Epilogue 1

As I sit in church, I realize I've had a lot of time to heal over the last six weeks.

The ribs.

The face.

The nightmares are fading. Dreams of Jax's body being loaded into the back of one of our vans and leaving my gun with Bates as the clock of my life ticked out its last few minutes.

And I've learned something about myself.

It's okay to rely on others.

King was right when he made me leave for the cabin. At first, I wondered if any of it would have happened if I'd just stayed home. But then I realized it was always going to be brought to a head somewhere down the line. Better out at King's cabin where there was a safe room and there were no witnesses.

Saint went over to the only remotely neighboring cabin and found it utterly empty.

But it wasn't just the lack of witnesses. It was the effort my brothers put into keeping us safe. Bates now has an almost identical scar on his thigh to the one Niro has on his leg from his bike smash during Catalina's rescue.

Avery showed up one day with one drawn on her leg in pen so she matched the two of them.

My half-brother and his henchmen were buried in the Pines. Took two days to dig and bury all eleven bodies. Saint asked me if I'd like a proper funeral of sorts for my half-brother.

I told him that I didn't.

Daryll West, a.k.a. Brad Collins, is a footnote in my story and nothing more.

And the Iron Outlaws across the country have stepped up in ways I can't imagine. The deaths in Texas made the news.

There's speculation. A handful of brothers from the Fort Worth chapter were dragged in for questioning, but they got quickly released when the lawyers found out the only reason for the questioning was the working theory it was "likely a rival gang."

The only downside is Switch. I'll be going to see him later, but the sacrifice he made for me was everything. Doctors say there's a chance his injuries will stabilize and that they can bring him out of his coma soon. They tried once already, but he fought it, wasn't ready.

And I went looking for River, Jax's brother, with Niro and Bates and a plan to make him a prospect if he wanted so badly to belong somewhere. But we never found him. The house was empty when we returned.

King leans forward in his chair. "It's been a tough year. Now, the Righteous Brotherhood have been annihilated, and we benefited from all the cash we took from them. We need some fucking rest. I'm proposing a cessation of anything other than essential business for a month."

"I'll second that," Bates says.

"Proposed by King, seconded by Bates," Niro says. "I'll third it. Cat wants to ride to see her family in Mexico. It's forty hours of riding each way. If you don't need us, we'd like permission to go."

"That's a long ride," I say.

Niro grins. "Yeah, but I'm hoping Cat will marry me when we get there."

Men cheer, slap the table, and shake Niro's hand.

"You want to do it as a ride out?" King asks.

"Tempting, but there's going to be a few places we ride through where it's better we don't announce who we are."

"Watch it if you go down through Tamaulipas," I say. "There are a couple of cartels you don't want to mess with."

Niro nods. "A six-hour ride if we just ride straight through that state without stopping unless we need gas. It'll mean I need to be taken off the rotation to see Switch."

He gets three visits, at least an hour long each, every day. They say sometimes people in comas can still hear or that a familiar voice may lead them back to the surface. We mix it up. Sometimes we read; sometimes we share club business. Sometimes we reminisce about runs we've done.

Vex nods. "I'll take care of it. If we're easing back on the hustle and using the Righteous Brotherhood's funds, I'll have time on my hands."

"I'll need off it for a few days for me, Vi, and Avery to fly down to Mexico to be there when it happens," Bates says. "Avery offered to pay for the flight with the money she's been saving for a dog."

"You know my mini-bestie has about a thousand bucks," Niro says. "She's saved enough money for a pack of dogs."

Bates chuckles. "Vi's dreading the day Avery can do the math."

"What about you, Prez?" Spark asks.

"I'm taking Rae to the UK. Bought tickets as a gift for Valentine's Day."

"Do you even have a passport?" Saint asks. "Thought you couldn't get one with a criminal record."

He glances over at Vex, then laughs. "Don't have that record anymore. Passport arrived two weeks ago. What about you, Halo?"

