, but we can’t find either of them or their diaper bag.”
Lee looked to his boots.
That meant that likely somewhere in Indy and Lee’s five bedroom house, Luke was giving Ava the business.
I gave wide eyes to Jet. She gave them back to me.
Indy advised, “Talk to Sadie or Jules. They may have spares.”
“Right,” Mom muttered and moved out.
Shirleen walked in right after Mom disappeared.
“Got the call,” she lifted up her phone, her eyes happy and dancing, “they’re close.”
Then she disappeared.
Indy handed a bowl of cashews to me and asked, “Can you put that on the table?”
“Sure thing,” I muttered as Indy started dashing around the kitchen.
I moved to the door and heard as I walked through it, “Liam Nightingale! Get back here and grab those bowls of chips.”
Ha-ha.
Lee got it from Indy.
Yeah, so I was a thirty-eight year old pregnant woman with a husband and a daughter.
I was still a Rock Chick.
And a little sister.
Some things never change.
That meant I was grinning as I entered the great room.
I put the cashews on the table covered in food and was immediately attacked by my niece, Leah, three years old. Roxie and Hank’s first.
I bent, lifted her up, tossed her in the air and then pulled her close to me.
“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered as her eyes, Hank’s eyes, my eyes, looked back at me.
“Heyannieally,” she replied, all in one word, and it sounded like a song.
“You having fun?” I asked.
She nodded.
“You being nice to your brother and cousins?” I asked and her eyes wandered.
This meant no.
Total Rock Chick in the making, even at three.
Roxie loved it. She thought it was a hoot.
Hank was screwed. And he knew it.
But he secretly loved it, too. I knew that.
Then again, he just adored his little girl.
May, a close friend we met during Jules’s Rock Chick Ride, sidled up to me with Harry, Jules and Vance’s youngest at her hip.
“Are we allowed to eat yet?” she asked out of the side of her mouth.
“They’re almost here,” I answered out of the side of mine. “But if you’re about to expire, a few cashews probably won’t be missed.”
She didn’t reply. She went for some cashews, took a handful, then disappeared in the crowd.
I was going to go back to the kitchen to help Indy but Daisy, snuggling a sleepy Tallulah, Stella and Mace’s first (and only, so far), caught me.
By the way, Stella and Mace did get married on a beach in Hawaii. As Tod called it, she also wore a white crochet bikini, a sarong, a lei and a band of flowers around her forehead (Mace wore jeans and a white shirt). She looked awesome. Mace looked hot. The entire wedding was the bomb, even if, at the reception, there was a helicopter circling.
Furthering the coolness of their nuptials, it was in Us magazine.
Ren and I, if you’re curious, had the Pope’s blessing (I hoped) because I’d converted.
But I still got my red and black wedding. Tod did it up sah-weet. It was awesome.
I also got a three week honeymoon that started in Vegas and ended in the Bahamas.
Everything I ever wanted.
Especially the husband.
“You wanted to talk, sugar?” she asked, reaching for some cashews and not bothering to do it stealthily.
“A little later, they’re almost here,” I told her.
She looked up at me. “Is everything good?”
I smiled at her. “Yeah, totally.”
She screwed up her face and studied me for two seconds before her eyes went wide, her face got bright and she opened her mouth.
She figured it out.
I moved fast and covered her mouth with my hand. Not to be left out, Leah leaned over and covered my hand on Daisy’s mouth. Tallulah, thinking it was a game, did the same, but she did it slapping and giggling.
“Don’t say anything,” I whispered. “Indy doesn’t know.”
A drowned-out tinkly bell giggle escaped the three hands (two of them tiny, but still) and Daisy, eyes now dancing, nodded.
I took away my hand, taking the girls’ with me.
“After the big thing, we’ll share Ren and my big thing, but quietly,” I told her.
Daisy, through more tinkling giggles, nodded.
I tipped my head, studied her and guessed, “You can’t talk because if you open your mouth, you’ll shriek. Right?”
She nodded again.
I shook my head, but did it grinning and bumping into her with my shoulder.
