Mark

 

Mark shivered a bit in the cold as he waited for Ian, his heart thumping painfully in his throat as the seconds ticked by without any report or update. What if the whole thing had gone wrong? What if Cameron got suspicious or someone from the club ratted on Ian? What if the cops turned on him and arrested them both? What if Ian was dead in a ditch right now, and Cameron was on his way back to Stella’s place, ready to exact revenge?

 

A minute later, he heard the roar of a motorcycle’s engine from one street over, and his heart froze in his chest, his body stuck in place, petrified by fear that filled every last one of his veins up to the brim. Please be Ian, he prayed silently, his eyes flicking in every direction to look for a bike. Please be Ian, please be Ian, dear God, I know I haven’t prayed in forever, and I don’t even know if you’re listening to me, if you’re even real, but please, if you are, if you haven’t abandoned me, please, please, let it be Ian, please, God, please.

 

The next moment, he received an answer to his prayer as Ian rode into the parking lot, sailing across the pavement until he came to an abrupt stop directly in front of Mark. Ian removed his helmet and grinned at his new friend, clapping him on the shoulder. “Come on, get on the back of my bike. We’ve got a victory lap to do.”

 

Mark felt relief crash over him, and not in a gentle way. His knees gave out for a moment, sending him sinking down to the sidewalk underneath his feet. He swallowed numerous times, willing his throat not to close up from sheer shock.

 

It worked. Their stupid, ridiculous, crazy plan actually worked! It helped that Cameron had a total meltdown earlier at Stormwatch, pissing off the members of the club that had actually been loyal to him. But even after Mark got word that afternoon that half of the MC was now ready to turn Cameron over to the police, he’d been consumed by doubt. Nicole was waiting in the bushes over by Stella’s place, ready to strike with her own weapon if Cameron showed up and tried to get violent, but Mark had still spent the last several hours consumed in worry, his stomach lining falling apart inside of him as he imagined every possible scenario happening. But the doom that he had been expecting didn’t crash down upon them. Cameron was gone, for good. They were safe. And now he got to be with Stella, really be with her, without fear of retaliation.

 

He felt so happy for a second that he thought he might actually die. His heart just felt so full; he didn’t know if he was equipped to feel this much emotion at once. But the moment passed, and Ian reached down to offer him his hand and pull him to his feet. “Thanks,” Mark muttered as he got up, brushing off his pants before walking around to climb onto the back of Ian’s bike. “Let’s go.”

 

“You know,” Ian said loudly as he started up the engine again. “I think you might have some potential, Mark.”

 

“Potential for what?” Mark asked, even though he wasn’t really all that curious. He was entirely consumed with the need to see Stella, to push her body against his, to protect her, to assure himself that nothing bad would ever happen to her again.

 

“The MC,” Ian shouted back as they began to ride down the road in the direction of Stella’s apartment. “We’ve got an opening for a couple junior members, and I really think you might like it. You know, if you’re interested in gaining a few brothers. No pressure.”

 

“Thanks for the offer,” Mark said, “but I think I might need to sleep for like twelve years before I consider doing anything ever again.”

 

Ian laughed, nodding even though Mark could only see the back of his head from his place on the bike. “Fair enough. Offer still stands, though. Think about it.”

 

A few minutes later, they rolled to a stop in front of Stella’s apartment, hopping off the bike and rushing to the door. Stella was waiting there, flinging the door open before Mark could even knock and colliding into his body, crushing him into the tightest hug he’d ever felt in his life.

 

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Are you all right?” Mark whispered into her ear, holding her back as closely as he could, even though he was still halfway outside, his body growing numb from the cold.

 

“I’m fine, I’m fine, everything’s fine,” Stella whispered back before grabbing the back of Mark’s head and guiding him into a kiss. “Jesus Christ,” she muttered in between soft kisses that only grew more and more intense as Mark reciprocated. “I thought I’d never get to see you again.”

 

“I’m here,” Mark said, grabbing the sides of Stella’s head to hold her in place as he kissed her more deeply, pulling on her lips like he could take her into his body, to protect her and shield her from harm for the rest of their days. “I swear, I swear, I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere.”

 

“Okay, lovebirds, how about just going inside?” Ian said behind Mark, lightly pushing on his back until the couple shuffled inside, letting Ian come in after them.

 

“Oh, leave them alone. They deserve a chance to be sappy and disgusting,” Nicole said from her place against the opposite wall, where she was gathering items off the floor. Mark deduced that Cameron must have made a mess in here earlier, tearing up Stella’s apartment when she told him the truth.

 

Stella finally pulled away from Mark long enough to look over his shoulder, addressing Ian. “So you saw it? He’s gone? He’s really, really gone?”

 

“Yep,” Ian said cheerily, walking over to the kitchen to grab something out of the refrigerator. “Let’s see here, the champagne is in the back, and the apple juice is right next to it…Here we go, guys. Let’s have a toast!”

 

“To what?” Mark asked, wrapping his broad hand around the back of Stella’s head, tucking her under his chin. He didn’t know that he was capable of ever letting her out of his grasp again. For her own part, Stella didn’t seem to mind, nuzzling into his neck and clutching hard onto the front of his shirt.

 

“To freedom!” Nicole said, literally jumping over to join Ian in the kitchen, opening up some cabinets to grab some glasses. “For all of us now. The club is ours.”

 

“So you’re the head of the MC now, Ian?” Stella asked, her fingers pulling insistently at the fabric of Mark’s shirt, like she needed to remind himself that he was really there next to her. “The other men just rolled over for you?”

 

“They were happy to be rid of him,” Ian said. “Everybody was just too scared to talk to each other about it, but now we can all admit that we hated that motherfucker, at least for the last couple of years. It’s done now. Nicole and me are going to take the club into a new direction. But Cameron did have one good idea. The Haven. We’re going to buy it from your boss, just to have some legitimate money coming in. But we’d love it if you two stayed on and managed the business for us.”

 

“Enough business talk! Apple juice for the pregnant lady, champagne for the rest of us,” Nicole said with a laugh, pouring out the drinks before distributing them to her friends. “Okay, okay, what should we toast to? Stella, do the honors.”

 

“Um…” Stella hesitated, staring up at Mark for a second before finally smiling. “To new beginnings.” She grabbed the juice from Nicole before offering it forward, confidently toasting her new life.

 

“To conquered foes,” Ian said, putting his drink forward to tap it lightly against Stella’s.

 

“To power that’s earned,” Nicole said, gently colliding her glass against the two other cups.

 

Mark was quiet a moment, staring down at his drink before he finally landed on the courage to say what he wanted. He cleared his throat and stared down into Stella’s eyes as he said, “To love,” offering his drink forward to toast with the others.

 

“To love!” the other three called out before pulling their glasses back to drink.

 

For the first time in Mark’s life, he felt something other than fear and emptiness. Together with his new friends and his new girlfriend, he felt something as terrifying as it was comforting: happiness. He could only pray for the strength not to ruin it, to treasure it as much as it deserved to be treasured, but looking down at Stella’s smiling face, he knew somehow that this time, he wasn’t going to fail.

 

Together, they’d be strong. More importantly, they’d be safe. They’d be happy. They would be a family.

 

 

 

THE END

 

 

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