Epilogue

Maisy

The bar was busy enough to where I wasn't standing still, but it wasn't so loud I couldn't hear myself think. Just the way I loved it. Mad Bell was working the grill, and the prospect was beside him as my man taught him the ways of making the perfect burger.

I wouldn't ever say this to them, but it was so cute.

I'd seen a slight change in Mad Bell. His walls were sliding down slowly. I imagined them a power window and he would crack them open a little at a time. I never expected him to completely lose them. That wasn't him. Just like it would be weird if he woke up one day with a smile on his face and was suddenly the happiest person on earth. Truth was, I loved his grumpy. I loved the grandpa stuck in his mid-thirty-year-old body.

For some reason, I found it sexy.

I didn't want to question it.

The front door of the bar pulled open and I turned to see who was walking in. Most of the brothers used the back door, which made sense if they were coming from the compound, so it was pretty uncommon to hear the front door at night.

In walked a tiny little frame with baby pink and black bangs framing her face. Her eyes were wide as she looked around.

"Hey!" I said, catching Stella's attention. My face fell as I saw Dell step in behind her.

Shit. Were we going to have problems again? He'd been there that night I chewed Dad out and had been all but thrown out of the house. He knew how I felt about them coming in here with their cop attitudes trying to stir up trouble.

The chatterer died around me as everyone caught on to the newcomers. The outsiders. I knew that was how they saw them.

My brother held my gaze as the door slammed shut behind him. Though he was in jeans and a button up flannel shirt, he still screamed cop. His hands went up as if to say he wasn't here to cause trouble.

"Miss Stella!" Twigs yelled across the bar. I snickered every time I heard him say it. Since that one night, it has stuck. I'd caught him and the prospect down at Stella's food truck a few times.

Stella's face turned red as a tomato as she blinked at the room and waved at Twigs once she spotted him in the crowd.

My brother's hand went to Stella's shoulder and he kindly guided her to the bar. I headed that way, hoping to find out what was up before I could get super pissed at my brother. If it was because Stella wanted to surprise me and didn't want to come alone, I'd understand it. I couldn't very well get mad at that. Stella didn't really have many friends. I was pretty much it. She'd never been here and she tended to get as skittish as a mouse in new situations.

"Hey," I said again, calmer this time. "What are you doing here?"

I slid some cardboard coasters across the bar.

"I wanted to come see you," Dell said, stunning me speechless for a second. "I know you've been kind of avoiding me. It's time to clear the air."

"And you brought Stella for backup? Chicken shit," I teased.

He was right, but that didn't mean this was going to be easy.

I jumped when I felt a hand on my lower back. Since none of the brothers would dare to touch me there, it had to be my man. I caught a whiff of lemon as I turned my head to meet his gaze over my shoulder.

Mad Bell's eyes said he was there for me. His slight smile said it would be okay. His touch helped to ground me.

Not that I couldn't handle seeing my brother on my own, but him by my side made everything better. It made me stronger.

Mad Bell would always lift me up. That was how I knew he was perfect for me. It was how I knew we'd last through just about anything.

"The boyfriend?" Dell asked. His brow raised but there was no tension around his eyes.

"Yeah." I glanced over at Stella who looked guilty as hell. "I see someone's been talking." I smiled so they would know I wasn't mad. "This is my brother, Dell, and my bestie, Stella."

Mad Bell stepped up and reached a hand across the bar. Dell lifted off the stool to shake Mad Bell's hand and gave him a firm nod.

"Mad Bell. My real name's Joseph McBride, but I'm sure you've already figured that out." He flashed a non-threatening smile at my brother, though it was a little tight since he wasn't sure what the fuck my brother was doing here. "You can call me Mad Bell or Joe. I answer to both."

"Nice to finally meet you. I hear you're keeping my sister happy." My brother nodded after he spoke. I thought it was like an approving nod. Not that Mad Bell needed one, but it was nice all the same. "I'll stick to Mad Bell now."

Mad Bell sent him a returning nod of respect.

This was kind of weird to watch.

I didn't think my brother was here to cause trouble, but I was still on edge because I didn't know where we stood. Would he still want to be in my life? Dad and Cliff seemed pretty happy to cut me out of their lives. I hadn't talked to them since the day Cliff arrested Mad Bell, and I didn't think would be.

