Sledge had been staring at the wall of the shop for a really long time. Ash was trying to be patient and give him time to process what he’d just told him, but it had been a really long time, and Sledge still hadn’t uttered a sound. Finally, unable to take it any longer, Ash said, “Are you okay?”

Sledge began to shake his head slowly from side to side. “He raped her.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Neither Ash nor Sledge gave any thought to whether or not what Mackenzie told him about Phil was true. They didn’t know Phil, but they knew Mack. As angry as Sledge had been with her and as hurt as Ash was, they both knew that she wouldn’t lie about something like that...not in a million years. In a low, almost growly voice Sledge said, “I’m going to kill the motherfucker.”

“I want to kill him too,” Ash said, “but Phil Spencer is a prominent businessman in Manhattan with a lot of friends and contacts in the city. You know as well as I do that we can’t just waltz in there and kill him. He could have copies of these videos anywhere and a police investigation would undoubtedly turn them up.”

“So...you’re suggesting what? I know you’re not saying we’re going to do nothing. He raped Mackenzie—fuck! I’ve spent five years hating my best friend while meanwhile she was dealing with this. She thought she was protecting you...us...fuck, Ash, what have I done?”

“Nothing, Sledge. You haven’t done anything. Mack understands that all you had to go on was what we were told back then. She knows that you were just being loyal to me. You and Mack can be friends again...if you want to be.”

“If I want to be? Shit. If I were her I’d never speak to my stupid ass again.”

Ash tried to hide his smile. “Well, I think she’ll be happy to speak to your stupid ass again, if that’s what you want.”

“I want to kill somebody,” he said, flatly. “I didn’t get to be a part of taking care of the trash that killed Smoke because of this fucking leg. That was bad enough. But now, I find out that this piece of shit raped our Mack and got away with it. He’s living his Wall Street life, probably harassing other young women and just fucking getting away with it. I want him dead. I want to watch him die. That’s what I want.”

Ash nodded. “Me too, brother. But guess what? I’ve learned something about being patient and controlling my temper lately, and I think this is one of those situations where both are going to be warranted.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

“First thing tomorrow morning, we go buy us a couple of new suits.”

Sledge looked at Ash like he’d grown another head. “The fuck you say?”

Ash smiled. “We’re going to need them if the people in Phil Spencer’s office are going to believe we’re old friends of his.”

“I’ve got a feeling this will be the first trip back to Manhattan that I’ve enjoyed since I moved out of there.”

“I’ve got a feeling we both will,” Ash said. “Mack and I are going for a ride before it gets too late. You okay?”

“Yeah, bro, I will be. Tell her...shit, I’ll tell her myself when she has some time.”

“I’ll tell her,” Ash said, clapping Sledge on the shoulder. “I’m sure she’d love to talk to you in the morning. I’ll give you guys some time alone before you and I head for town, okay?” Sledge nodded. Ash patted his shoulder again and then left him there in the shop and went to pick up his “date.” It had been three days since Smoke’s funeral and things were starting to get back to normal, somewhat, around the club. Mack told him that she was going to have to get back to New York; she had to get back to work. Allison’s lawyers wanted to meet with Ash, Charlie, and their attorneys on Monday. It was Saturday now, and Ash intended to make the best of what time he and Mack had left before things all started changing, dramatically. He wasn’t sure how he and Mack were going to work it out, but he didn’t intend to be without her for long. He also intended to accept his part of Allison’s offer to settle, if for no other reason than to wash his hands of her altogether. Charlie would be an overnight multi-millionaire, practically a billionaire, and in less than two weeks, she’d be sixteen and an emancipated adult as well. He didn’t doubt that all that was trouble in the making, at least until they all adjusted. But he was ready for it...he hoped. With Mack by his side and his little sister safe and happy, he was sure he could accomplish anything. Once Allison was out of their lives and Phil Spencer was taken care of...maybe they could all learn how to be a different version of the family they’d all imagined having someday.

