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Five Months Later ...

There was just about nothing I liked better than seeing my ring on Kitt’s finger. It gleamed in the late summer sun as I sat in Sly’s backyard waiting for the party to start. Kitt was at the back door holding it open for Charlie’s old lady, Mo.

When Mo came back from her Florida vacation, she took to Kitt right away. I think it gave her a little bit of a sense of what it might have been like to have a mother. It wasn’t the same of course, but it was a start.

Mo’s eyes lit up as she saw Kitt and she pinched her cheek as she walked past her. Then Mo saw me across the yard and shot me a wink. I’d never seen either one of them quite so happy.

Mo’s other project was Kitt’s friend Paulie. Paulie was here today too. In the last few months, he’d become a friend of the club. Half the shit he did, I didn’t want to know about.

“You set a date yet?” Angel asked. He came out of the garage carrying two cold beers. He handed me one.

I clicked my bottle with his. “We’re thinking just after Christmas,” I said. “After Kitt’s exams.”

She’d taken Sly up on his offer and gone back to school. She was working on getting an accounting degree. She’d work for the club then. Sly had more than enough to keep her busy with the books at the garage and the new Wolf Den. We were planning a grand reopening in three months. Construction was just about finished. It would be bigger and better than the old Den. I knew Mo couldn’t wait to get back there. She lived to take care of us all and cook for us. We were the sons and now daughters she’d never had.

Kitt smiled up at me as she helped Mo set plates out on the folding tables. The wind kicked up and Mo let some eff bombs fly as the tablecloths went airborne.

“I’m on it!” Kitt said, diving for a bag of clothespins. She tossed it to Paulie and ordered him to start making himself useful.

“Mo’s kind of collected him, hasn’t she?” Angel observed. Sure enough, Mo barked orders to Paulie. He wheeled his chair over to the tables and started saving the napkins.

“Seems like,” I said, laughing.

“Scary kid,” Angel said. “Glad he’s on our side.”

“Yep. That’s exactly what Sly said.”

Dex and Gunn joined us. Ford, Charlie, Big John, Teague, Marcus, Curtis, and all the others were on the side of the yard checking out John’s new ride. He was the last of us to finally settle on a new bike after the damage from the bombing.

“You check your news alerts this morning?” Dex asked. He sipped his beer and kept his eye on Paulie. Ava, Brenna, Maura, and the rest of the wives were in the kitchen bringing out the food. Mo had made tons of it. Fried chicken. Potato salad. More pies than any of us could eat. She was making up for lost time.

I took a long, slow sip of my beer. Just yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s office handed out twelve indictments against the major players in the Diaz cartel.

“That all thanks to him?” Gunn asked, pointing his beer toward Paulie.

“Sly’s not saying,” Dex answered. “And it’s better we don’t know all the details. Whatever he did and however he did it, there’s no doubt now the Diazes think the Rebels are responsible for their current troubles. He set up a money trail leading right to them. Made it shiny enough the feds took the bait.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

Dex leveled a stare at me. “That’s why I asked if you checked your phone. Hit the news outlets about an hour ago. Manny Torre’s dead.”

My heart dropped. “You’re shitting me. I thought he was under protective custody?”

Dex smiled. “Somebody wanted him dead bad enough.”

It was good news and bad news. Good because that bastard deserved to die. Bad because of what it might do to the case against the cartel. Manny was supposed to be their star witness. Turned out it only took a little of a push. First Paulie tweaked some bank accounts to make it look like the Rebels were ratting on the cartel. Then they actually started doing it.

“The snake ate its tail,” Angel said, whistling low. We all stared at Paulie. He was just a kid. He wasn’t even old enough to legally drink the beer we’d serve at this gathering.

“Like I said.” I turned to Angel. “Good thing he’s on our side.”

“Surprised you didn’t get the word from Mad Max,” Angel said. “Didn’t you see him this week?”

I nodded. It had become a semi-regular thing. I tried to get to San Quentin once a month to see my pops. Things weren’t all the way right between us, but it was a start. About so many things, Kitt had been right. Forgiving him was more for me than it was for him. I felt more at peace about him lately. It made me a better man. Maybe one that might finally believe I deserved what I had.

Kitt caught my eye. She turned. A breeze lifted her skirt. Laughing, she pulled it down. Heat raced through me. I couldn’t get enough of that woman. She blew me a kiss. She wore a daisy in her hair that I put there this morning. I couldn’t wait until Christmas. We talked about eloping, but as the conversation turned to more casual topics, I knew I wanted my brothers around me. They were my family. And they were Kitt’s family now too.

“He’s here!” Charlie bellowed from the driveway.

Mo clasped her hands together. She dropped the paper plates she was holding and ran toward Charlie. She gave him a big kiss when she got to him.

Sly pulled up in his car. He tooted the horn once and even from inside the car, I could hear Scarlett giving him shit for it. It made me smile.

Kitt came to my side. I tucked her against me where she fit the best and smiled down at her. “You ready for this?” I asked.

She shrugged and bit her lip. “Don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

A wild bunch of little kids stumbled out the back door.