Then Mad Bell turned to Stella and shook her hand, a slight smile on his face. It was so cute to see him try.

"Maze here says we should compare recipes," he said to her.

"She tells me I need to try your veggie nachos all the time." My friend beamed at Mad Bell. Okay, so I talked a lot to Stella about Mad Bell and vise versa. I liked to talk about the people that mattered to me.

Though it was a lot to deal with, I was glad this collision of a meeting was happening, even if I hadn't expected it.

"I'll get you an order right now," Mad Bell said.

He caught my gaze and held it. I was okay now, but it meant the world to me that he wasn't going to leave me. His lips grazed my temple and… fuck, yeah, I melted right there in front of the whole bar. In front of my BFF and my brother. By the looks on their faces, there was no way they wouldn't be pointing that out at some point.

Mad Bell walked off, and my eyes followed him shamelessly. His ass looked good in jeans.

Once he was out of sight I turned back to Stella and Dell. My best friend seemed to be sucked into a trance. I followed her gaze to find the prospect who was now standing at the window to the kitchen. His eyes were locked onto Stella.

That was until he noticed my brother.

I couldn't say what I saw there, but it was more than I could handle tonight.

"You want anything?" I asked my brother.

"A burger sounds good. And a beer. Stella?"

Stella blinked rapidly before turning her attention back to the conversation.

"Um. Lime water, please," she said.

I got them their drinks and put the order in for the Lasso Burger. It had Mad Bell's special barbecue sauce on it that I knew Dell would love. It was sweet heat with a hint of dill pickle in it.

"So," I said as I checked the bar. Everyone seemed satisfied for the moment. I wasn't the only one on the floor so I didn't feel bad about staying to hear what my brother had to say.

"You're happy?" Dell asked, a hint of big brother attitude coming out in his expression.

"I am," I assured him. "I don't need your approval, but it would mean a lot to me if I had my brother in my life. My brother. Not the cop."

He chuckled and took a long pull of his beer.

"I know how to separate. And I think I'm gonna be doing a lot of that. Shit isn't easy. I love my job, Maisy. Maybe Dad was the reason I went into law enforcement, but I really like being on the streets and feeling like I can do some good." He paused, his eyes sliding to the side in Stella's direction. I wasn't sure if he meant to look at her or if that was simply the way his eyes drifted. He drew in a slow breath before adding, "For now, it suits me."

I blinked at him.

I didn't know any of this. I had so many questions but in the middle of a biker bar was not the place for this kind of conversation. But at least I had hope that my brother and I could repair our relationship. We could be family.

"One Lasso Burger and one plate of veggie nachos, no cheese," the prospect said as he slid the food across the bar. He tipped his head in greeting, "Stella."

"Prospect," she replied.

And while the Prospect and Stella did the shy flirt thing they apparently did every time they were around each other, I watched my brother closely.

Yeah, it was clear we had a lot to catch up on. We'd for sure be having a conversation really soon.

"Thanks for bringing it out," I told the prospect before I turned to my brother and asked, "So, we're good?"

"Are we?" he shot back, eyes jerking from the prospect to me.

"You Abbotts are so stubborn," Stella said with a roll of her eyes. "Will you please stop fighting? It's not good for my health."

Dell and I laughed. Stella was always good at defusing a situation.

"Yeah, we're good," I said, taking a step back as Crash came walking up to the bar, looking for a fresh one. "You two," I pointed at Dell and then Stella, "family dinner at my place next week. You can get to know my man."

I smiled wide as I got back to work.

I caught Mad Bell standing at the window watching. He was very protective over me. I loved it. But what I loved more was the way he stood back and let me handle things.

He sent me a slight smile. It lit me up and made me melt at the same time.

Fuck, I loved the way he could do that to me.

I didn't think I'd ever get used to it, but that was just another reason why I loved him.

Mad Bell

Villain had been onto something with the whole love language shit. I just hadn't wanted to hear it at the time. I was thinkin' about it now as I wondered how the hell I'd come to find something so good in life.

My love language was food, which wasn't a damn surprise.

It was also takin' care of my woman in ways she demanded of me. Which sure as hell wasn't a hardship.

Right now, I was focused on the first one.

She hummed happily as she held onto my shoulders and swung her leg over my bike. Maisy loved ridin'. See, I couldn't have found a more perfect woman. We'd take a day here and there to do nothin' but ride around the city, finding new spots to make ours, in one way or another.

