Six Months Later

 

“Candace!” Alexa called my name loudly as she waltzed into the newly redecorated clubhouse. “This place looks incredible!” She spun around in a circle and dropped her bags on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. We’d had everything painted in a new color scheme—black and purple—and it looked absolutely incredible.

 

I walked over and hugged her. Alexa had taken over the VP spot ever since Val’s demise, and I couldn’t have picked a better woman. She was everything the Succubi needed: sharp, witty, and incredibly clever. Plus, she was loyal.

 

After everything went down with Val and Jessica, I was in a funk that lasted for about a month. Isaac tried everything he could think of to get me to perk up again, but almost nothing worked. I couldn’t stop thinking about how badly I’d failed as a leader, and I thought that I probably didn’t even deserve to have a group of girls riding behind me. But with time and Isaac’s kind words, I was starting to see just how badly Val had played me.

 

After the incident, Alexa and Isaac and Kyle helped me do some research on other MCs around LA. It turned out that Val had lied about practically everything, including her age. She’d actually been a member of the now-defunct Hell’s Handmaidens, and she was the group member responsible for their demise. Just like Jessica, a girl had faked her own rape and then used it to get another group, a respectable MC, put down and sent to prison. Val hadn’t even paid for that little stunt—she’d framed the girl who had claimed rape. I shuddered, thinking of how easily she could have manipulated Jessica and the rest of the girls into doing the same. After all, she’d practically won.

 

But she hadn’t won, and I was still here. That had to count for something.

 

Alexa skipped over to me and threw her arms around my neck. She was tan from her two weeks in the Bahamas and her light eyes were glowing in her face. “I’m so happy,” Alexa said. She beamed at me, then stuck her left hand in my face. A giant diamond on her ring finger sparkled and I felt my heart swell.

 

“I’m so happy for you,” I said with a grin.

 

“Candace, this is incredible,” Alexa replied. “I never thought that I’d be this happy. I never thought that I’d find someone like Kyle, but he understands me. And he’s so happy about the Succubi, too,” she added with a sly grin. “And our new alliance.”

 

At that, I burst out laughing. Isaac, Alexa, Kyle, and the rest of Jungle’s Thorns had really helped me. Together, we'd rebuilt the Succubi from the ground up and now the Succubi were stronger than ever. With a companion like Alexa, I knew that everything would be okay in the future. We might have our fights, but she wasn't hell-bent on destroying me like Val had been.

 

“How was your honeymoon?”

 

Alexa blushed. “We didn’t make it to the beach very often,” she said softly. “As much as I would have loved that…” She winked at me. “But we did have this awesome private balcony off our room,” she said with a grin. “And we sunbathed naked most days. I don’t have any tan lines.” Alexa smirked. “You and Isaac should go sometime. He’d love it.”

 

I frowned. “He’s been weird lately,” I confessed. “He’s been really distant. I don’t exactly know what’s going on, but I want to figure it out. He just won’t talk to me, though.”

 

Alexa shrugged. “Men are like that,” she said softly. “How are things, though? Aside from that?”

 

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. Some of the black dye was still there, but I’d made the decision to go back to my original color: blonde. Between that and changing my name from Stephanie back to Candace, I was finally starting to feel like myself again. The girls had even surprised me with a picture of me and Isaac from our teenage days. Somehow, after all these years, Isaac had hung on to an album with the photos of us. That had made me cry harder than anything. I knew that I had a lot of repenting to do, but I’d already tried to make a head start on that. And with Isaac by my side, I felt like anything was possible.

 

“Things are okay,” I admitted. “I’m still kind of struggling, I feel like I really deserve to be punished for what happened.” I swallowed hard. “I knew something was wrong and I didn’t fight hard enough against Val. I could have prevented all of this, and yet I didn’t.”

 

Alexa hugged me. “It’ll be okay,” she said. With a sly grin, she pointed down at my belly. “You have bigger things to worry about after all.”

 

I blushed. “I know,” I said, looking away. “And these pregnancy hormones are killing me. It’s like I want to cry all the time, for absolutely no fucking reason at all.”

 

Alexa burst out laughing. “That gives me something to look forward to,” she cracked in a dry voice. “Not that we’re starting right away or anything,”

 

I rolled my eyes. “Great,” I cracked. “Thanks for making me feel like the one jumping the gun.”

 

When Alexa moved away with her bags, I cradled my growing belly with both hands. I hadn’t planned on getting pregnant so soon, but after the incident, Isaac and I were so filled with desire for each other that it had happened almost instantly. I had no clue about being a mother. How much of my life was going to change? What was I going to have to do differently? But I couldn’t wait to meet our child.