“Declan, watch out for your sister!” Ava shouted after them. Dex’s two kids were the ringleaders, followed by Ford’s son, and two of Big John’s kids.

“Whoa!” Kitt said, spinning to avoid getting trampled as they all took off for the treehouse down the path.

“Aren’t you gonna stay for the big event?” Dex called after his children.

Little Declan turned back. “Babies are gross!” he declared.

Kitt giggled against my shoulder. “Kid’s got a point,” I said.

She playfully slapped me. She knew I was teasing. We were both itching to try for a baby of our own. But we had plenty of time.

Sly opened the passenger side door. He helped Scarlett out. Her cheeks were flushed. She looked tired, but the woman was glowing. Then Sly opened the back door and fumbled for a minute before he finally lifted the precious package out of the back seat.

Sly and Scarlett made their slow way up the walk. Scarlett held on to Sly’s shoulder, as Sly held his new son in his arms.

The rest of the guys made a path for Sly and Scarlett. Mo had a chair already waiting for Scarlett. She helped her ease into it. I saw one tiny fist poke out of the bundle Sly held.

He came to us first. “Kitt,” he said. “I’d like you to meet your brother.”

Beside me, Kitt’s breath hitched. She smiled wide in awe as Sly peeled back the wrappings. The baby was so tiny. He gurgled and tried to open his eyes. Kitt held her arms out. Sly handed the baby to her. Kitt teared up as she sat beside me.

God, she looked so damn beautiful holding that newborn baby. I knew in my heart she’d make the best mother when the time came. She looked up at me, her eyes shining with joy.

“Dad, he’s perfect,” she said. That was new to them too. Just in the last couple of weeks, Kitt finally felt comfortable using it with Sly. He was tough as nails, but I saw my prez choke up when she said it.

“His name is Samuel,” Scarlett said. “Little Sam.”

“Samuel,” Kitt repeated. It was Sly’s given name. “Hey, there, buddy. I’m your big sister.” The baby cooed and raised a fist. Kitt put her finger out. Little Sam curled his hand tightly around it.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, bringing her head to his. “We’ll figure this all out together, little man. I’ve got your back.”

Sly cleared his throat. He was getting choked up again. It was good to see. He went to Scarlett’s side and kissed her. Little Sam hiccuped.

“Oh,” Kitt said. “I think he’s hungry. Or he farted. Maybe both.”

She brought the baby over to his mother. Scarlett took him. She was natural, loving, and Sly stood beside them. Strong. Protective. Just like he’d been for every one of us in this club.

A cheer rose. Sam let out a little cry, but settled back. “Better get used to that,” Scarlett said. “Your uncles are a loud bunch.”

The baby was already asleep again. Kitt came to me. She was beaming.

“I love you,” I whispered.

Charlie popped the champagne for Mo. The rest of us would probably hit the harder stuff later. But first, I wanted to ride.

Kitt was in the mood for it too. We said some quick goodbyes, promising to be back before long. Kitt was worried about Paulie.

“You kidding?” I said. “He’s in his glory. Leave him be.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I’ve actually never seen him as happy or as social as he is when he’s with the club. At this rate, you may have to invent an honorary patch for him.”

I raised a brow. “Don’t think Sly hasn’t already thought of it. All in good time.”

She climbed on the back of my Harley. We rode fast and hard. Kitt loved it as much as I did. Sly was having a fit over it, but Kitt was learning to ride.

I took her past the site of the new Wolf Den. From the outside, it was already complete. The howling wolf’s head in red neon rose above the horizon. Brighter. Stronger. It represented everywhere we’d been and where we were going next.

“It’s going to be incredible,” Kitt said, shouting over my engine as I idled at the top of the hill.

It would. I debated telling her the news about Manny Torre. I hoped it would bring her comfort. But I didn’t want to waste a single breath on him tonight. This was our night. Our world. There would be other battles to fight. The cartel and other clubs would always try to take what we’d built here. With Sly holding the gavel, I knew we would beat them back time and again, just like now. Because we all had too much worth fighting for.

“Take me to the bluff again,” Kitt shouted. She read my mind, as always. I peeled away from the curb and took the curved highway out of town.

A full moon shone brightly as we reached the top. The stars were out in force. As I cut the engine, Kitt pulled a blanket out of a pack on the back of my bike. She spread it on the ground. I joined her.

“It’s so perfect,” she said. “I want you to marry me here.”

Smiling, I kissed her. We hadn’t planned that far ahead, but it thrilled me that she wanted it.

“And I wanted it under a full moon just like this one. I’m the daughter of a great wolf, after all.”

I bit the air near her ear. “And you’re marrying one.” I gave her a little growl that made her squeal.

Oh, I loved that sound.

“Come here,” I said. Kitt went up on her knees. I kissed her slow and deep. She was right. It was perfect here.

“And I want to make a bunch of little wolves,” she said.

She stirred my heart and loins. “Then get on your back, mama wolf,” I said as a cloud passed over and the moon was clear and bright. “Because I’m going to make you howl at the moon.”

And I did.