Epilogue
Hawk
“Daddy!”
I watched as my little girl came running up to me. Her auburn curls were bouncing up and down as I picked her up within my arms. I spun her around, listening to her giggles pour over my ears while Sydney cooked dinner in the kitchen. I covered Emery’s face with kisses before I sat her down, then I watched as she took off across the backyard for the guest house.
“Come play, Daddy!” she exclaimed.
“I’ll be right there, princess!”
It had been a month since I had proposed to Syd. She said yes as we climaxed together that night we succeeded over the Devil Saints, and we were married in a few more months. Emery and Syd had moved in with me, though Syd made the decision to keep herself and Emery away from the club for now. Much to her shock, everyone understood and respected her decision, telling her that should she ever be ready to put that leather jacket back on again, all she had to do was let someone know. All I cared about was having my family around me, and every single day since we got rid of the Saints I got to wake up and gaze into the eyes of the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
Before her runner-up came running and diving into our bed.
Telling Emery who my mother and I were wasn’t actually as hard as I thought it was going to be. By the time we got back to Emery and my mother that next day, she was already asking questions. She had cornered my mother, point-blank asking her if I was her father, and I walked through the door just in time to tell her ‘yes.’ She was full of questions, like ‘where were you?’ and ‘can I come live with you?’. My heart soared with joy when I told her she was coming to live with me, and I cried tears of joy with my daughter in my arms as my mother got to hear her official title for the first time.
Grandma.
Emery said she loved ‘her special grandma’ before we left.
My mother came and visited much more often now. She practically lived in the guest house while we were preparing for the wedding. It was a small ceremony in the backyard with my mother and my daughter as bridesmaids and Mac and Talon as my best men. My mother was more than happy to stay with Emery at the house while Syd and I shipped off to Mexico for a little honeymoon, but we cut it short because we missed Emery way too much.
It took Syd a little while to settle into things. She found herself an air traffic controller job at a small airport not too far from here, which kept her busy whenever Emery was in school. Every day I got to come home from the mechanic’s shop and listen to Emery chatter on and on about her new friends and her awesome teachers, and every single time she crawled into my lap I knew we’d made the right decision for her.
We didn’t keep Emery away from the members of the club that wanted a relationship with her, but we didn’t bring her around the mechanic’s shop or the club area.
Syd was in the process of redecorating our home. She was tossing out old furniture and slowly moving in new, more comfortable furniture. I found out very quickly that a cheap couch from the bargain stores doesn’t hold up for long when you have a child running around the house, so with each paycheck, Syd received she would purchase something new. I’d come home, and a few of our wedding pictures would be hung up. Sometimes I would come in, and curtains would be up on the walls.
There was even one time I came home, and our entire bedroom was rearranged.
I kept telling her that I could get the guys to do all this for us, but she insisted on doing it herself. She said she always loved the smile on my face whenever I walked in and saw something new, and that she wanted to keep putting that smile there herself. I would always make a joke about christening the new furniture and giving each piece some sort of fun little name.
And every time I would mention it, we would christen it with our bodies, and somehow the piece of furniture would either end up with my name or hers.
Every single night I explored Syd’s body. Even when she was too tired, I’d simply let her lay there while I kissed and traced every single outline she had to offer. Every time I turned around, there was something different about her. A freckle I hadn’t kissed or a stretch mark I hadn’t traced with my tongue.
Her body was an ever-changing landscape of places I could put my lips, and all I wanted to do was sink myself into her fountain of youth and swim within her for hours.
“Hey sweetheart,” Syd said as I came inside and kissed her. “Where’s Emery?”
“In the guest house, as always,” I said.
“You know you shouldn’t have done that, right?” she asked. “She’s never gonna wanna come up to this house.”
“But she’s my princess. She deserved her own castle!”
As an early Christmas gift, I transformed the guest house. I used to rent it out to people passing through or people in the club that needed a place to stay, but with Syd working the job she was we no longer needed the extra income. So, I decided to transform it into a little girl’s paradise. I stocked the kitchen with juices she could open and healthy snacks she could eat. I set up the television so she could stream all her favorite movies. I kept one bedroom and bathroom made up and locked in case my mother decided to come visit, but the other room, but the other bedroom and bathroom were decorated specifically for her.
