Jules rolled over and stretched, reaching for the warm softness next him, except she wasn’t there. He patted the bed a moment before forcing his eyes open. He had sat with her last night, Friday, as she returned the bar’s hours to their original four pm until two am. With the cartel problem resolved and all but a handful of Forsaken 99 now on Jules’s cleaning crew, they agreed that she should be safe. He turned and squinted at the clock—six-oh-six—then propped on an elbow and looked about the room. By the time they got home, and made love, they hadn’t fallen asleep until nearly four. What in the hell is she doing up so early?

 

He got up, urinated, then went in search of her. He found her sitting on her couch, looking through some old pictures. She hadn’t heard him and he paused in the doorway to just look at her. So beautiful, tough and strong.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

She jumped slightly at his words, then turned and smiled at him. “Yes. Just… I don’t know. It’s so hard to believe it is almost over. It’s been almost four months since Will was killed and so much has happened.”

 

“I know,” he said as he moved to sit down with her. “But in a few hours we can begin to put this behind us. We can start to heal. Both of us.”

 

“Yes, I know. It just feels like a piece of me has withered and died inside. After Will’s death I couldn’t think of anything except revenge. And now? Now I don’t know what I want. I feel lost and hollow inside.”

 

“I know how you feel. I felt the same way after my platoon was wiped out. But I found my way and that hollow place has been filled with something else. You.”

 

She smiled at him and touched his face, watching his face relax at her touch. “I don’t know how you stood it all those years. If it weren’t for you…”

 

He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers softly. “I’m here for you. For whatever you need for as long as you need it.”

 

She made a sound, half snicker and half sob, blinking rapidly to hold back the tears. “I need you to take me back to bed and just hold me. Tell me everything is going to be okay. I’m lost, Jules. I don’t know what I feel. I don’t know where to go from here. I just know that I love you and can’t even think about living without you.”

 

He stood and held his hand down for her. When she took it he pulled her gently to her feet then scooped her up into his arms. “Then I shall carry you until you find your feet again.”

 

She relaxed into his strong embrace, laying her head against his shoulder, secure in the knowledge that he would never drop her, that he would carry her to the ends of the earth if that is what it took. But she knew that wouldn’t be required, that his love for her would guide her through the wilderness and out the other side. It would just take time, time for her wounds to heal, but heal she would.

 

He carried her down the short hall to her bedroom. As he softly placed her in her bed she smiled that she thought of this place as hers, but his place as theirs. His house was more home than her own now. He settled softly onto her, wrapping her up tight and holding her close. She felt tears threatening again, and she let them flow, not trying to be strong. As tears leaked from her eyes, he kissed them away with slow touches of his lips, his warm embrace comforting her and making her feel secure, as if nothing in this world could harm her. Finally the tears stopped, and that hollow place was a tiny bit smaller, filled in from the endless depth of the love she felt from Jules. His deep rhythmic breathing warmed her neck as his touch warmed her body and his love warmed her soul. Feeling secure, warm and loved, she slid softly into sleep, and the hollow place filled in a tiny bit more.

 

***

 

“Are you sure you want to be here for this?” Jules asked as Rachel mounted his Harley behind him.

 

“I have never been so sure of anything in my life. I want to see that son-of-a-bitch stripped of his colors and kicked out on his ass.”

 

Jules smiled as he thumbed the big bike to life. After her moment of weakness this morning, the old ass-kicking, name-taking, Rachel was back. He had said he would carry her for as long as she needed him to, and he would. But he also sensed she was entering into the final phase of loss, acceptance. He was an expert on loss, and he knew that hollow place she felt was where the rage had been. With time that hollow place would be replaced with something else. Together, they were invincible and could handle anything that life threw at them.

 

Jules eased the bike out of the garage then stopped at the van parked across the street. They waited, the bike idling, until one of the men inside stepped out.

 

“We’re headed to the clubhouse for some business. No cartel will be there, but you are welcome to follow if you like. Do you have the address?”

 

The man gave Jules the middle finger as he laughed and Jules eased out on the clutch and started the bike rolling again as Rachel giggled in his ear. He smiled as he toed the bike smoothly up through the gears, her laughter sweeter and more delightful than any music.

 

It was two-thirty when Jules turned into the clubhouse parking lot. The outside of the clubhouse was complete with only the interior trim out remaining. If there was one good thing that came from the drug running, it was the influx of cash that allowed them to proceed on the clubhouse as fast as the workmen could go.

