Two years later ~

The headlights from the five motorcycles spread out in a half circle lit up the immediate area atop Rocky Butte Point. Gracie sat in front of Rich on his Harley, looking out at the scene below them. The St. John's bridge lit the way to the small city they all called home.

It'd been where Rich took her on that first bike ride and where she'd told him the truth about her past and Thalia's murder. It's where they went when they needed a break from life. Sometimes alone, sometimes with the club members and their women.

Rich wrapped his arms around her from behind. She laid her head back against the broadness of his shoulder. Wayne's idea for everyone to go for a night ride and cool off from the heat of the summer day came at the perfect time.

She and Rich needed some downtime.

Business at Vavoom's Bar was booming, and Rich had been working a lot of overtime at Port Loaders the last month. No matter if they spent twenty-four hours together, it was never enough for her.

She turned her head and kissed his cheek through the beard he refused to trim. He lowered his head and kissed her lips.

"Good?" he asked.

"Of course." She caressed his thighs. "You?"

He sighed in contentment. "Yeah."

Ingrid gasped beside her, sitting behind Glen on his motorcycle. "Oh, look."

Following Ingrid's finger, pointed toward the sky, Gracie gazed up and caught the end of a shooting star before the light fizzled out. Being on top of the mountain, the stars lighting up the sky made her realize how big the world seemed. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed at how small of a part she played at the moment.

While she always remembered where she was and what she was doing, there were times—like now—with Rich in her life that she could put her past behind her. The ugliness and fear couldn't invade her happiness.

But, she never forgot what happened to her and her mother, to Thalia, to so many other females.

She strived to change how she perceived all the information in her head and view what she'd lived through differently. Moments like this with her family surrounding her, Rich loving her, Clara happy, she could see how lucky she was to have the people who were out here on the mountain with her, looking at the view, and being in her life. Very lucky. Blessed.

"Did you read the paper this morning?" asked Thad.

Wayne huffed. "Why the fuck would I read the paper?"

Rich's chest vibrated against her back. Gracie bit her lip to keep from smiling. Despite Clara making it her summer goal to teach Wayne ways to make reading easier for him, he wanted no part in learning shortcuts around his dyslexia.

"There's an article about Notus Motorcycle Club and the number of missing persons we've found this year." Thad shifted Lena on his lap. "It made the second page."

"I thought we voted to decline the interview." Chuck gathered Erikka's hair in his hands. "How'd that happen without our permission?"

"Lieutenant Gomez is dating the female reporter. That's how it happened." Wayne exhaled loudly. "Son of a bitch has a big mouth."

She saw the situation differently. She'd read the article, and she'd cried for the eight families this year that were reunited with their loved one because five men dedicated their lives to finding missing persons.

It wasn't an easy life the members of Notus Motorcycle Club chose. The emotional toll each journey took them on reminded them of each person they'd lost. From Thalia to the twelve-year-old girl who they'd found deceased two months ago, the found couldn't compare to the many, many lost.

But, each member had a gift. The ability to keep going, to hope, to work hard, and to never give up. She loved that about them.

"Change of subject." Ingrid planted her hands on Glen's shoulder. "Jerry's moving in with my mom."

"What?" Clara laughed. "Are they serious about each other?"

It'd been almost three years since Ingrid's dad passed away. Gracie lifted her head off Rich, interested in the news. Ingrid's mom was a beautiful and gentle soul who had gone back to work, learned to have a social life again, and found old friends who she'd lost touch with over the years when she'd devoted her life to taking care of her paraplegic husband.

"I'm not sure it's serious-serious. They have so much fun together and enjoy each other's company." Ingrid's voice cracked. "It's just shocking. She's my mom."

"Is he a good guy?" asked Gracie.

Ingrid smiled. "Very nice. He's a widow, and I think they have a lot in common and are going through the same stages in life after losing their spouses."

"That's great." Erikka slid off Chuck's motorcycle and stretched her back. "Everyone should have someone in their life to lean on."

"I got something you can lean on, love," Chuck whispered loud enough everyone heard in the still of the night.

"Sh." Erikka kissed him "I swear, you don't know how to whisper."

"None of them can whisper," mumbled Clara.

Ingrid and Lena laughed. Gracie rolled her eyes. It was true, but she also knew the Notus members used a lot of looks as a way to communicate with each other. Looks that only came with knowing a person their whole life.

Everyone fell silent. Gracie scanned the view, picking out the bridge, the bar, Safeway, the park, Port Loaders. In the distance, several lights descended in the air.

She patted Rich's arm. "What's that on the other side of town?"

"PDX." He kissed the side of her head. "The lights are from the plane landing."

She couldn't imagine wanting to be somewhere else rather than right here with her man, her family, and in St. John's.

