JON

 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

“It hasn’t been that long, has it?”

“It’s been awhile. This isn’t the place for me.”

“Oh, shut up!”

Anna slapped me across the chest and gave me that devilish little grin of hers.

“You’re talking like you’re an old man or something,” she said.

“When you’ve been through the shit I’ve been through, it feels like it.”

“You might feel like it but I see the same young stud I fell in love with more than seven years ago back when I was in high school.”

She leaned forward and wrapped her hands around my neck. She pulled me close for a kiss. It was like any trouble I had running through my thoughts melted away.

She pulled away from me and looked up into my eyes. I stared down at her and watched her cheeks start to blush red.

“You’re not even 30 yet but you make it seem like you’re past your prime.”

“Maybe I am past my prime. What do you think about that?”

“You’ll always be in your prime. You are who you are. Nothing’s ever gonna change that.”

Another deep kiss made us feel like we were the only two people in the room. That was pretty damn impressive, considering where we were.

I’d gotten used to the rowdy scene at Finn’s. It was like every fucking MC in town had to come out here just to show off how big their dicks were. Being around all these other clubs would’ve made someone feel uncomfortable but I didn’t give a shit. I’d been living in Ivory too long to care about what anybody else thought. It helped that the rest of the club had come out to enjoy the night with me.

“How’s Brawn?” she asked.

“See for yourself.”

The big man was leaning up against the wall at the side of the bar. He had the full attention of two women.

“Look at him,” I said. “You can always put a smile on his face when he’s around a couple of Ivory sluts.”

“That’s still impressive considering he got shot doing whatever it was you did.”

“Brawn doesn’t give a shit about that. To him, it’s just another scar with a story to tell. Chicks dig scars.”

“Do they? And tell me, Mr. Brooks, what kind of new scars have I missed out on?”

“You’ll find out later if you’re lucky.”

“If I’m lucky? Big talk from a man in your position.”

I reached forward and put my hand gently across her throat. Her mouth opened with a gasp as I squeezed softly.

“I’m in whatever position I wanna be in,” I said.

“We’ll see about that.”

“Well, looks like the two lovebirds are getting along.”

I turned to Garnet. He walked up to me with a beer in one hand and Michelle in the other.

“We’re at Finn’s,” I said. “There’s no better place for two people to get along.”

“Watch yourself,” Michelle said. “You’re gonna get yourself into trouble.”

“I’m already in trouble with Anna.”

“Oh, stop it!” she said, slapping me across the arm.

“You mind if I talk to my man for a minute?” Garnet said to Anna.

“Not at all, Declan. Just make sure you don’t take too much of his time. He didn’t come here for club business.”

“Of course not.”

I gave Anna another kiss before she headed over to the table where the rest of the club was sitting at. Garnet walked next to me and leaned against the bar while we observed the scene.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Nothing big. Tonight’s a celebration but I thought I should give you word.”

“Word?”

“Lin contacted me. The Corps have been taken care of. No next of kin out there we need to watch out for. No evidence that’ll link anything to you or the club or even the Triads.”

“Right…”

I sighed a deep breath and took a gulp from my beer.

“What’s wrong? I thought you’d be a little more excited about hearing the good news.”

“I’m glad that shit’s settled. Make no mistake about that. It’s just a shame that shit had to come down to it. It would’ve been nice not to have to put Anna through that.”

“The Corps brought that shit on themselves. Business is business. Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it ain’t. Everybody has some business proposition that doesn’t fall through. There’s no need to get crazy over it and tear through a city.”

“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen to us.”

“Ivory needs the Reapers. I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure we stick around.”

Garnet tapped his glass to mine and took a huge gulp.

“Come on, babe,” he said. “I gotta show you off to the rest of Finn’s.”

“I’ll be there in just a second,” Michelle said.

Garnet left to join the rest of the table.

Michelle had been quiet this whole time. The old lady of the president of the Reapers didn’t have to say anything to get her point across. Looking at her now, I knew there was some shit on her mind. Even though everything was over and done with, I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear whatever it was she planned on telling me.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“Couldn’t be better.”

“You sure about that?”

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Why would you say some shit like that?”

“No reason,” she said with a grin. “Just making sure your head is still in the game. My man needs you.”

“It’s not just him. The club needs me. You don’t have to worry about me.”

I looked over at the table. Anna was smiling and laughing, listening to Needle and Sully argue over something stupid, no doubt.

“Look at her,” Michelle said. “So happy. A big smile on her face.”

“It’s the most beautiful thing in the world. It’s my reason for everything.”

“Are you sure about that?”

I sighed a deep breath and tried not to roll my eyes.

“We’ve been over this before—”

“I know we have. And we’re going over it again. That’s how serious it is.”

Michelle crossed her arms and stared at Anna in the distance.

“It’s a tough life,” she said. “She dropped everything because of the club. Are you sure you wanna bring her back into the fold?”

“You can ask her yourself.”

“I’m asking you. You can push her away if you want to.”

I took a gulp of beer to clear my throat.

“I already pushed her away. I pushed her away more than five years ago. I didn’t realize it but that’s what I did. All of the club’s influence was too much for her.”

“And what makes things different now?”

“What’s different now is that we both know what it’s like not to be around each other. She left Ivory. She experienced the rest of the world. All she did was come back. Whatever it is, it’s in her blood. She was meant to be here.”

“Your destiny was already determined, it seems.”

“I don’t give a shit what you call it. To me, it’s just a reason.”

“What do you mean?”

“The patch is all I’ve known in my life. Being with the club… Those guys are brothers to me. But Anna is the reason for everything else. She gives me a purpose. I’ll do everything I can now to keep her safe and make her happy. After what happened, I know nothing can keep us apart.”

Michelle stared at me, her lips pursed. She slowly nodded and smirked at me.

“It looks like you’ve finally got everything figured out,” she said. “It’s good to know that the VP has his head in the right place.”

“As long as Anna’s around, I’ll always be in the right place.”

Michelle excused herself and walked back over to the table. Anna got up from her seat and came back over to me.

“You still free tonight?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know… I figure with Garnet coming to talk to you some club business might have come up.”

“Nothing tonight. I’m all free. But if even if there was some shit I had to deal, I would never put club business ahead of you.”

She leaned forward and ran her fingers along the patch on my vest.

“I know how much this means to you,” she said. “I can’t do anything for the club.”

“Nobody’s expecting you to do anything. That’s not your priority.”

“But I can do something for you.”

I put my hand on her chin and brought her face to mine. Another deep kiss made me want her so fucking bad.

“There’s only one thing I want from you right now,” I whispered.

She grabbed my beer and put it on the counter behind me.

“Remember when we used to come out here and dance?” she asked.

“How could I forget something like that?”

“Let’s dance. Just like we did when I first met you.”

Anna took my fingers in her hand and tugged me forward. We got lost in the sea of people on the dance floor.

I wrapped my arms around the small of her back. I slid my hands down and squeezed her ass. She yelped in surprise and giggled.

“You’re making me feel like a teenager again,” she said.

“Nothing’s changed. Things are exactly the way they were.”

“Now I don’t need a fake ID though.”

“Oh, there’s that.”

I stopped smiling as I looked down into her eyes. That stare of hers made everybody else around us disappear.

I leaned forward and put my mouth on hers. Our tongues danced as our bodies pressed against each other.

We were in the middle of the dance floor at Finn’s with all eyes on us. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.