Epilogue

Abbie

Itapped my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing through the speakers of Cameron's truck. My car apparently needed an alignment, so Cameron had taken it into Jax's shop this morning. And then, come to find out, I had an oil leak, which Jax was taking care of, too. So, my car was out of commission for a week while he waited on the parts to come in and get it all fixed. Who knew half the engine had to come out to fix a valve cover leak?

Driving this big ass truck had been testy at first since I was used to my little car, but I eventually got the hang of it. And now, I was even debating trading in my car for a truck as well. I liked being high up. Made me feel a little safer on the roads.

The gravel crunched beneath my tires as I pulled onto the clubhouse lot and parked beside Blakely's car. After grabbing my bag, I jumped out of the truck and headed inside, immediately finding Cameron at the bar, his book opened in front of him as he worked on numbers.

I loved how damn smart he was.

I came up behind him and set my bag on the bar top before pressing a kiss to his cheek. He turned his head, his hand coming up to grip my chin so he could kiss me properly. I barely bit back a moan. He always had a way of making me come unraveled.

"Sit," he rumbled, pulling out the barstool next to him. "Blakely, can you grab her plate of food out of the microwave?" he asked.

"Sure thing," she told him, flouncing into the kitchen.

Cameron cupped the back of my head and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "How was work?" he asked.

I shrugged. Work was work, as always. My gut always cramped when I had to drive down the road that I'd been kidnapped from. The road that had become Trent's end. And having to face my boss every single fucking day was hell, too. But I did it. Because I was determined to make sure that girl who'd been killed was avenged, as well as Trent. Neither of them had deserved what'd happened to them.

"Little devil…" he murmured, a warning to his voice that both filled me with nerves and also made my pussy clench tight. One thing about Cameron—he didn't play when it came to my safety. He wanted honest answers—always. Especially when it was regarding work.

"I had to do a debriefing with Carlisle today," I said, mentioning the chief of police by his last name. "It just… being in the same room with him makes my skin crawl." I tried forcing a smile to my lips to try to reassure him I was okay, but I couldn't do it. Not in front of him. Faking anything in front of Cameron when he'd seen me at my rawest already was near impossible. "Got sick afterward, but I'm okay now."

He clenched his jaw. "Was your partner with you?" he asked, referring to Clarence, my new partner. When I nodded, he ran his hand over my hair in a way that always soothed my nerves. "Good. Harder for him to do anything to you if you're not alone with him."

Blakely set my food in front of me then, and I immediately took notice of the bruises on her wrists and the bite marks on her forearms. Jax came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, nipping at the skin of her throat. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes going a little hazy. Cameron grunted. "Can you not assault her in front of us?"

Jax smirked. "Is it assault if she likes it?" he asked.

I snorted. "No. Not as long as she's consenting."

Jax hummed and pressed a kiss to Blakely's temple. "She definitely consents."

I laughed quietly at her red face as I dug into the mashed potatoes she'd made. Honestly, ever since I'd moved in here with Cameron, I'd been eating so much better. He had coffee ready for me every morning, along with a packed lunch. We normally caught breakfast together if I happened to be working the day shift, and when I got home, he made sure I had dinner—a home-cooked meal.

It was… nice. And I loved living here, too, which was just the cherry on top. I was safe here. When Cameron had asked me if I wanted to go back home, I'd fucking panicked. And then that night, even though he'd assured me I could live at the clubhouse with him, I'd had two nightmares back to back about being taken out of my home and stuck back in that fucking room again.

Cameron paid to break my lease the very next day. We put my furniture in storage and moved the rest of my stuff into his apartment upstairs. And that was that. No one said anything about me moving in. It just became the new normal.

Blu came rushing down the stairs just as I was finishing up my dinner. She was wearing a tiara that looked very expensive with a frilly, purple dress, her blue hair hanging in ringlets around her shoulders. Over her dress, she was wearing a pink sash that read "Birthday Girl" on it.

Konrad and Grey followed her down, and the smile on Konrad's face as he gazed at her was everything. The man was a dick ninety percent of the time, but the softness he held for Grey and Blu was almost too tender to witness.

"Happy birthday!" I gushed, wrapping her in a tight hug. She squeezed her arms around my neck before jumping back and spinning around, making the skirt of her dress flare out. "You look beautiful!"

She blushed and twisted her fingers in the skirt of her dress. "You think so?"

"I know so," I promised her. She was still so shy and a bit self-conscious, but Blakely and I worked hard every day to bring her out of her shell and make her see how beautiful she truly was.

Her blush deepened. "Blakely helped me get ready. I didn't really know what to do."