"I'm gonna ask Ari what she wants to do," I say. "She's looked after me and the house and Lola and everything else while I was healing up. Figure she should get to pick how we enjoy it now I'm healthy again."

I'm going to ask, tell her we can go anywhere, even though I know her idea of a good time will be sitting out in the yard, hanging with Lola, cooking us some good food, and hanging laundry out to dry on the new lines I hung for her.

Simple things. Small pleasures.

And I don't mind. I've seen the fucking world. Done some hair-raising shit. But I've found happiness with Ari and Lola in our home.

"Speaking of which," King says, reaching behind him. He slides a package wrapped in plastic in front of me. I know what it is before I open it, and so does everyone else.

There's more cheering as I slide out the contents. On the front of it is her name.

Kitten.

When I turn it over, I take a deep breath.

Property of Halo.

The sight of those words turns me inside out. I can't believe they now exist in the world.

"You needed time to heal up before you put it on her back. Needed some distance from what happened," King says.

I didn't agree with him at first. But in hindsight, he was right. It was better to focus on recovery. Of grounding me and Ari while we made peace with what happened.

Now, I can make giving this to her all about our future.

"Can we vote and get out of here?" I say, still touching my name on the leather.

"Yes, let's vote, because I'm getting a boner from the way he's feeling that leather up," Niro says.

"Tell me you haven't fucked Cat in her cut," Vex says.

"No need. She has my name inked on her back. By me. And now my boner's getting even bigger."

Bates punches him in the arm. "Stop talking about your cock."

"Says the man who constantly tells us he's got a magic cock because he got Vi pregnant twice without even trying," Saint says.

"Hey, I'm proud of my magic cock," Bates says. "The first time we were using birth control. The second time, I got her pregnant the first time we fucked without it."

"We know," Clutch groans.

"Jesus Christ," Vex says. "Is this a motorcycle clubhouse, or did I accidentally walk into a Lamaze class?"

King slams his gavel. "Let's vote."

Hands shoot up. It's the easiest yes. A month to unwind. Reap what we sow.

Within ten minutes, I've hugged Niro and Bates farewell and am on my bike, Ari's cut back in the packaging it came in.

When I get home, I toss my keys in the dish on the table. The frame Ari bought still sits there, only now it has photographs of the three of us after I added two of Ari last week. She cried when she noticed them, then gave me a blowjob once Lola had gone to bed.

I kick my boots off and put them on the shoe stand Ari put by the door. A shelf for each of us, although three pairs of Lola's little sandals take up less space than one of my boots.

The house smells like oranges and cranberries. Every day, Ari makes this thing she calls a simmer pot where she boils fruity shit in water to make the house smell nice without chemicals. Fuck knows how much it costs me in citrus and gas a week, but I've started to miss the scent of it when I'm not home.

I grab the package with Ari's cut in it and walk through to the back of the house. On the table is a handful of property sheets we picked up at open houses last weekend. Ari intends to rent out the house I'm going to buy her, preferably to a woman who needs to escape the same situation Ari was in.

There is still a battle ahead over Dad's estate as the insurance company doesn't want to pay out for the fire damage to the house.

But that's a problem for another day because my girls are sitting on a blanket in the garden beneath the sheets that are flapping on the line. I see them long before they see me, and I just stand and watch them for a minute. Lola is laughing and trying to reach them as they flutter overhead. Ari is lying next to her, reaching up too.

For centuries, poets have been inspired to write about love, and I never quite understood that shit. But looking at my girls, my thoughts wax lyrical about how fucking beautiful the sight and sound of them is.

I step out into the yard and peel off my socks. Lola squeals when she finally notices me, and Ari props herself up on her elbows, looking me up and down like she wants to eat me.

Later, I'm gonna let her.

Then I've got plans for that ass of hers.

"Hey, girls," I say as I reach them. I crawl over Ari and lie down on top of her. She laughs as I settle between her legs, and then I kiss her soundly. Eventually, I'm going to have to watch this shit around Lola, but today isn't that day.