There was a princess canopy that hung over the bed and sparkling stars that were stuck onto the ceiling. I painted the walls of the bedroom and bathroom pink and purple and yellow. She had a set of princess bedsheets and the fluffiest yellow and pink towels I could find to stock her bathroom with. I painted the guest house living room walls with this chalkboard spray paint and got her brightly-colored chalk she could use to draw all along the walls.
I did everything to make that her own personal space. I decorated the window sills with glitter paint and covered all the sharp edges with pink and purple foam she couldn’t take off. I plugged up all the outlets with dual and colorful nightlights she could turn on if she ever cut out the lights to watch a movie and got scared. By the time I was done redecorating it, my guest house was the perfect princess paradise.
And the three of us christened it with a tea party where all her stuffed animals and friends from school were invited over to the house.
I slid my arms around Syd’s waist while she continued to stir the pot of stew on the stove. I loved her stew because I loved the rice she made to go with it. She put just the right amount of butter and salt in it to make it phenomenal, then I got to pour this meaty goodness over it that she made just for me. I kissed her shoulder and felt her skin prickle against my lips.
“I’m going to make you scream my name after we put Emery to bed.”
Sydney let out a sultry laugh, and she turned around from the stove and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“I love you more than anything Syd, and I promise no matter what, to always keep you safe.”
“I love you too Hawk, and I know you will.”
As I planted my lips on hers, my phone rang in my pocket.
And the ring tone was Mac’s.
“Go ahead,” she said breathlessly. “If you need to go, I’ll put everything in the oven, and you can reheat it later.”
“I love you, Syd,” I said as I kissed her cheek.
“Go, go. Make sure Uncle Mac’s all right.”
“Go for Hawk,” I said as I picked up the phone.
“We got ourselves a problem,” he said.
I automatically took my leave and walked outside. I didn’t get many phone calls like this from Mac that sounded as panicked as he did, and the first thing I wanted to do was make sure Emery was all right.
That and to make sure no one was watching us.
“What’s up?” I asked as I felt Syd’s eyes on me through the window.
“The case fell through,” he said.
“It fucking what?” I asked.
“The case against the Devil Saints fell through.”
My mind whirled with the consequences of what he was saying. The reaction must’ve been prevalent on my face because now Syd was standing at the sliding glass door. She knew better than to open it and listen, but her hands were folded over her chest, and her eyes were dripping with worry.
I turned my head back to the guest house, just to make sure Emery was still laughing and playing like she should be for an six-year-old.
“How the fuck did that happen?” I asked. “The DEA had everything.”
“Apparently they hired a fucking good lawyer to defend them. The lawyer convinced a jury that all the DEA had was circumstantial evidence,” Mac said.
“But all the other shit they were doing. What happened to all that?” I asked.
“They were trying to get them on the drugs before they dipped into anything else. They could only charge the group that was at the scene with the drugs. They could track everyone else, but they could only try those that were surrounding the truck during the shootout because there were no fingerprints or anything on any of the boxes.”
“They were fucking shooting at federal agents! How the hell did they get away with that!?” I asked.
“A couple of them are in jail for that exact thing because they did kill two agents. They’re still investigating the Saints because of that. You know, digging into their shit. I’m sure they’ll find the rest of the stuff they’re doing, but things fell through with the drugs. For now, the Saints are back out in the wild, and they’re looking for vengeance.”
I turned my gaze back to Syd, and I could see the blood run cold underneath her pale skin. I felt sick to my stomach. How the hell could this have happened? The plan was flawless, and they sunk themselves further into the mire by shooting and killing two fucking federal agents.
They were willing to witch hunt the Iron Souls for half the amount of drugs on their property, but they were willing to let the Devil Saints roam freely because of some bullshit lawyer.
“I’d like to have that fucking lawyer’s throat,” I said.