Tallulah put her hand over Daisy’s mouth again.
Daisy gave it a raspberry.
I spied a runaway toddler, followed by another one, both females. These two were followed by a lumbering black man nearly bent double.
He caught up, scooped both up with arms at their bellies, and straightened
Smithie with Suki in one arm, Lola, Sadie and Hector’s firstborn, in the other.
The girls were giggling and squirming.
Smithie was scowling.
“Jesus. You bitches breed like rabbits,” he bitched then totally gave it all away by bending in while lifting up Lola and shoving his face in her neck.
She squealed in glee as Smithie turned and strolled away.
“Smithie,” Jet murmured as she passed us, putting something on the food table and finishing, “Total softie.”
That was the damned truth.
My eyes slid through the crowd and I saw Amalea now had Katie. This was because Mom was chasing after Callum.
Jeez.
We did.
We bred like rabbits.
I kept looking through the throng and stopped when I saw Ren, Dom and Sissy standing with Vito and Angela.
We’ll just say that after I was kidnapped and we nearly lost Darius, I was right. Vito had had a wakeup call. His “excommunication” of Ren lasted about eight hours. Then it was back to family.
I knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it up.
And I loved being right.
Especially this time.
This wasn’t to say that Ren went back to him. He’d made a commitment to Marcus. He’d followed through with his resignation and we had our two weeks at the beach where we did nothing but drink rum and f*ck on the beach under the stars (and elsewhere). When we came back, Ren went into partnership with Marcus.
Dom went with him.
Vito decided to retire early, turning over the reins of the Zano criminal empire to Santo and Lucky.
Word on the street, they were doing well which was both good news (because I liked them) and bad news (because they were running a criminal empire).
This meant Dawn lost her job (the first order of business for Santo and Lucky was canning her; and luckily they let me watch, it was awesome). I’d done a check on her just because I was nosy. I found out she was living in Alabama. Still single. Still a receptionist.
But doing it far, far away.
Which worked for me.
It also meant Marcus and Ren took over the Zano Holdings offices.
So, when we could, my man and I carpooled.
“Their car’s coming up to the curb,” Stella’s throaty voice could be heard calling from the front of the house.
Everyone moved that way.
Once in positions, we waited.
The door opened and Darius walked through, holding to his hip a gorgeous little girl with cute little pompom pigtails sticking out at the top sides of her head.
He was followed by Dorothea.
And Dorothea was followed by Malia.
Coming up the rear was Liam.
“Now!” Shirleen shouted and we all started doing what she’d been browbeating us to practice for the last week.
We sang Ten Thousand Men of Harvard.
And we did it poorly.
Luckily, Tex got into it and his booming baritone drowned the rest of us out.
But it didn’t seem to matter.
Because through it, Liam stood there grinning.
Then again, what else did you do when you were serenaded by family at your college graduation party?
It.
Was.
Righteous.
* * * * *
By the way, Darius lived in LA now. He worked at Mace’s security agency.
At Mace’s request, I flew out to do jobs with them occasionally, and if you thought the Hot Bunch was hot…
Just saying…
Seriously.
* * * * *
Malia lived in LA with Darius.
Don’t ask, it’s a huge-ass story.
But, as you can tell, it had a happy ending.
* * * * *
Liam lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
That was, until very recently.
* * * * *
An hour later, I was standing having some alone time with Gracie, Luke and Ava’s first little girl. I was holding her close to my front. She was fascinated with my guitar pendant and I could see this was fascinating. I’d worn it every day for years and I was still fascinated with it.
But right then, I was fascinated with her little girl fascination.
I felt a presence get close and looked to the side to see Darius moving in there.
“Yo,” I greeted.
He grinned. “Ally.”
I looked across the room at Liam standing with Dorothea and Shirleen. He and his grandmother were grinning at Shirleen. She was saying something she really meant because her head was shaking and her afro was swaying.
I looked back to Darius to see his eyes on the same thing.
“Thanks for bringing him here so we could celebrate with him,” I said.
His gaze came to me. “Not a problem.”