"Hey, honey," she says when I pause to look at her.

"Did I tell you how fucking pretty you are today?"

She blushes and shakes her head. "I think what you said was I needed to take a day off from helping everyone else and sleep on the lawn with Lola because if I get sick from tiring myself out, you'll get mad."

I laugh at that. "I did say that." Because she'd been doing too much. She took Avery overnight so Bates and Vi could have a night away after his gunshot injury. Then she helped Iris by doing some cooking for her and Spark, given Iris still hasn't gotten past morning sickness. The list was endless. Plus, she finally started therapy. Not with Rae, because she didn't feel comfortable crossing that line with her new friend, but with someone Rae had recommended. It's to address the trauma of her past and what happened in the cabin.

"I perhaps should have led with how your kind heart is one of the things I love most about you."

Lola uses my shoulder to pull herself to her feet and wobbles the few steps to her turtle-shaped sand box. That's the other thing that's had us both a bit panic struck. Lola is now even more mobile.

"Dadda, box."

"In a minute, Lollipop. I've got something for your momma."

Ari wiggles beneath me. "And Momma wants it, Daddy," she whispers.

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Ari," I warn.

Ari's laughter is contagious, and I can't help but chuckle as I lift myself off her and kneel between her legs.

"We talked about this, and I'm hoping you still feel the same way about it now." I can't believe I'm feeling nervous about this. After everything we've already been through together, this feels like it should be the easy part.

I think I'd rather face down a fully armed militia than watch the look on Ari's face as she holds her cut for the first time.

Because I can't help myself, I kiss her softly on the lips. "Fucking love you, Ari. It's as simple as that."

I hand her the cut. There's no ring to go with it. Not yet. The divorce isn't finalized yet, and I'm not putting a ring on her finger until that's done.

As she opens the package, my heart skips a fucking beat. Ari touches it like I touch my own, with a reverence that it stands for something important.

"Oh my gosh, I need to put it on." She climbs to her knees, slips her arms through the armholes, and then brushes her hands down the front. Then she glances over her shoulder to see the back. "I can't see it. I need a mirror."

"Wait," I say when she moves to stand. "Turn around."

She shuffles around on the blanket on her knees.

Property of Halo.

A wedding ring won't make her any more mine than seeing those words on her back.

I rub my hand over my jaw, suddenly filled with emotions I can't name that I swear to God threaten tears. Swallowing deeply, I shake my head to clear it.

"Stay there." I whip out my phone to take a picture. I'm glad she's got her hair up today so I can see the patches properly. When she glances over her shoulder to see what I'm doing, I take another picture.

"Let me see," she says, and I show her.

"You could have told me the strap from my bra is showing," she complains.

"It's perfect, Ari. Utterly perfect. Like you are."

She throws herself at me so I'm on my back and she's on top of me. "I love it. And I love you. So much, Jax. I hope you always know that. Thank you for giving me this life."

I wrap my arms around her, feeling the patches beneath my fingers, and hold her to me as we kiss.

"Glad to hear it, kitten. If you want that other gift from me," I mumble against her lips, "you're gonna need to tire Lola out."

Ari wriggles against me again, my cock in its happy place between her thighs, nudging her clit. "As tempting as that is, she's had her nap and been awake for about fifteen minutes before you got home."

I groan. "Until later then."

Lola waddles over, occasionally falling forward and putting her hands on the grass before finding her way upright again. When she gets to Ari, she tries to climb on top of her.

Ari and I laugh as she tries to step onto various bits of both of us, and somehow, we manage it.

Ari on top of me. Lola on top of Ari. Probably some kind of symbolism that I'm on the bottom. I'll always be the solid foundation these girls can count on. And I'll always catch them if they slip and fall.

A bit of drool from Lola hits my cheek, and I grimace as I wipe it up. Ari and I laugh. Something we do a lot.

And I wouldn't change any of it for the world.