Page 85 of MC Princess
“You know how I told you about that other gang that was dealing the drugs, yeah well, I would bet money it was them. They would have had the means to pay for him to be released early and to keep it hush-hush, and they definitely would have taken care of any loose ends. They wouldn’t have wanted anyone to know what he knows.”
Raven is satisfied by those answers and lets it go. When the waitress comes up, we all order, and lunch turns into meaningless chitchat about plans to see each other in the future. Raven found an apartment off campus and a job that she can work for the summer, but her parents are pretty well off and have agreed to pay for most of her rent for her to stay in the city. She's falling in love with San Antonio, and this is where she wants to be for her career, which works out with us remaining friends. An hour drive to have dinner with her is nothing. Plus, every now and then it's nice to go to a bar that my father doesn't own.
When the meal is done and paid for, we all walk outside together, Raven sniffling from behind me makes my heart tighten in my chest. She cried when Zoe left so I should have known that she would cry when I leave too but I wasn't prepared for what it would do to me. I was fine when Zoe left, knowing that I would see her soon enough and that we would be living within throwing distance of one another, but it's not going to be that easy to see Raven after this, and that's a little heartbreaking.
“You can call me every day,” I pull her into a tight hug. I'm going to miss her like crazy.
“I might hold you to that, but don't make this one-sided, reach out to me too.”
“You know I will, why don't we make it a plan right now? Every other Sunday, dinner here at this café. Zoe and I will both be here.”
“Listen, I don't need to eat this food every other Sunday, I'm big enough as it is. Once a month at least. I'm going to miss you so freaking much. I am kind of excited about living alone though.”
We eventually get our goodbyes done and Scar and I get on the bike, he revs the engine slightly as we pull out of the driveway, and I waved one last time at Raven over my shoulder.
An hour on the back of a motorcycle on the way back home is peaceful. The rumble of the bike between my legs, the air hitting my body, being able to lean up against Scar.
I know without a doubt that this is where I am supposed to be.
Epilogue
Finley
3 months later
“Just get in the damn car.” Zoe barks at me. Her bright yellow sun dress still seems so out of place at the clubhouse, but she refuses to be anything less than who she is. Her wounds have all healed wonderfully, at least the visible ones. She doesn't even try to cover the scars on her face with makeup, says it makes her fit in a little bit more.
“Where are we going?” I ask for the 15th time.
She just stares at me until I get in the car, when she turns in the opposite direction of the gate, I get even more confused. There are a lot of buildings on the compound, buildings that hold guns, buildings that are used for interrogations, and buildings that are used to simply hold people. In front of all of those buildings are houses, typically tiny houses, mostly used for patch members on the older side. The ones that don't have kids or had kids that grew up, we like for them to be close. The club takes care of its own, even when they need a little extra help from a nurse.
The problem with that is I can't see any reason that Zoe would be bringing me down here and not telling me why.
“I will tell you that it's something your men have planned.”
“That's not fucking helpful Zoe.”
“I know it's not.” She snickers, and I consider punching her in the ribs.
After I moved back here, I started teaching her self-defense and she's actually pretty damn good at it. The guys help out from time to time but being a 1% club gives you a lot of responsibilities. Just this week she's moved past your standard hand-to-hand and getting into more evasion maneuvers. Everyone is really surprised at how quickly she picks it all up, but she's got determination on her side.
She learns because she refuses to be a victim ever again.
With that being said, if I were to hit her, I know she would hit me back, and I know how hard that hit would land.
I was right about her dark side, the longer we're at the club the more the real Zoe comes out to play. She might still dress in bright colors and frilly dresses, but that girl would bathe in the blood of her enemies, and one day she might. There's still one man missing from that night.
Zoe walked into the courtroom to testify against the guys with her head up and the strength of the club at her back. She took the stand and recanted her story three times without tears, the nights after the trials though were rough. I held her each time, as she screamed and cried and cursed at the moon. The morning after her men were there to help her get back to normal.
After three months I still don’t know what her relationship with Tough is. They hang out a lot, but she doesn’t talk about it, and they are never physical in public.
Several weeks after their sentencing Zoe and I had a conversation, 25 years to life might be enough for some people but it's not for me. It's not enough for Zoe either, we agreed to leave them alone for now. If either of them comes up for parole or happened to make it to their 25 years without dying, the club will step in. Really, Zoe and I will step in. I don't know if she's got it in her to kill a man, but I know that I do.
I'm pulled out of my inner thoughts when Zoe takes a right onto a road—that I don't think had been there the last time I was over here—and up to a house that definitely wasn't there.
“What is this?” I get out of the car and take hesitant steps toward the tiny house in front of me.
“This is for you.”