I grinned at him. “So, am I still a pain in your ass?”
He grinned back and answered, “Yes.”
I frowned. “How can I still be a pain in your ass? You live hundreds of miles away.”
“Your brand of pain in the assedness extends great lengths. It might even span dimensions.”
I rolled my eyes, and on the roll back to Darius, declared, “‘Assedness’ is not a word, Darius.”
“Badasses can make up words, Ally.”
This was true. They could do whatever the hell they wanted.
Darius reached in and confiscated Gracie from me. I wanted to protest, but when she smiled up at him, put her hand to his cheek and I watched him turn his head to kiss her palm, I decided against it.
I looked back across the room when I heard Liam and Dorothea laugh, Liam now holding his grandma close to his side with his arm around her shoulders.
Then I felt warmth sweep through me when I felt Darius kiss the side of my hair.
In my ear, he whispered, “Love you, Ally.”
That?
Sheer beauty.
I turned my head, caught his eyes, mine were hot, and replied, “I know.”
* * * * *
Ren and I were on one of Indy and Lee’s couches. Katie was crawling on her daddy and doing it with Gus, Sadie and Hector’s youngest.
Alex and Dante, Jet and Eddie’s eldest and middle boys, were sitting next to me, eating cake and ice cream. Or smushing it all over their faces and getting it all over their tees.
But they were little kids. That shit happened.
So, whatever.
I was supposed to be watching Alex and Dante.
What I was doing was scanning the room.
A motley crew of cops and crooks, bounty hunters and baristas, PIs and rock stars, hot guys and Rock Chicks.
My people.
My family.
All together, safe and happy.
I turned to look at my man just in time to see him yank his little girl tight to his chest and set her squealing as he tickled her.
My man.
My girl.
My family.
Katie pretended to try to get away and Ren pretended to let her, going after Gus, probably to tickle him too, when he felt my eyes on him and he looked at me.
“What,” he asked.
“We did it,” I told him.
His head tipped to the side and his eyes grew intent, probably because he was reading the look on my face.
And reading the look on my face, his voice went sweet when he asked quietly, “We did what?”
“That night, after we found out Indy was carrying Callum and we made a pact to work on being that happy for the rest of our lives?” I reminded him.
He got me.
I knew this when his face got the look.
“We did it,” I whispered.
He didn’t answer.
He pulled Katie and Gus close so he didn’t lose them when he leaned into me.
His kiss wasn’t long, but it did include a touch of tongues so it was righteous.
Then again, they all were.
“Can I steal her?”
Ren and I broke apart and looked up to see Indy standing there, eyes to Ren.
“Sure,” he replied.
I studied my BFF.
Then I turned to Alex and Dante and said, “Hey, buddies. Do me a favor and scooch closer to Uncle Ren while you eat, yeah?”
They looked up at me, both with big black eyes, chocolate crumbles and vanilla cream all over their faces, and nodded.
I turned to my husband, leaned in and touched lips, then I did the same on my daughter’s wet mouth.
When I was done, she shoved her face in her daddy’s neck and giggled. This was because her daddy was tickling her again.
As for me, I just smiled at her daddy.
Then I followed Indy through the room to the stairs.
She led us to her bedroom. In it were Jet, Roxie, Jules, Ava, Stella, Sadie, Daisy and Shirleen.
Oh man.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Don’t know,” Ava answered.
“Oh God, please tell me no one’s pregnant. I can’t keep the birthdays straight already,” Roxie moaned.
Daisy gave me a look.
I ignored it.
Indy went into her walk-in closet saying, “Be right back.”
“Does anybody know what’s happening?” Sadie asked.
“Not me,” Stella answered.
All eyes came to me.
I shrugged.
All eyes grew dubious.
I threw up my hands. “Seriously,” I snapped. “I don’t know.”
Luckily, at this juncture, Indy came out of the bathroom carrying a bubble envelope.
“I hope that isn’t a secret mission we all have to go on because I’m kind of liking this kidnapping-free, stun-gun-free, car-explosion-free lifestyle,” Jules said. “And for a while now, we’ve had a good roll going.”