Her smile was wide as I unclipped her helmet and set it on the seat next to mine. There wasn't anyone around so there was no need to worry about someone stealing them.

I reached for her hand as we walked to our destination.

Taking the backpack from her, I set it down on the planks of the pier. I opened it up and began pulling out the light dinner I'd made.

Romantic? Maybe. I think Boom would have said it was. But I just called it a night with my woman. A good night, like most of them were with her. Sure, we fought some, but it never lasted 'cause we took a moment to cool down and then we'd talk it out like adults.

"What ya got for us this time, Chef?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of the pier and dangled her legs over the side.

I followed suit, pausing a long moment to take in her beauty with the evening sun lighting up her features.

She smiled at me, not even bothered by my staring. After three years together, she was used to it.

I pulled out the sandwich containers and handed the one with a heart over to her. All I received was a raised brow and a soft smile. She was used to it by now.

"Mmm," she said as she took a bite of her sandwich. "Goat cheese?"

"Mmhmm." I nodded still chewing on mine. The goat cheese and roasted red pepper sandwiches were on wheat bread. It was simple but damn good.

I pulled out a bag of her favorite kettle-cooked chips. I wasn't a fan of the honey mustard flavor, but she would cut someone to get to these chips.

We ate in silence. It was a beautiful silence that said more than words ever could.

"I'm pregnant," she said all of a sudden.

My whole body locked up as I stared at her. Not a damn word was going through my mind.

She didn't leave me like that long, though, thank fuck. Her laughter rang out so loud I wouldn't doubt the whole city heard.

"I'm kidding," she told me with a stupid teasing smile.

That shit was not funny, and she knew it.

Kids, yeah, they weren't in our future. And since I loved filling her up with my cum as much as I loved seeing it drip from her lips, I'd done the reasonable thing and had a vasectomy last year. We should have been good, but you never knew. That point-something percent chance would just be our luck.

Maisy leaned over and popped a quick kiss on my lips.

"You should have seen your face," she said, biting her lip to keep from laughing again.

I could only imagine how I looked. We might not have wanted kids, but if something like that happened, I knew Maisy and I would find a way. Our life was good, and it would be, no matter what Fate threw at us.

Villain had been right about Maisy too. Teasing me was her love language. It was her way of breaking down my walls. It once frustrated me beyond sanity, but now, I was reminded how much she loved me every time she poked at me or got me with a joke.

"How about another cat?" she asked, blinking at me like she wasn't sure what I'd think.

"Another cat?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah. I think Hot Mess is getting lonely in her old age."

"Alright," I said as I nodded, pretending to think about it. It was no secret I'd give her just about anything she wanted. "But first," I leaned back and reached into my pocket, loving the way her eyes grew comically wide, "how about we get married?"

I pulled my hand back out of my pocket, nothing in my grasp.

A deep chuckle rumbled in my chest and pushed itself out. It turned into a few rolls of belly laughter.

"You should have seen your face," I said with a wink.

"You're so funny," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

She was always getting me. It was only fair that I got her back sometimes. Since those times were few and far between, it usually caught her off guard and she'd fall for it.

Her mouth broke into a devilish grin, and then she climbed into my lap and tackled me. Let's be real, I let her get me on my back with zero resistance.

I fuckin' loved how we were. I loved that she hadn't stopped giving me shit and she'd roll with the punches when I gave it right back.

Her fingers got me between the ribs and I wrapped my arms around her to hold her still. She laughed, her face was so open and beautiful. Even with the sun nearly gone for the day, I could still see the way happiness had carved itself into her features. Or maybe I'd just had that shit memorized by now. It was something I never wanted to forget, so it wasn't like I could hate it even if I did.

"I think another cat would be a good idea," I said as I lifted my head to tame her with a quick kiss. "But only as long as Hot Mess is happy. It's her house, so she has final say-so."

"Exactly," she agreed, pressing her lips against mine.

The kiss turned heated. No surprise there. That was just us. Hell, we might have been older, but we still made out like we were teenagers. I was addicted to her lips and the way she melted into my kisses.

Yeah, it felt right to finally get it right.

"I love you," she said as she held herself over me. Her sapphire eyes sparkled along with the twinkling stars that now made up the backdrop behind her.

"I love you too, Maze," I said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Yesterday, today, and forever."

The End