Mack felt like a teenager as she got ready for her “date” with Ash. Charlie was hovering, asking a lot of questions about whether or not Mack and Ash were back together. Mack told her that nothing had been decided yet. The truth was, she was afraid to think about it because she couldn’t wrap her head around how they would be able to do it. She’d just accepted the CEO position with Bennett Textiles and she couldn’t just leave them high and dry. Charlie had no idea how to run a billion-dollar company and Mack wasn’t sure she’d trust anyone else in that position until Charlie was a lot older. As it was, she’d be so easy to take advantage of. She gave Mack free rein and although Mack was giving her weekly status reports, she knew that Charlie actually processed very little of it. She heard that they were doing well financially and that was all she was interested in.

In the same vein, Mack would never expect Ash to move back to New York. The short time she’d spent with him and his brothers in the club had given her a much deeper understanding of why he had left New York in the first place. Ash was raised rich, but even after he’d spent four years in college and graduated with a business degree, he had no interest in taking over the family business. He’d gotten a job on Wall Street because he wasn’t the kind of guy that was going to live off Daddy’s money, and he lived in New York because that’s where Mack, his dad, and Charlie were. But her hurting him might have just been the best thing that ever happened to him in the long run because the life he’d made for himself in California suited him, and he was happy, and he finally had good, strong, real people in his life. She’d never ask him to give that up.

But tonight, she was going to do her best to put all of that on a shelf and enjoy their first real date in over five years. Back when they were together every Friday night was “date night.” They made no other plans, refused invitations, and they went out, just the two of them. Sometimes they did a movie, sometimes a play. Sometimes they did nothing more than take a drive, or go out to Long Island and make love on the beach. They tried new restaurants, took carriage rides, walks in the park, and watched the sunset. At the end of the night, though, it never mattered where they had gone or what they had done...it had always been about being together and being in love. Tonight, he’d asked if she wanted to see a movie and have dinner, but the excitement she felt came from knowing he was trying to recreate “date night” and it made her love him even more.

Ash knocked on the door of the trailer at exactly seven p.m. Charlie opened it and threw her arms around his neck. Ash looked touched, but surprised. “What’s all this about?”

“You and Mack! I’m so happy you’re getting back together.” Ash looked over his little sister’s shoulder at Mack. She shook her head, trying to convey to him that Charlie hadn’t gotten that idea from her. Ash held his sister back, kissed her on the cheek, and said:

“I’m glad you’re happy, kid. It’s been a long time coming.”

“You too,” she said, and then looking at Mack, “and you. You’ve both been miserable for way too long. You belong together. We can finally be the family that we were supposed to be...it’s just too bad Daddy didn’t live to see this.”

“Charlie...” Mack started.

“Dad can see,” Ash said, interrupting Mack. “He knows we’re happy...all of us.”

“You think so?” Charlie asked him.

He smiled gently at her. “I know so, kid. Now, we have to get going or we’ll be late for the movie.”

Charlie hugged him again. Mack almost had tears just watching them. She loved that all the crap they’d both been through over the past month had at least brought them back together. Charlie had been turning into her mother before Asher III passed away. Being in California with Ash had brought her back down to earth. “Okay,” she said, looking at Mack. “Have fun and make him buy you the lobster. Come Monday he’ll be a very wealthy man.”

Mack laughed and grabbed her jacket off the back of the little couch. “Thanks for the tip,” she told Charlie, giving her a little hug as she passed. She and Ash walked out to his bike and he handed her a helmet before sliding on. She slipped on behind him. It had been a long time since she’d been on a bike with him. She loved it. She loved molding her front to his back and holding on to him around his waist. He made her feel safe, and the ride on the bike was always exhilarating.

“Dinner first?” he asked.

“Sure, I thought we were running late for the movie.”