 

Isaac had been insanely happy. He’d spun me around in a circle and kissed me on the tip of the nose. Oddly enough, it was the day I’d changed my name legally back to Candace. It seemed almost like a blessing of some kind, like someone out there really wanted the best for me.

 

“Candace!” Tara, one of the new girls, walked over to me. She handed me a bottle of water and I took the cap off, taking a long, slow drink of the refreshing liquid. “How are you?”

 

“Good,” I nodded, checking my watch. Isaac and the rest of the guys were supposed to show up in a little while for a surprise party. Well, it was supposed to be a surprise. A surprise for me, actually. But since Val, we weren’t taking any precautions. My girls didn’t wanna sneak around behind my back and make me suspicious of anything, which I appreciated. Isaac didn’t know that I knew, but I’d promised Kyle and the guys that I was going to act more surprised than I’d ever acted in my whole life.

 

“Good,” Tara replied. She hugged me and looked down at my stomach. “Wow, you’re actually showing a little bit! I can’t wait to see the baby!”

 

“You have about six more months,” I said. As much as I couldn’t wait to be a mom, I didn’t actually enjoy being pregnant very much. My boobs were always sore and I felt huge, even though I’d only gained ten pounds so far. My favorite leather chaps were already too tight. Isaac teased me and told me that he liked me fat, but I knew better.

 

“It’ll go fast,” Tara said. She was the new sergeant at arms, and so far she was doing a great job. She’d done some outreach and so far, we’d managed to raise almost five hundred thousand dollars. The Succubi and Jungle’s Thorns worked together with the Russians to procure weapons now, and we sold them together. I couldn’t believe how powerful my MC had become. It was almost like Val’s prophecy had come true—we were now the most powerful group in LA. Of course, it was all thanks to Jungle’s Thorns and Isaac, but still. It felt pretty fucking good to be on top.

 

“I can’t wait,” I said, walking to the rooms at the back of the club. Even after I found out the truth about what had really happened to Jessica, I couldn’t get over the ominous feeling that took hold of my body every time I went in the back of the club. So Alexa found some guys and we knocked out the rest of the walls back there. Instead of little bedrooms, it was a recreation area with a second bar. We’d also added on a second floor, and upstairs we had bunk beds and a private bedroom. I’d taken to spending a lot of nights there—part of convincing the girls that I was a worthy president meant spending a lot of time watching over the clubhouse.

 

We also had new prospects. Melissa, Tori, and Kendall were all girls fresh out of college who Tara had found at a biker meet. Kendall had even come from a biker family, much like Jessica. After vetting them and putting them through the ringer for a couple of weeks, I was finally starting to think that they’d be good, fully patched members of the club. But I wasn’t as naïve as I had been before, and I wanted to make sure that sinister motives wouldn’t reveal themselves with time. I couldn’t handle myself if Kendall turned out to be another Jessica, or if Tori turned out to be another Val.

 

Sometimes, I still thought about Val. I didn’t like thinking about her, but it was hard to forget about someone who had been in my life for so long. In many ways, Val had saved me. After all, she’d found me when I was down and out because of my parents getting shot, and when I was heartbroken from leaving Isaac. Sure, Val was the reason that all of the bad shit had happened in the first place. But she hadn’t been all bad. Val was the first woman who believed in me, the first woman who convinced me that I could lead an all-female MC with no repercussions. She told me that I didn’t have to be afraid of men, that I was able to lead on my own with conviction. It was funny; when she used to talk about that kind of shit, I never wanted to believe her. But now, her words came crashing back to me and I realized that she’d been right all along. I was a strong woman who could lead a group, and if Val was who it had taken for me to realize that, well, then I guessed that I didn’t mind so much.

 

Val’s effect was still felt on some of the other women, too. Alexa was never able to forgive her for the blackmailing incident. She even went to the trial and testified. I’d wanted to get out of doing that, but the club’s lawyers had advised me to suck it up and get it over with. Jessica had already been sentenced—twenty years in a federal prison—but Val was still over in county, waiting for her day in court. It was coming up next week, and every time I thought about it, I got a bad taste in my mouth. Somehow, Val had managed to snag a really high-profile lawyer. But even with the world’s best defense team, I knew that she wouldn’t be able to get away with what she’d done. Not with the testimony from me and the evidence that she’d bought the hit against my parents all those years ago.

 

“Candace!” Alexa’s voice was calling me loudly from the hallway. “It’s happening! They’re here! Act surprised!”

 

I blushed. “Okay!” I called back. “Thanks!”