Rubbing her hands over Rich's arms, she looked down. The Notus Motorcycle Club tattoo on his forearm only a dark outline in the darkness. He'd wanted to get the matching tattoo to the others on his one-year anniversary of sobriety. She'd tried to talk him into changing the black square on his calf into something else, but he was adamant about keeping it as a reminder of where he'd been.

Most importantly, she suspected that as long as he knew what was under the black tattoo, that's all that mattered. He'd stayed loyal to Notus his whole life. To him, that's what mattered.

"It's been two years, honey." His arms left her, and she felt him move behind her before embracing her again and holding up his hand in front of her. She cupped her fingers, and he dropped a two-year bronze AA coin into her hand.

Warmth filled her. He'd only had one slip up, a month after telling her why he'd spent twenty-five years apart from Notus. The day after he bought the beer and drank it, he voluntarily started attending AA meetings. That time in both their lives had been hard—she refused to soften how hard he'd struggled and how scared she'd been that he would never win the battle, but he continued to succeed, one day at a time.

"I'm so proud of you." She twisted her upper body and kissed him deeply.

He slid his hand along her neck and cupped her head, lingering longer. She sighed in his mouth, and he pulled away, looking into her eyes. Her nipples peaked, and she leaned closer.

"I love you." She ran her thumb over his bottom lip. "So, so much."

"Love you, too." He brushed her hair back from her cheek and kissed her again. "Tonight's been good."

She smiled happily. "Very good."

"We need to do this more often." He lowered his hand, picked up her leg, and set her side sideways in front of him.

Cradled in his arms, she listened to his heartbeat through his leather vest. She thought nobody would ever be able to get as close to her as Clara, being her twin, but she'd been wrong.

Rich knew what she wanted and needed before she could clear things in her mind and know what she wanted and needed herself. She wasn't high maintenance in the clothes and makeup area of her life, but she found herself greedy for love. And, he gave her that.

"We got a call from Gomez." Wayne held the phone to his ear.

Rich's body tensed. Gracie sat up and slid off the Harley. One by one, each Notus member joined Wayne at the edge of the mountain. She walked over to Clara where the other women joined them.

"Maybe Lieutenant Gomez is calling about something else than a missing person." Clara frowned, looking at the men. "I thought we were finally going to get one night together without something coming up."

"Me, too." Erikka folded her arms. "The bonds business is exploding lately. I haven't been able to get home before eight o'clock for the last two weeks. It's been exhausting. Rachel and I have been talking about hiring another bondsman or bondswoman to work part-time to help us out. I think it's time. I'd like to be able to get home and cook dinner for Chuck rather than relying on picking up food at Vavoom's every night."

Clara looked at Gracie and motioned her head in Lena's direction. Gracie gazed at Lena, noticing her hand on her flat stomach, and smiled back at her sister. Everyone knew Thad and Lena wanted to try for a second baby.

Gracie nudged Ingrid with her elbow and flicked her gaze in Lena's direction. The other woman looked and after a few seconds hid her smile behind her hand.

"What's going on?" Lena looked around the group. "Everyone went quiet."

"Um, do you have something to tell us?" asked Clara.

Lena removed her hand from her belly and raised her brows. "No."

"Liar. You're pregnant, aren't you? said Erikka, catching on to the behind the scenes conversation going on.

Lena clamped her lips together.

"Oh, my God. You are." Erikka threw her arms around Lena.

"Stop." Lena laughed. "We don't know, and until we do know for sure, I'm not saying anything."

"You're late?" asked Gracie.

Lena nodded. "Only four days."

"Oh, geez." Clara smiled. "There is no way I could wait that long to find out."

"We're going to do a test tomorrow." Lena accepted everyone's hugs for good luck.

Gracie smiled at everyone's excitement and her own. She and Clara always planned to have kids around the same time so their children could grow up close together in age. Lately, her sister had been talking more about having kids—which got her thinking of what it would be like to have a child with Rich.

He wasn't against having kids, and the longer he went in his sobriety, the more willing he was to talk about the possibilities.

Wayne walked away from the group of men. "Let's ride out."

Rich headed straight to Gracie. She followed him to the motorcycle. Slipping on the helmet, she leaned close to him.

"What's going on?" She latched her D strap.

"Missing person." Rich threw his leg over the seat of the bike. "I'm riding with them."

She had no time to ask him why. He hadn't gone on any searches in the last two years because he focused on straightening out his life, staying sober, and working.

"Do you want to stay with your sister or go home while I'm gone?" he asked.

She slid in behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and made an instant decision. "Home."

One after another, the Notus Motorcycle Club members looped their motorcycles around and headed down the road. All members together, living their purpose.