Epilogue Two

EPILOGUE TWO

WRAITH

I 'm a walking, talking, corpse of a man capable of only one thing.

Taking lives.

I do it remorselessly and relentlessly for my club, the Iron Outlaws Colorado chapter.

Because someone once took the lives of two I placed above all others. And once they were gone, there weren't enough carcasses that needed killing to satisfy my quest for vengeance.

I pull my bike to a stop at the diner on the edge of town. Rain batters me, and the last hour of the ride has been nothing short of treacherous. I'm soaked through to the bone, but the cold can't reach me.

Not since my girls, my sweet Hallie and little Lottie, were taken from me two years ago.

I push the door to the diner open, and the little bell rattles above me. Thoughts of the million and one times I'd hear that sound and then within seconds, Hallie would be in my arms flood me.

From the very first when I became a fool for her, to the last when I stopped by to say goodbye before I went off on a run. Now the fucking bell is a reminder of what we once were.

What I once had.

Wouldn't even come here if my mother-in-law didn't own the place.

She begged me, pleaded with me, on the day of the funeral. Said we were the only two on the planet who understood the loss and that I couldn't just disappear from her life.

We had two coffins for the service. Hallie's carried by my brothers in the Outlaws, while I took Lottie's in my arms. Last time I ever held my baby girl.

Only one coffin was put in the ground. I lifted my baby girl out of the perfect white casket lined with ivory silk and put her in the stiff arms of her momma.

Kissed ‘em both one last time, closed the lid, and buried them with my heart.

I remove my helmet as I step inside, immediately ambushed by the smell of cooked mince, apple pie, and coffee. Condensation runs down the inside of the windows while rain beats on the exterior. Heat hits my cheeks in waves.

"Axel," my mother-in-law says when she sees me. "Close the door and come in out the wet."

The diner is cozy, but you can see the weariness in everything from the gently worn leather of the booths, to the stoic faces of the patrons.

"Ma," I say as I bend and kiss her paper-thin cheek. She's the only one who uses my real name anymore. Everyone else calls me Wraith.

And I call her Ma because it was what Hallie wanted. Guess I'm now the only person who will ever call her that so to take it away and pretend we're nothing to each other is cruel.

"Oh, you're freezing. Let me get you a coffee. Barnabus made meatloaf. You want some of that too?"

"Sounds good. Just got back and don't have anything in the fridge."

Ma taps my sergeant at arms patch but doesn't ask me any more questions. "Go take your seat."

I head to the red booth, which I always take. It's the only one not near the window. Other people come here for the view of Main Street. There's no way I'm leaving my ass a sitting duck for any trouble that comes down the road.

Thankfully, there is no one there. I tug off my jacket and hang it on the hook and sit, wet road gear and all.

Can't be bothered to get out of the waterproof pants only to have to wriggle back into them in an hour.

A cup of coffee slips in front of me. "Thanks, Ma."

"I didn't know how you take it. Do you need milk? Half 'n' half?"

The voice isn't Ma's. It's soft. Soothing.

I look up, and the black-haired beauty staring back at me catches me off guard. "Half 'n' half, please."

"I'll be right back," she says.

The diner uniform is laid back. But her jeans hug her ass, and the black T-shirt with the diner logo on it fits her perfectly.

First time I had sex after Hallie died, I almost fucking cried. Missed her softness and warmth beneath me. Missed the way she'd run her fingers through my hair as I lay spent, my head on her chest.

I kicked the poor club bitch out of my room at the clubhouse because I couldn't face spending the night with a body that wasn't Hallie's.

Got better at it, because a man has needs after all.

Sex is sex.

But I never felt the connection to anyone ever again.

Two years on, I'm capable of acknowledging a woman is hot and getting the idea she's worth fucking.

She laughs at something Ma says as she hands her the carton. It's a pretty smile.

I let out a long breath as my bones ease.

"Margie said to hand you the whole carton." She places it down on the table. "Guess you like your coffee sweet, huh?"