 

Because the interior wasn’t complete, and the weather was cooling as summer bled into autumn, the party was being held outside. Marsh had set up the party as an excuse to heal the club. Todd was convinced that the hit on the drug exchange and the cartel earlier in the week was the Cuervo Cartel, and Marsh had done nothing to dissuade that thinking. Todd thought the club was reforming behind him for protection, unaware of the trap that Marsh had laid for him. Until Jules stepped off his bike.

 

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Todd demanded as Rachel removed her helmet. “Get him the hell out of here.”

 

“I don’t think you have a clear picture of what is going on here,” Marsh said as Jules walked up. “You see Todd, it wasn’t Cuervo that hit you. It was us. The true Forsaken 99, not this perverted pile of shit it has become.”

 

“You! You lying backstabbing pieces of shit! I’ll kill you all for this!”

 

“You would know about backstabbing, wouldn’t you Todd. You ordered the hit on Fish and Bell. You gave the information to the Andres Cartel so they could hit the very men that were trying to prevent you from getting involved with the cartel.”

 

“That’s a fucking lie!” Todd screamed.

 

“Is it? Thirteen men, Todd. Thirteen men killed because of your treachery. We bagged The Investigator. He gave you up. He told us that you fed the cartel the information on who to hit, and where.”

 

“That’s a lie! You can’t believe I would do that,” Todd cried, looking at the members. “He’s lying to protect himself!”

 

“We all heard it with our own ears,” Trevor said.

 

“Is this true, Todd? You ordered hit on our own brothers?” Peter asked, looking at Todd in disgust.

 

“It’s true,” Marsh said. “All of it. Jules saw it coming, so Todd rigged the game. He killed Fish and Bell to stack the board. Then he had ten brothers killed. And Will. Jordan will never ride again because of him.”

 

Peter grabbed Todd by the front of his colors. “I trusted you! I stood with you through all this shit! How could you, you fucker!” he screamed before he fired a hard right into Todd’s gut. Todd doubled over with a whoosh of air as Peter released him like he was made of shit. “I’m done with you,” he sneered as he stomped away.

 

“Anyone else?” Spence asked. “Anyone else want to step away?”

 

“You’re making a big mistake, Jules,” Gigolo warned.

 

“Turn in your colors, all of you,” Marsh said.

 

“Fuck you, Marsh,” Todd gasped. “I’ll fucking die before I give them up.”

 

Marsh shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

 

Before anyone could react, Todd and his close supporters made a break for it. There were several shots fired, though Rachel couldn’t tell if anyone was hit. Jules pulled her away from the worst of the fighting and placed himself between her and the rumble. They had agreed to Marsh’s request that they stay out of whatever happened and let the club sort it out. She peeked around his shoulder, watching as Todd’s men were overwhelmed. Liv and Nina, Todd’s old lady, had their hands tangled in each other’s hair as they scratched, bit and cursed at each other. Several other women were likewise involved in duels of their own. Exotic had one woman down on the ground and was throwing punch after punch into her already bloodied face and even Tammy, the most mild-mannered of the club women, held a knife against another’s throat as she held her from behind.

 

“Stay here!” Jules snapped as she heard a motorcycle start. Then two more. She whirled in the direction of the sounds to see Todd, Gigolo and Lloyd mounting up as Jules ran toward them.

 

“Marsh!” she screamed at the top of her voice.

 

Marsh looked up from his position on the ground with his knee in one of the members back and she pointed in the direction of the three bikes pulling away, bouncing in worry and excitement.

 

Jules took Lloyd, the last to try to pull away, in a flying tackle, knocking him from the bike. They went down in tangle of arms and legs, but Jules was up first, and delivered a whirling kick to Lloyd’s face that sent him to the ground in a spray of blood.

 

Cooper, Eric and Spence were running toward their bikes as Jules sprinted toward his own. “Help him!” Rachel screamed, frantic with worry as Jules roared away in pursuit of the escaping members. Rachel whirled back, looking for more help, seeing the last of the insurrection being put down when Liv delivered a vicious knee to Nina’s face that sent her to the ground in a heap. She then turned back in the direction of the fleeing motorcycles and covered her mouth with her hand so she wouldn’t scream in panic.

 

***

 

Jules grit his teeth as he passed another car with scant inches to spare. There was no way Todd was getting away. He had a head start, and was riding recklessly fast, but Jules was slowly reeling him in. And when he caught him, he was going to kill him with his own hands.

 

Todd made a light that Jules had to skid to a stop for. Before he could jump the red, Marsh howled to a stop beside him and then they almost immediately shot across against the light, taking advantage of a small break in the traffic.