“All of us do. Look, I wanted to call you when I had all the information. They’ve been back around for about two days. You seen anything weird around your place?” Mac asked.
“Not that I can recall right now, but I sure as hell will be on the lookout now,” I said. “Is there any chance someone caught onto the fact that it was a setup. I mean, someone on their legal team?”
“Doubtful. If they had, they would’ve been coming after us one by one. But I wouldn’t put it past the Devil Saints to know. That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Shit,” I said.
“There is some good news out of all this, though,” Mac said.
“What’s that? I could use some.”
“Because the DEA did find massive amounts of drugs in that truck, they’ve started another witch hunt on drug deals, in general. The heat is completely off The Road Rebels, the DEA is practically on the other side of the country trying to take down the mob or some shit that the drugs were traced to, and we’ve gotten our second shipment in so nicely that we’re able to line your pockets with cash for quite some time.”
“That’s actually really good news,” I said, sighing.
“Look, I know you’re worried about the Saints coming after us. But we ran a clean operation. The have no idea that it was us that set them up for the fall. The club’s on the lookout anyway, and I’ve got eyes and ears planted all over town. I was able to line some fun pockets with a bit of talking cash just in case things were to go down. All of us are gonna be safe. Including your beautiful family.”
“Thanks, Mac.”
“How’s Emery doing? I heard Syd started a new job,” he said.
“Emery’s going well. She loves that guest house rearrangement you helped me do.”
“How does she like the chalkboard walls? I thought that was a good idea,” Mac said.
“Oh, she’s all about it. That was a good idea on your part,” I said, grinning. “And Syd’s job is treating her well. She’s been there for a couple months now. It’s only part-time, but it brings in a great paycheck and keeps her head above water until she can adjust.”
“It’s been a year since you two have been married. She doin’ okay?” he asked.
“I think there are times where she worries about what all this will do to Emery. She’s currently looking at me like she’s about to have an aneurism though, so I should go.”
“Give her my love for me, and tell her that we’ve got this. The club’s lookin’ out for you guys. We’ll do random drive-bys to make sure things are going well, and if the Saints move into our territory at all, we’ll know they’re comin’ this time.”
This time.
Those two words that always threw me back into the past.
“Hawk, listen to me.”
“I hear ya, Mac.”
“All of us are gonna be fine. There’s nothin’ that’s tellin’ us that the Devil Saints know. This isn’t like it was seven years ago. If they so much as sneeze in our direction, we’ll know.”
I looked back towards Emery, listening to her soft giggles as she played around in her own little princess wonderland.
Then I looked back at Syd, who had tears in her eyes with worry as I started back for the house.
“What should I tell her?” I asked.
“The truth. Don’t you ever hide it from that woman. She’s stronger than all of us. She just shows her emotions better than we do,” Mac said.
“Got it,” I said. “Thanks for callin’.”
“Wish I didn’t have to. Keep your eyes peeled.”
The moment I hung up the phone Syd threw open the door. She came barreling towards me and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close as I kissed the top of her head.
“The case didn’t work, did it?” she asked.
“A few are jailed for killing some federal agents with gunfire, ironically enough. But yes, the case fell through.”
“Are we in trouble? Is Emery safe?”
“Sssshhh sh sh sh,” I said while I ran my fingers through her hair. “Everything’s fine. There’s nothing that suggests the Devil Saints know, and the DEA still isn’t finished digging into them. That’ll keep them at bay for quite some time, especially with all the other activities the Devil Saints were diving into. And before you ask, don’t. They got themselves into some rough stuff. It’s practically tearing their club apart.”
“Okay,” she said breathlessly.
I could feel her trembling against me as the two of us looked over towards Emery’s little castle. She was nestled onto the couch and watching a movie, and for a split second all the danger and the worry fell into the background. I kissed the top of Syd’s head on last time before she pushed herself closer into my body, and I tried to quell the shaking of her limbs by wrapping her up as tightly as I could.
I would do whatever it took to protect my wife and my daughter.
No matter the cost to myself.
THE END
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Hawk (The Road Rebels MC #1)!