She felt him chuckle. “I just told Charlie that so we could get out of there.” Mack shook her head as Ash started up the bike. She shuddered at the feel of the vibrations between her legs and the feeling of being pressed into his big, warm body. She held on and hugged into him for the fifteen minutes it took to get to the restaurant. It was a teppanyaki-style Japanese food restaurant and she found out once they were inside that Ash had made reservations. They were taken straight to their table and seated with six other people around a tabletop stove where the chef would cook for them as they watched.

Their chef was personable, and funny, and he made one hell of a volcano out of an onion. The food was amazing and while they ate, they talked about things Charlie had said, and Ash told stories about some of the funny things that had happened in the club; and everything that had caused them drama or angst was temporarily forgotten. Mack was happier and more relaxed than she’d been in years and for just a little while it was easy to imagine that no time at all had passed between them.

After dinner they rode the bike to the cinema and even though they were both stuffed with the rich Japanese food, Ash insisted on buying popcorn and huge boxes of candy for them both. They carried them into the theater, found a seat, and as soon as they were settled, Ash slipped his arm around her shoulders like he used to.

The movie was a scary one and Mack was happy about that too. It gave her an excuse to clutch onto him and snuggle in close. Afterwards, if she had to answer questions about the movie plot, she’d fail miserably, but she wouldn’t care. Once again, it was just about the experience of spending time with the love of her life.

Ash drove slowly back to the club, just giving them both a chance to enjoy the warm, beautiful night. The moon was full and the stars were visible in the sky. When they got to the clubhouse Ash parked his bike in front of it and waited for her to get off before he shut off the bike. She pulled off her helmet and he licked his lips and said, “Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to spend an entire evening with you and not take you into a bathroom or a closet and ravish that gorgeous body?”

She smiled and said, “I think I might...since I feel the same way about you.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

Still sitting on the bike, he pulled her to him and she leaned down until their lips met. Ash kissed her softly at first, but the kiss quickly turned hot and passionate and his hands began to roam her body. The sounds of another bike drew her out of the kiss and she asked, “Can we take this somewhere a little more...private?”

Ash grinned and looked over at his brothers, three of them who were climbing off their bikes. “Hey, guys, it bother you to watch me kiss my old lady?”

They all laughed and one older guy said, “Boy, in my day, we’d consummate that relationship right there on the bike.”

Ash laughed. “Oh yeah?”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Mack said with a laugh.

“You think the old days were so much better? I could consummate right here.”

“No, you can’t,” Mack whispered with another giggle.

“I’ll consummate all over every one of these bikes as a matter of fact,” he said, ignoring her.

His friends laughed and started egging him on. “Whip out that little east coast dick, boy, and show us how you consummate,” the older guy said with a laugh.

“Ash...” He ignored her again and said:

“Fuck, JT, you know everything is bigger and better in New York City.”

“I think we should ask his old lady,” one of the guys said with a laugh. Ash finally looked at her and seeing she was embarrassed by the conversation, he tried to cut it short.

“Nah, leave her out of it.”

Mack smiled and said, “A lady never gives away secrets from the bedroom anyways. Even if those secrets are huge. Come on, old man...you’ve got some work to do upstairs.” Ash laughed and wrapped his arms around her from behind. They left the parking lot and went inside to a chorus of smart remarks and catcalls. Ash held her around the waist until they were upstairs and then on the landing he spun her around to face him and said:

“Damn, baby, you handled that like a champ.”

She smiled again and said, “You forget that I grew up with you and Sledge as my BFFs. I’m no shrinking violet. I can handle my own.”

“Mm, that’s hot.”

“Make you horny, does it?”

“Mm-hmm.”

She slid her hand down his body and cupped the front of his jeans. He was hard as a rock already. She gave it a squeeze and said, “Me too. But before we go handle this...I have a question.”

“What’s that?”

“Am I your old lady?”

“Do you want to be?” She nodded, and he smiled. “Good...Now, let’s go to your room so I can take this monster out and play with it.”