I winked at her. "Want to know a secret? I don't know what to do either. And I skipped my high school prom because of it." I shrugged.

She gasped. "You didn't go to your prom?"

"Nope," I said, popping the P.

Cameron leaned into me, nuzzling into the curve of my neck. I shivered. "I can't take you to prom, but we can definitely act out prom night," he murmured. "I'll be prom king, and you can be prom queen."

"Jesus Christ," I hissed, my nipples hardening and my core clenching, filling with warmth. "Can you not right now?"

His chuckle rumbled against my skin before he leaned back, both of us turning to watch Shaw carry a shit ton of gift bags from his office. My eyebrows ran for my hairline. Were all of those for Blu? Jesus. I mean, Cameron and I had gone just a tiny bit overboard for her, but it was hard not to. She was just so damn sweet and loving. But it looked like we weren't the only ones who'd gone all out for the princess.

Amaliya came from down the hall, a frown pulling at her lips, looking like something was bothering her. But when her eyes landed on Blu, she squealed and rushed forward, wrapping Blu in a quick hug before stepping back to gush over Blu's outfit. Whatever had been bothering her was definitely not on her mind anymore.

Those two together were something else, for sure. They were practically best friends, though Amaliya was definitely a lot brattier than Blu was. I'd have thought she and Ace would become good friends, but Ace was just too… moody and snappy for her. Despite her brattiness, Amaliya was still tender. Ace on the other hand… he was more… angry beneath his bratty exterior.

"Finally!" Ace cheered, coming out of the chapel. He shoved his fingers through his hair, his newly manicured, pink nails glimmering under the lights. He was wearing a mesh crop top, allowing us to see his freshly pierced nipples and his belly ring, and a pair of sweats were riding low on his hips, flashing the top of his boxers at us. "I've been dying for her to be able to open her gifts."

Blu was gaping at all of the presents, her eyes wide. "Th-this is all for me?" she choked.

Konrad pulled her into his arms and bent to press a soft kiss to her lips. "All for you, jellybean."

Her eyes filled with tears. Blakely murmured, "Oh, no," and rushed around the counter, grabbing a box of Kleenex as she went. She and Konrad worked on keeping her makeup from running as Grey hugged her.

Shaw came back out of the hall, more gifts on his arms. He looked a little alarmed at the sight of Blu crying. "I… what the fuck is happening?" I bit back a snicker. The man was so clueless sometimes.

Ace winced. "I think I made her cry," he muttered.

Shaw sighed, cutting Ace a dark look. "Ace…"

"He didn't," Cameron assured him, speaking up to keep Ace out of trouble. "I think she's just a little overwhelmed, that's all. It's her first birthday in years where she's been free, remember? I don't think she expected us to go all out like this."

Konrad and Blakely got Blu under control, and then Konrad and Grey led her over to the table, letting her begin opening her gifts. I leaned into Cameron, resting my head on his shoulder. Immediately, his arm came up, wrapping around me.

"You good?" he murmured.

I nodded. "Tired. And I want a shower. But I don't want to miss this."

He hummed. "I'll make the shower extra good for you later then," he promised, his voice low and husky as he looked down at me with those dark eyes I loved so much.

I licked my lips. "Oh, yeah? How?"

He leaned in, his warm breath fanning my lips, smelling of coffee and weed, which on anyone else would have smelled horrendous, but on him… it was comforting. It was a scent purely him. "It involves me on my knees with your thick thighs over my shoulders."

I shivered. Jesus fuck.

"Where's Arlo?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Cameron's shoulders shook with silent laughter. It always amused him when I tried to change the subject from sex when I got too worked up in a crowd of people.

"Don't know," Cameron told me. "Probably working late. I'm sure he'll make it up to Blu tomorrow."

Ace began passing Blu gifts—probably the ones he bought for her since he was so impatient—and I watched as Shaw slipped out of the room, pulling his phone to his ear. Cameron tracked my gaze, his brows furrowing. Standing, he pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Something's wrong."

I stood as well, grabbing his hand. "Well, then I'm coming, too."

He winked at me. "I mean?—"

"Cameron, for fuck's sake," I hissed. "Can you be serious and stop thinking about sex for two fucking seconds?"

He snickered and led me down the hall Shaw had disappeared down. When we found him, he was in his office, leaning over the desk, the muscle in his jaw ticking furiously. I frowned, suddenly unsure if we should be bothering him. Cameron closed the door behind us once we were in the office, his hard gaze on Shaw.

"Brother, what is it?"

Shaw looked up at Cameron, taking note of the closed door. Then, he growled, "Fucking Arlo got arrested."

What?