 

Todd had opened up a considerable lead while they were stuck at the light, but not so much that he could get away and out of sight. Once he hit highway 170 heading out of town, Marsh and Jules put their heads down and opened the taps on their Harleys. They were slowly catching Todd when he got stuck behind traffic. They rapidly closed in on him, traveling at nearly twice his speed. Todd made a daring pass that nearly got him killed, but luck was with them and Jules and Marsh blew past the hard braking car on the right in a wide spot.

 

Jules saw Todd glance over his shoulder before he braked hard and drove to the right, down a dirt road. Both Marsh and Jules missed the turn, unable to slow fast enough to make the right turn onto the dirt road, but quickly circled around and took up the pursuit again. Harleys weren’t designed for his type of riding, but if Todd could make it, Jules knew he could too. He and Marsh rode their bikes hard, swerving and skidding on the edge of control. Jules caught a movement out of the corner of his eye as Marsh went down as their bikes jittered hard over the wash-boarded surface.

 

Jules slid to a stop and began to turn back to help Marsh as he tried to kicked away from his downed bike. As he struggled to his feet he waved Jules on. Jules was torn between his desire to catch Todd and to make sure Marsh was okay. When Marsh waved him on more frantically, he turned back to the chase, his bike crabbing sideways as it clawed for grip in the loose sandy soil, Jules bouncing on the pegs, trying to help the road bike get traction.

 

Jules gritted his teeth, nearly dumping his own bike as he slid and scrabbled through a turn. He was riding suicidally fast, but he would be damned before Todd got away. As he skidded through another turn, he popped out of Todd’s dust cloud, seeing Todd’s bike in the ditch as he did so. He slammed on the brakes and nearly crash again as the front tire locked up on the loose ground. As he dismounted he could hear the roar of Marsh’s bike rise and fall as he battled his way along the dirt road.

 

Todd was lying under his bike in the ditch. He was conscious but unmoving. He looked unharmed, but then Jules saw the leg trapped under the bike, the bone sticking through the skin as he bled profusely.

 

“Help me Jules. My leg, it’s broken bad,” Todd begged.

 

“Like you helped Fish, Bell, Will, and Wade? Like you helped Boggs? That the kind of help you want?”

 

“I’m sorry, Jules. I messed up. I see that now. I’m really sorry.”

 

“Why? Tell me why, Todd.”

 

“Money. I’m almost sixty years old and I’m broke. I’ve got nothing. I just was trying to cash out before it was too late,” Todd gasped.

 

“You sold the club out for money?” Jules raged. “For fucking money?”

 

Marsh rolled to a stop. He dismounted a little slowly, but seemed to be moving okay.

 

“Damn, Todd,” Marsh drawled as he stepped up beside Jules. “That looks like it hurts. A lot.”

 

“Marsh help me. Please, won’t you help me? You and I, we were part of the founding fifteen. Remember?”

 

“Yeah. I remember. But that was before you fucked the club Todd. Before you started killing brothers. Now, you’re nothing but a pile of shit I need to scrape off my boot.”

 

“You’re finished Todd,” Jules said as he pulled his weapon. “You’re out of the club.”

 

“So just like that, you’re going to shoot me?” Todd sneered. “Then you’re no better than I am.”

 

“That’s where you’re wrong, Todd.” Jules emptied the nine shot magazine of his Glock into the engine on Todd’s Harley. “I’m not going to kill you. I don’t have to. You’re dead already.”

 

Todd went even paler. “Wait! You’re going to leave me here? You can’t do that! There are cougars!”

 

“Yeah. And I bet you smell good the way you’re bleeding.”

 

“Marsh! Don’t let him do that! Better to shoot me!”

 

Jules pointed his gun at Todd’s head and pulled the trigger. Click. “Sorry, Todd. All out of bullets. But if you can get that bike off of you, and drag yourself out into the road, maybe someone will come by before you’re cat food. Or maybe not.”

 

“You mother-fuckers! You don’t deserve to wear the colors! I swear to god I will fucking kill you both! You will have to watch your backs for the rest of your fucking lives!”

 

“Meow,” Marsh said with cruel smile before he and Jules turned their backs on him and strolled to their bikes.

 

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Todd screamed, then screamed in pain, probably from trying to get the bike off of himself.

 

“You okay to ride?” Jules asked.

 

“Brother, I feel better right now than I have in a long, long time.” Marsh slapped Jules on the shoulder, grinning as the dust puffed from the impact. “Come on. We’re missing a party.”