“That’s because you don’t live in LA,” Stella muttered.
We all looked to Stella and nodded.
We got her.
Suffice it to say, Mace’s men in LA had much the same taste in women as the men in Denver.
But in LA, you could get up to all kinds of crazy.
“Um… just to say, I kinda miss stun gunning,” Jet admitted
That was when we all looked to her and nodded.
We got her.
Though, I didn’t share that I’d stun-gunned someone just last week.
“It’s not a mission,” Indy told Jules and handed the envelope to me, her eyes coming to mine. “It’s from Jane.” She looked through the girls. “She wanted us all together and she wanted Ally to open it.”
I had a feeling I knew what was coming.
Because after pink and through green, lilac, blue, peach, salmon and ice blue, Jane had asked us to do the same thing.
I didn’t know why Jane didn’t participate in the festivities, but I did know that was her way.
With all eyes again on me, I slit open the envelope and slid out what was inside.
It was a berry colored book with a film strip and a white title.
Rock Chick.
Up the side in black, there was a strip that said Revolution.
It was my turn.
Righteous.
One thing I knew.
That book was going to be interesting.
And another thing I knew.
An Italian hothead was not going to be very happy.
I wasn’t worried. He’d get over it.
Because by then, he was used to it.
But mostly because he’d do it like all the men did it.
In his case: for me.
(And he didn’t fool me. I’d seen him grinning when he was reading the other ones.)
I scanned the cover and saw on the bottom, stuck to the side, was a sticky note. On it was an arrow pointing to the name, “Kristen Ashley” that said under it, New York Times Bestselling Author.
And next to that was written:
See?
Told you.
Fairytales come true.
I couldn’t help it and didn’t try.
I burst into tears.
At the same time I burst out laughing.
Then I flipped the book around for all to see.
That meant all the Rock Chicks gathered around me did the exact same thing.
Through my laughter and tears I lifted my hand straight up in the air, index finger and pinkie extended in devil’s horns.
The Rock Chicks did the same as me.
And because we were Rock Chicks, at the same time, we shouted two words.
We did it loud.
And we did it proud.
“Rock on!”
Except Shirleen.
She shook her head, looked around and muttered, “White women.”
Which of course meant we quit crying.
But we kept laughing.
Stay tuned.
We’re gonna follow Mace and Stella to Los Angeles.
‘Cause you can get up to all kinds of crazy there.
####
About the Author
Kristen Ashley grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana but has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.
Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multi-generational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland and existed amongst the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.
*****
Discover other titles by Kristen Ashley:
Rock Chick Series:
Rock Chick
Rock Chick Rescue
Rock Chick Redemption
Rock Chick Renegade
Rock Chick Revenge
Rock Chick Reckoning
Rock Chick Regret
The ‘Burg Series:
For You
At Peace
Golden Trail
Games of the Heart
The Chaos Series:
Own the Wind
Fire Inside
The Colorado Mountain Series:
The Gamble
Sweet Dreams
Lady Luck
Breathe
Dream Man Series:
Mystery Man
Wild Man
Law Man
Motorcycle Man
The Fantasyland Series:
Wildest Dreams
The Golden Dynasty
Fantastical
The Three Series:
Until the Sun Falls from the Sky
With Everything I Am
The Unfinished Hero Series:
Knight
Creed
Raid
Other Titles by Kristen Ashley:
Fairytale Come Alive
Heaven and Hell
Lacybourne Manor
Lucky Stars
Mathilda, SuperWitch
Penmort Castle
Play It Safe
Sommersgate House
Three Wishes
Connect with Kristen Online:
Official Website: www.kristenashley.net
Kristen’s Blog: www.kristenashley.net/menu/blog.html
Kristen’s Facebook Page
Follow Kristen on Twitter: KristenAshley68
Need support for your Kit Crack Addiction?
Join the Kristen Ashley Addict’s Support Group on Goodreads
Cover Art by Maxine Hayes, Contact: [email protected]
Denver Skyline Photograph by Derek, Kar Tsot Wong