I add an exceptionally generous dollop. "Not a lot of sweetness elsewhere in life, sugar."

She sighs wistfully. Her tits lift at the gesture. "That's the truth."

It must be the black hair that makes her eyes so blue. Or the pink of her lips. All cool colors and pale skin.

"Well, enjoy your coffee." She heads to another booth and begins clearing the table as I wrap my hands around the steaming hot mug.

My fingers ache, a slow and steady throb, as blood finally flows back into them.

The new girl is efficient with her movements and her smiles. She's graceful in the way her hips shift and her arms move, but there's a tightness and tension in her shoulders that she isn't as relaxed as she would like us to believe she is.

A bell rings as she hurries to the kitchen and a few moments later, she reappears at my table holding the plate with a generous serving of meatloaf and mashed potatoes that make my mouth water, and a side of mixed vegetables I could do without.

"There you go," she says, slipping it down in front of me. "Can I get you anything else?"

I shake my head. "What's your name?"

"Raven," she says.

"That a nickname because of the hair?"

She runs a section of hair through her fingers. "No, it's my real name because of the hair. I was supposed to be called Natasha until my dad saw the color of my hair. Said it looked like a raven's wing." She shrugs, then smiles as if embarrassed. "The blue tone is from a box of dye I bought at the grocery store."

"What brings you to our little town, blue?"

I don't miss the way she looks nervously outside the window. "Decided it was time for a new chapter."

"Know a thing or two about those. Isn't always easy, is it?"

She's about to answer and then catches herself. "Enjoy your dinner."

I watch her until she disappears from sight, headed to the kitchen.

The meatloaf cuts perfectly, and I scoop it and some mash onto the fork and then eat it like I haven't seen food. I made my annual pilgrimage to Cabo San Lucas where Hallie and I went on honeymoon. Thirty four hours on a bike. Two overnight stops at shitty motels.

And on the way, I decided it would be my last.

Something felt off about being there this year. Can't put my finger on what it was. Maybe this was the first time I noticed I was the only guy there vacationing solo.

Plus, I know it puts a strain on my club when I fuck off for ten days.

I continue to make my way through the food, even the vegetables because I know Ma will give me shit if I don't. And after drive-through meals, my gut could probably do with some of that good bacteria.

"You doing okay?" Ma says, holding her own mug of coffee as she slides in the booth opposite me.

"Same shit, different day," I say.

The new girl catches my eye again, and I see Ma's face change. "Stay away from her, Axel."

I look at my mother-in-law. "Watch your tone with me."

"You just came back from a memorial trip for Hallie."

"Don't tell me what I just came back from. I need some food. Wanted to check in to see if you are okay. What I don't need is a motherfuckin' lecture."

Ma sighs. "Fine. It's just, I got some feelings about that girl. Blew into town the night there was blood around the moon."

I roll my eyes. Ma always thought she had some kind of sixth sense. She'd call Hallie and say she'd done her tarot cards or that the full moon was moving into her seventh house. "I don't believe in that bullshit. And you can cool your heels. I had my forever with Hallie, just looking for a tonight."

Ma looks over where Raven is furiously wiping down the counter. "Well, she's not it. Blew in with two suitcases and a little boy about five. Who only has two suitcases and a little one? Living in that skeleton of an apartment Pete and Shelly Dobson have above the hardware store."

I know the one. It can't be more than two rooms with solid walls and a watertight roof.

"We all have our stories. You know this. That girl is like a hundred pounds soaking wet. If she's arriving with a kid and only what she can carry, she must have good reason. You ask what the reason was when you hired her?"

Ma shakes her head. "She's a good girl. Hard worker. She offered to do her first shift for free to show me what she could do. Accepted cash too. Makes everyone's life easier."

For a second, there's a protective beat in my chest, but I bury it.

Everything that happens in my town is an Outlaw problem.

And I can't help but think that Raven's gonna bring trouble.