Epilogue
“You done yet, babe?” Zach shouted into the diner’s kitchen.
“Keep your pants on,” Toni murmured as she shoved her arm into the gorgeous leather jacket Zach had given her a week ago.
“You know you don’t mean that. I do my best work with my pants off,” Zach said the moment she stepped into the dining area. He bobbed his eyebrows and smirked.
“How did you even hear me?” She grabbed his outstretched hand and allowed him to draw her close.
“Don’t you know by now, baby?” He kissed her for a good thirty seconds. “I know all.”
With a snort, Toni followed him out of the diner. Arrogant man. Of course, he had the goods to back it all up, but still…
He snatched the diner’s keys out of her hand and secured the building. He had a thing about being the one to lock the house if they left together and the diner when he was taking her home, which was pretty much all the time. Said if he wasn’t the one to lock it, he stressed over whether or not it was done properly. Not that he didn’t trust her to take care of it, it was just a thing for him.
So, she indulged his quirk and let him lock the doors. Such a small concession for his peace of mind.
“Where’re we going?” Toni asked, accepting her helmet.
“Foothills Parkway.” After another kiss, Zach straddled the bike and waited for her to climb on.
“My favorite.”
“I know.”
“I forgot to tell you,” Toni said as she swung her leg over the bike. “I received an envelope from Mark in the mail today. On the back it said not to open it unless you were with me.”
“Huh. Guess we’ll open it when we get there.” Zach sounded almost disinterested in whatever it was she’d received from her uncle, but Toni got the impression that wasn’t actually the case. It sounded more like he already knew what they’d find when they opened the package.
What were those two up to?
She settled in behind him and took a moment to enjoy the feel of Zach in the circle of her arms. The strength of his firm back and shoulders. The hills and valleys of his abs beneath her fingertips. The smooth feel and earthy smell of his leather cut. Combine it all with the power and rumble of the bike between her thighs and it was a sensory experience to be savored.
As Zach maneuvered the motorcycle through town and out onto the Foothills Parkway, the view changed from storefronts and businesses to the gorgeous scenes mother nature gifted the area.
The farther from town they rode, the more a feeling of peace spread through Toni. There were a few weeks in there that she’d worried she’d never climb out of the darkness that had slowly enveloped her after she killed Shark. It had only been within the last seven days that she’d been able to sleep through the night without nightmares and stopped experiencing a heavy, almost suffocating, sense of guilt throughout the day.
There was no blowback on the club, or her. The Handlers saw to it that the evidence would never lead back to them, so she hadn’t really been worried about any legal repercussions. Taking a life in and of itself had messed with her head in a way she never saw coming. Even though there was a good chance she’d saved not only her own life, but Maverick’s and Stephanie’s as well, it had been hard to move past.
Zach was amazing. Patient when she needed to talk it out. Calming in the middle of the night when she woke up shouting and gasping for breath. Tolerant when she just needed some space to process. He’d been the epitome of a gentleman, except in bed where he tended to be more of an animal.
Just how she liked it.
After about forty-five minutes, Zach pulled off to an overlook they’d yet to visit. Viewing the sunset from different locations had become their thing over the past few weeks. This was a new one.
“Just in time,” Zach said as he dismounted and helped her remove her helmet.
The giant auburn glowing orb was just hitting the horizon line.
“Wow,” she said as she grabbed Mark’s letter and walked away from the bike. “It’s beautiful tonight.”
Zach sat on the ground with his knees bent, legs spread. He snagged her and drew her down between his thighs. “Sure is,” he said. “Second most beautiful thing here.”
She leaned back against him, loving his strong arms around her. “Quite the silver tongue you have there.”
“Damn straight. But that shouldn’t be news to you.” He tightened his hold on her and ran his tongue up the side of her neck.
Toni shivered and snuggled deeper in his embrace. With the altitude and setting sun, the air held a chill. “No, it’s not. I’ve been a fan of your tongue for a while now.”
“You know what day it is?” Zach brushed his nose along the shell of her ear.
“Yes, it’s Wednesday. Why?”
He chuckled. “It is Wednesday, that’s true. It also would have been the first day of school for you.”
“Oh, wow. I can’t believe I didn’t realize it. Guess someone’s been keeping me distracted.” How different her life was from the first day of school last year. Night and day. “I’m so glad I stayed,” she whispered.
She turned her head and stared up at Zach. “Really, Zach, I know it took me a while to come to my senses, and I know I’ve not been the most fun person to be around the past few weeks, but not once since I decided to stay have I questioned or regretted that decision.”
A full and true smile from Zach was one of Toni’s favorite things and it didn’t disappoint then. “You’re missing your sunset. Probably the most beautiful one we’ve seen yet,” he said.
“That’s okay.” She kissed his chin. “It’s not nearly as important as making sure you know how much I care about you.”
How much I love you.
Was it too early to admit those feelings? Because they were strong and on her mind almost every hour of every day.
It was at that moment, with the sun lowering below the horizon and the man she loved wrapped around her, Toni experienced complete and perfect happiness for the first time in her life.
~ ~ ~ ~
Six months ago, if someone had told Zach he’d be sitting in the dirt with his arms wrapped around a woman he loved, watching the sunset, he’d have driven them to the hospital. Psych ward.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted it, he’d just never given much thought to having an ol’ lady. Who needed it when there were willing women hanging around the clubhouse with no goals beyond helping the club members get off?
Turned out, he did.
And he’d found it with Toni.
“Open the letter,” he said as he nuzzled her ear.