 

I waited a few minutes, tidying my hair in the mirror. I wasn’t so sure at first that I’d like the blonde again, but it actually looked pretty nice on me. I looked like a completely different person than I had six months ago, but I was starting to realize that was maybe a good thing. My belly ached even though I hadn’t been on my feet for very long and I felt a wave of irritation pass through me. Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you’re not a badass, I told myself, scowling at my reflection in the mirror. It just means that you have to take a little leave of absence from kicking ass and taking names.

 

“Candace!” Isaac’s voice called loudly. “Can you come out here and help me with something?”

 

I giggled when I heard his voice; the lie was evident. Isaac was a kind man, but not a great liar, and I knew he really wanted the party to be a surprise. Putting my most irritated expression on, I pushed the door open and stalked into the main part of the room.

 

“Surprise!”

 

I jumped back at the wall of voices. A grin and tears came to my eyes. Even though I’d been expecting this, I hadn’t been expecting to see so many people. All of Jungle’s Thorns was congregated in the clubhouse, as well as every Succubus and every prospect from both clubs.

 

“This is amazing,” I said, putting my hand on my chest and feeling my heart flutter underneath my ribs. “How did you do all of this?”

 

Isaac walked over to me with a smirk on his face. He leaned down and kissed me tenderly. My stomach flip-flopped as his muscular frame pressed close to my body. Every kiss, every touch from Isaac sent me spinning in a wave of desire, and today was no exception. After a few tender seconds of kissing, I pressed against Isaac and slid my tongue into his mouth. Catcalls and cheers from the crowd filled my ears as I plastered my body against his and savored his musky, familiar scent.

 

“Surprise, baby,” Isaac whispered in my ear when he pulled away. “I made sure to get your favorite kind of cake.”

 

“I’ll have to eat a lot of it since I can’t drink right now,” I teased, smirking as I walked towards the center of the room. All eyes were on me as I spun around, smiling at everyone. “Thanks, everyone!” I called loudly. “This is really incredible! I can’t believe it!”

 

“It’s been six months since the incident,” Kyle said with a sly grin. He walked up and slung an arm around Alexa, pulling her close and kissing her on the neck. “We thought you deserved a little party.”

 

“Yeah,” Isaac said. He shot me a lazy grin and I felt my heart skip a beat. Even though we’d known each other for years, being around him still made me as excited and flustered as ever. “Besides, we have the biggest empire in LA right now. That’s cause to celebrate, don’t you think?”

 

I nodded. When everyone was quiet again, I opened my mouth to speak. “Guys, I want to thank each and every one of you for all your hard work. Without you, we wouldn’t be here today. Without all of your help, I might even be in prison.” I paused and laughed along with some of the crowd. “But we really did a good job rebuilding the Succubi, and I’m happy to say that we’re in a better place than ever before. I think this is the first time that we’ve gone for six months with such amazing profits, and again, this is all because of you.”

 

Isaac walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders. “And Jungle’s Thorns guys,” Isaac said loudly. “I’m so fuckin’ proud of you. You’ve really stepped up, and you helped Candace rebuild her MC to be one of the strongest in the city. We have a great partnership going, and I can’t wait to see where it ends up. You guys are my life,” he finished. When he was done talking, he kissed me on the cheek and backed away, allowing me to have the spotlight.

 

Part of me felt disappointed, and it was hard to understand why. Everything was going so well, why the fuck was I feeling upset? It wasn’t because of Val or Jessica—I’d long stopped worrying about the two of them. Even with Val in county jail, I knew that I didn’t have to watch my back at night or when I went into a dark alley.

 

But part of me was sad about Isaac. It was true that today he didn’t seem distracted, but I was wondering why he hadn’t asked me to marry him yet. Maybe he was afraid—after all, all those years ago he’d been planning on it and then I’d disappeared. Maybe he was worried about the same thing happening.

 

But I didn't want to wait anymore. We were having a baby together, and as stupid as it sounded, I never wanted to be a single mom. Hell, I never thought that I'd be a mom at all until I got back together with Isaac, but here we were. I wasn't necessarily speaking out of a need for convention, but a baby was a lifetime commitment. Why would two people have a baby together if they didn't even want to get married? What was the point?

 

“Candace,” Alexa hissed. “Everyone’s still staring at you!”

 

I blushed hotly and shrugged. “I’m sorry, guys, I think I lost my train of thought,” I said. “I need to get some water. Watching all of y’all drink is making me thirsty!”

