Epilogue Brigit

EPILOGUE: brIGIT

It's fun to watch the kids decorating the clubhouse for Max. You can see how much they adore him. But what I find most interesting is how much they understand about what this means for Max. They're coloring the sign that should say ‘Congratulations!' but they obviously don't think it conveys enough information. They've drawn pictures of activities they've shared with Max, using the letters as part of the tableau. There is very little left of the letters, but I think Max will find their creativity more heartfelt.

"They really love him, don't they?" I ask Alisa.

"He's their hero and their protector," she says. "They adore all the club members, but Max is the one they'll run to if they need help. When I first brought Elina here, Viper and Max shared babysitting duties. Took me some time before I trusted them. Not because they did anything wrong, but because I kept thinking they'd resent being babysitters. But neither of them saw it that way. They considered caring for Elina, then later Mal and Slade, as an honor. I'm a little disappointed that Max won't be watching them any longer, but I'm happy for him. He earned this."

Spotting my dad talking to Claudia, I make my way over to them. He's sporting his kutte and I see the name Gramps. Maybe he wasn't happy with the road name at first, but he seems pleased now. He and Claudia are frosting cupcakes. I smirk. With the balloons, streamers, and now cupcakes, this seems more like a kid's birthday party than a patch in party for a motorcycle club.

"Cupcakes?" I ask.

My dad chuckles. "That's what the kids ordered for the party. We'll have the sugar rush first and after the kids go to bed, they'll break out the adult party. Pretty sure Max won't mind starting out the celebration with the kids. He cares about them."

"I hear there was some excitement at the casino," my dad says, watching me. I glance around for Colt, but see he's still busy coloring the banner with the others.

"More than some. Who did you hear it from?"

"Trouble gave us the rundown." He gestures across the room to where Trouble is standing with Corinne. I make a mental note to stop by and thank him again for protecting me.

"He said you uncovered some folks stealing from the club and stopped a guy from harassing the women. He also said the police have Misha in custody."

"Wow, you weren't gone that long," Claudia says.

I chuckle. "It was a busy few hours. Wildcard was just going to give me a tour and talk me into taking over as the HR Manager. It quickly exploded into craziness."

"Are you taking the job?"

I nod. "I am. The hotel and the casino are amazing. The perks they offer the employees will make hiring staff easy. Plus, I'll be working with Wildcard and helping the club. They've done so much for me. I'm glad I can do something for them."

"I've heard Chill complaining about her temporary role in HR. Having you take over will make her your friend for life. She's a good person to have on your side," Claudia says, then chuckles. "Definitely wouldn't want to be on her bad side."

I nod at that remark. Chill is not someone you want to cross.

"How are you doing?" comes a voice behind me. I turn to find Corinne and Trouble sidling up to us.

"I'm wonderful. Thanks to your man. Appreciate all you did for me today."

"Just glad I could help," Trouble grins. "Hope I didn't hurt you when I covered you."

"No, you didn't. Scared me when you spoke to Misha. Almost had me convinced you were turning me over to him."

"I was channeling Squiggy. The bastard. But I almost lost it when Chill called me daddy."

"She what?" Corinne asks, spluttering as she was just taking a sip of her drink.

Trouble pats her on the back before slinging his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "She was pretending to be my drugged up side-piece, so Misha and his thugs would disregard them. Didn't want the bastards to know that they were the biggest threat in the room."

"I imagine they had the two goons on the floor before they knew what hit them," my father says.

Trouble lifts his beer up in a salute.

"You got it. Had them on the floor and out cold while Misha was still looking around for who crashed through the wall."

"What?" Claudia asks.

"We were in the conference room that has a sliding divider. Rafe, Detective Sully, Puma, and Dice were on the other side, listening. As soon as Misha admitted to killing Mike, Puma slammed open the partition."

"That was the crash I heard," I muse. "I still can't get over Sully being a good guy. He was so rude when he came to the clubhouse. Was that an act?"

Trouble snorts. "Doubt it. He doesn't like bikers. Or at least he didn't. Wonder if he'll change his mind now that we've handed him the head of the Russian Bratva in Boston."

We chat while waiting for Max to attend his party. My phone rings, but when I go to answer it, the call drops. I don't recognize the number, but the area code is local. Before I can hit call back, Alisa shouts out that we have to get in position. Max is on his way to the clubhouse. Colt runs over to me.

"This is so exciting," he says. "Elina said that getting patched in is more important than a birthday, but less important than a wedding. Mal said patching in is more important than getting married. They've agreed to disagree, but Elina is mad at Mal."

I have to stop myself from laughing at the drama of five-year-olds. These kids are going to have a lifetime of disagreements as they grow older together. Knowing Colt will be right there with them makes me happy. We've found our home and I couldn't be happier.

Puma and Wildcard enter first. Puma heads for the bar, but Wildcard comes right to us. He lifts Colt up and places his hand on my waist so I can snuggle in close. Correction. This is the happiest I've ever been. Right here, in Wildcard's arms.

Chill and Dice come in together and break off to find their significant others. Then it's Max's turn. We're all grinning at cheering, but he doesn't recognize that this is all for him.

"Get the fuck over here, Max," Puma bellows.

Max walks through the crowd to stand in front of Puma.

"You came to us looking for your sister, but you stayed to become someone we all rely upon. You've protected the kids more often than I can count. They love you and that makes you someone special. Every member recognizes the effort you've put in as a prospect. You've earned this. We're proud to call you brother." Puma opens the box and pulls out the leather kutte. The club logo is on the back. The rockers above and below read, Demon Dawgs Las Vegas. Max rips off his denim prospect kutte and lays it on the bar. Puma holds up the new kutte for Max to slide into. He rubs his hand over his new name. Rattler.

"Thank you," Rattler says, choking up. "I won't let you down." He glances around the room at each of us.

Puma smacks him on the back. "You never have, doubt you ever will. Now let's celebrate!"

"Why Rattler?" I ask Wildcard.

"Because of all the snakes. Rattler and Viper have a room full of snakes back there," Colt says, waving toward the bedrooms.

"What?" I choke out. "I thought you were joking before."

Wildcard grins at me. "Scared? Don't be. They don't get out much."

"What?"

Wildcard laughs as he lowers Colt to the ground, so he can go congratulate Rattler with the other kids.

"We need to pick out a house plan and get it built right away," I tell Wildcard, who chuckles.

"Only if I get you pregnant."

I put down my drink and grab his hand. "Let's go."

However, he pulls me back into his arms and hugs me. "We have to stay for a bit longer. But don't worry, we'll get started tonight."

My phone rings again. I glance at the display, and it is the same number that called before. Answering it, I expect another dropped call. But it isn't.

"Ms. Jones, this is Bianca. I'm calling from my car. I think someone is following me. Can you help me? I don't know what to do."

"What?" I cry out, putting the call on speaker. Wildcard calls out for silence. "Bianca, you're on speaker. Where are you? What's going on?"

"I just left work, and I was on my way home when I realized I was being followed. He's been behind me since I left the casino. I think it's Walt."

"It isn't Walt, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful. Where are you? Maybe you can drive to us."

She tells us where she is, which isn't close to the clubhouse.

"Okay, how about a police station?" Viper chimes in. "There's a station further up ahead on the right."

"Okay, I'm heading there," Bianca says, but then the sound of squealing tires and Bianca's scream fill the room.

The End