“Okay.” Without hesitation, she ripped the envelope open. “I’ve been dying to know what it is all—holy shit,” she whispered. “Zach what the hell is this?” She held up the slip of paper with two fingers like she was holding a scorpion by the tail instead of a check for one hundred thousand dollars.
He chuckled. “Looks like a check to me.”
“Yeah…but…what…” Her mouth opened and closed at least four times.
Giving her a squeeze, he said, “Why don’t you read the note.”
Toni’s hands trembled as she unfolded the short note accompanying the very large check.
Toni,
I apologize for assuming Zach would be a repeat of your past. Clearly, I couldn’t have been more wrong. You seem happier now than I can ever remember you being. This gesture brought tears to my and Andrew’s eyes, but it is completely unnecessary. Keep it. Zach has a wonderful idea for its use. Hang on to him.
With so much love,
Mark and Andrew
Toni turned in his embrace, her brow furrowed, and the check still in her hands. “I’m more confused after reading the note.”
“I know how much it bothered you that Mark paid so much money to Shark. You told me how guilty you felt. How you feel like you owe him.” He shrugged. “I’ve worked for years with only myself to support and minimal expenses. I have money. So, I re-paid Mark.” He couldn’t help the smirk that formed. “I’d rather you owe me. I can think of some very inventive forms of payback.”
As he spoke, he squeezed her waist. His words were meant to lighten the mood. Keep her from becoming too emotional and making a huge deal of it. Because it wasn’t that big of a deal, at least not the financial part of it. He had the money. Who better to spend it on than the woman he loved?
Tears immediately filled Toni’s eyes. “I can’t believe you would do that for me, Zach. It’s so much money. Why would you do this?”
He wiped an escaped tear off her smooth cheek. “Who else would I do this for, baby? You’re the only one who matters.”
“I take it Mark wouldn’t accept it.”
“Nope.”
“Well, here,” she said holding the check out to him. “This belongs to you then.”
Zach folded his hand over hers and nudged it into her lap. “I want you to have it.”
“What? No, Zach, I can’t possibly take this. I don’t even have a use for it.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I do?” The cute furrow was back on her brow.
“I was thinking you could use it to start a work program for troubled teens. You know, training them, giving them skills they can use in the real world. You have a lot of opportunity with the diner. Cooks, servers, management, human resources, those kinds of things.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when Toni catapulted herself into his arms. “Oh my God,” she squealed as she crushed him in her embrace. “You are the most wonderful man,” she whispered against his ear. “It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
He wished he could say it was all for altruistic reasons, but the reality was, he was selfish. He never wanted Toni to regret her decision to stay in Tennessee or consider leaving again. What was the one thing she was missing from her life in Chicago? The ability to help troubled teens. Well, not anymore. This was the last piece of the puzzle. She’d have no reason to ever search for greener pastures. Zach would see to it.
As he hugged her back, he said, “I was thinking I should sell my house.” He held his breath while he waited for her reaction. She’d only been his ol’ lady for a little over a month. Some might think it was too soon to move in together, but fuck that. He hadn’t slept at his house once in the last month. Toni was it for him, so why waste a bunch of fucking time just because other people might give them the side eye.
He’d been getting that from people since he first put on his cut.
“Oh really? Where are you thinking of moving to?”
Zach pinched her waist and she giggled until she snorted. “Oh, that’s cute,” he said, eliciting another round of giggles. Damn, it was nice to see her so lighthearted and free. The past few weeks had been rough and he’d done his best to keep her from getting pulled under by the unnecessary guilt. The world was a much better place without Shark.
That didn’t make killing him easy. Especially not for someone as good as Toni.
“I want you to move in with me, Zach. I’ve been thinking it for the past week but I was afraid it was too much too soon.” She wiggled in his lap until she had her legs wrapped around his waist.
Fuck if he wasn’t the luckiest bastard in the world. He brushed her hair off her shoulders. “Not too much, baby. I want to crawl into bed with you each night and fall asleep with you in my arms after pleasuring you for hours. I want those beautiful green eyes to be the first thing I see each morning. I want to make a life with you, Toni.”
“Zach…” Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
“And I want to keep discovering new places to watch the sunset every evening until we’re absolutely certain we’ve found the best place.”
“I think this is it. Even if the sun burned out and turned gray, this moment would make it the most beautiful.” She played with the hair at the nape of his neck.
“Guess we’ll know for sure in fifty years or so, after we’ve seen thousands of sunsets together.”
Toni almost knocked him on his ass with the most gorgeous smile he’d even seen. “That sounds like the perfect plan.”
He leaned in to kiss the lips he couldn’t get enough of but stopped a breath away from her mouth. “One more thing,” he said.”
“What?” Toni asked, her voice a breathless whisper full of need.
“I love you.” He closed the distance and kissed her.
“Zach,” she said against his mouth. “I love you too.” The words were muffled by his lips and they both chuckled.
Zach slid his hands into her hair and worked his mouth over hers until she moaned. Then he shifted and guided her to her back in the dirt.
“What about the sunset?” she asked when they came up for a breath.
Zach sucked on the skin of her neck hard enough to leave a mark. “Fuck the sunset. We’ve got thousands ahead of us. Missing one won’t matter. I’ve got much more important things to do, like make the woman I love scream.”
“Well, don’t let me stop you. Love you, Zach.”
“Love you, Toni,” he said as he set about driving her crazy. Making love to his ol’ lady with a gorgeous sunset backdrop. Hands-down the best moment of his life.
He couldn’t wait to try to top it.