 

The crowd laughed and held up their bottles of beer, toasting me as I walked behind the bar. Now that I was alone with my thoughts, I was starting to feel more depressed than ever before. Why didn’t Isaac want to marry me? What was wrong me with that he wouldn’t want to make me his wife?

 

“Hey,” Alexa said. She leaned in close. “What’s wrong? I was watching your face and it just, like, completely fell while you were up there. After Isaac walked away.”

 

I bit my lip. “I don’t know,” I confessed. “It’s probably just pregnancy hormones, but I feel kind of weird. I wish Isaac would ask me to marry him.”

 

Alexa laughed. “Marriage doesn’t mean anything though,” she said. “It’s just a piece of paper. You don’t need it to be happy, you know.”

 

“I know,” I grumbled. “But if it’s just a piece of paper, why did you and Kyle get married?”

 

Alexa blushed. “Because his mama would kill him if he brought home a girl without a ring on her finger," she said. "She doesn't even want him to be with a white girl, but since he is…" She trailed off and rolled her eyes. "Promise we're not going to be that ridiculous when we get older?"

 

I laughed. "I'll try," I said. "I've learned not to make any promises that I don't know if I'll be able to keep."

 

Alexa patted me on the back and walked away. Despite what I was feeling about Isaac, I loved that I had a real girlfriend to confide in again. Alexa was so much like me. I never had to worry about her scheming or secretly falling in love with me like Val had. Now sometimes I wondered if the signs about Val had been more obvious. Had I really spent so many years completely blind?

 

Everything is going to be okay, I told myself, rubbing my belly. Just stand here with some water and try to calm down.

 

The party was a big success. Alexa and Tara had taken care of the catering and everything looked absolutely incredible. There were cake and lots of snacks, and people milled around with plates loaded with food that all looked amazing. I could smell the fried chicken from where I stood and it was making my mouth water.

 

“Hey,” Isaac’s voice made me jump a foot into the air. “What are you doing over here, by yourself? This is your party…you know?”

 

I shook my head. “It’s for all of us,” I told him softly. “It’s for all of the Succubi and all of your guys, because y’all did all the work. Without you, I’d be nowhere.”

 

Isaac grinned. He stepped closer and pulled me into his arms, kissing me deeply until I felt dizzy on my feet. “That’s not true,” he said softly. “You did most of the work yourself, and you know it. We just helped.”

 

I blushed. I still had a hard time accepting compliments, even from Isaac. “I love you,” I said softly.

 

“I love you, too,” Isaac replied. “And I’m glad I got you alone.” He winked at me and I felt my heart flutter in my chest. “I have a question for you.”

 

“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows and giggled. Was this it? Was he finally going to propose?

 

“Can you come outside with me?” Isaac wrinkled his nose. “I have a feeling something might be wrong with your bike, but I want you to take a look before I start doing anything.”

 

“Fine,” I snapped. I pushed past Isaac and walked outside. Tears of hurt stung my eyes. Why wasn’t he asking me? What could possibly be the hold-up? For fuck’s sake, I had his child in my belly!

 

Outside, the sky was streaked with pink and purple and orange. The dry air blew past me in a refreshing breeze, and even though I felt ashamed for storming out of the clubhouse, I didn’t want to apologize.

 

“Candace,” Isaac called my name, jogging up to me. “What’s wrong? You went bolting out of there.”

 

Don’t say anything; just try to calm down. It’ll be fine. Everything is fine.

 

“Nothing,” I said with a sigh. “So what is it?”

 

“I think the gas tank is leaking,” Isaac said. “Can you lean down and take a look?”

 

On the ground was a rainbow spray of oil. “It’s pretty,” I said. “Even though it’s going to cost me a bundle to fix.”

 

Isaac shrugged. “You never know,” he said. “Go on, take a look. I wanna get back inside and get some more beer.”

 

I rolled my eyes and squatted down low. When I saw what was on the ground, resting under my bike, I burst into tears.

 

It was a ring. A platinum ring with a large round diamond, to be exact. I squealed and jumped up in the air, feeling my whole body tremble with excitement and happiness. Tears streamed down my face as Isaac knelt before me and reached under my bike for the ring. When he held it out to me, I could barely see him through my fog of tears.

 

“Candace, I’ve loved you for years,” Isaac said, his voice suddenly husky. “And I never wanted to lose you. And now that I’ve got you back, I’m never letting you go, ever again. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

 

I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around him, burying my face in his neck. Isaac took my hand and slipped the ring on my finger—it fit perfectly, as I somehow knew it would.

 

“Yes,” I whispered hotly into Isaac’s ear. “Yes!”

 

THE END

 

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