Gabriel groaned, long, low and deep, unsure of what woke him up. He had gotten the shit kicked out of him by Tony in a North Carolina motel room, then Stella had kicked the shit out of him in her bed when they arrived back in South Carolina, and he was feeling very muscle, hurting in places he didn’t even know he had.

 

It had been worth it though. He took a deep breath, wincing at his sore ribs. They had made love for hours, slept, then woken just before dawn to make love again.

 

“I’m hungry,” Katrina said, crawling into bed with them. He was mildly embarrassed Katrina was sitting on her knees beside him as he and Stella lay in bed completely nude. The only saving grace was Stella was tucked into his side, so her intimate parts were hidden by his body, though his cock was on display for all to see.

 

“What?” Stella mumbled, stirring but not coming awake.

 

“Okay, squirt,” he whispered. “Why don’t you go into the kitchen and I’ll be right there, okay?”

 

“I want eggs and toast.”

 

“You got it. Go on.”

 

She crawled out of the bed and padded quietly out of the room, her bear tucked under her arm. He tried to squeeze out from under Stella but she grasped him, trying to get him to stay in bed with her. “No, don’t go.”

 

“I’m just going to the bathroom. Go back to sleep.”

 

“Okay,” she sighed.

 

After relieving himself, he slipped into his pants then padded into the kitchen, his walk painful, stiff, and uncoordinated.

 

***

 

He was just raking the eggs onto Katrina’s plate when Stella appeared, now dressed in a long sleep shirt. Her hair was a mess, and she was clearly not awake, but he’d never seen a more beautiful woman.

 

“Morning,” she mumbled then yawned and stretched.

 

“Morning, beautiful,” he said, leaning over and offering a kiss. “Want some eggs?”

 

She gave him a quick kiss then a pat on the chest. “Coffee first.”

 

Several minutes later, and half-cup in, her mind was beginning to work. “It’s hard to believe I won’t even miss any work,” she commented as she took another sip then stared into her cup as he slid a plate of eggs in front of her. She smiled. Next she was going to teach him to make bacon.

 

She and Gabriel had made love way too late into the night, and she hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep, but she wouldn’t change a thing. It had been magical, unlike any other time, better even than any time with him before. She hadn’t forgotten what he’d done, but it no longer mattered. That Gabriel was gone, replaced by the new Gabriel, the strong, confident, secure Gabriel, the Gabriel who made her made her knees weak and her heart soar.

 

They had breakfast, talking about their day. “I need to go to the clubhouse for a while today,” Gabriel said. “Now that we have the money back, we need to get another contractor lined up to finish the work Tony started. Want to come by after work and see the place? You said you wanted to see what the fuss was about and to thank the brothers. You and Katrina both.”

 

She smiled. This was his life, and so long as he didn’t put the club before her or Katrina, she could accept it. Having the club riding to her rescue with Gabriel and standing guard over Grammy and Katrina had done a great deal to soften her opinion of them.

 

“I think I’d like that.”

 

He smiled, relieved she wasn’t going to try to force him to choose between his family and the club.

 

***

 

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Hot Rod chuckled as Royal made his way into the clubhouse. Moose and Scratch were there, waiting for Doc and Jaunt, along with the rest of the brothers to arrive with the safe. “You look like hell. Stella must have worn your ass out last night.”

 

Royal chuckled. “That, and Tony. He tried to kill me.”

 

Jaunt shook his head as he grinned. “I keep telling you, that Ninja shit you do isn’t worth a damn. You need to learn to kick ass.”

 

Royal chuckled again. “It works for me most of the time. I can’t bring in fugitives beat all to hell. They’ll pull my license over shit like that. Tony, he must have been a wrestler or something because he knew how to counter everything I did to lock him up.”

 

“Next time, take me with you and I’ll show you how to do it,” Jaunt teased.

 

“There won’t be a next time, I hope. Have you heard from Doc or anybody?”

 

Moose looked at his watch. “They should be here in the next fifteen or twenty minutes. You arrived just in time to help move the safe.”

 

Royal grinned as he shook his head. “I’ll try, but I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

 

***

 

Since they had a smidge of experience, the Iron Kings didn’t have nearly as much trouble getting the safe into place the second time as they did the first. Once the had the vault upright and level again, Doc opened it for the first time. The shelves and stacks of cash were jumbled from the safe lying on its back and side, but a quick inventory confirmed the money was all there. They knew intellectually it had to be, but that didn’t prevent them from sighing in relief after they counted it.

 

Royal put the money back and relocked the vault.

 

“Maybe we should bolt this bastard down,” Blade muttered as Royal gave the dial a spin.

 

“It won’t be water tight anymore if we do,” Doc said. “I don’t think we have to worry about anyone stealing it again, especially when we finish getting the walls up. They’ll have to knock a fucking wall down to get it out because the hoist damn sure won’t go through a door.”

 

“This sucks,” Scratch said. “We have a bar and we can’t even use it.”

 

“Who says?” Hot Rod said, stepping behind the bar. The brothers heard the sound of ice and he popped up with two beer bottles. “Who wants a beer?”

 

The brothers spent the next couple of hours nursing beers as Royal recounted how he tracked Tony down and rescued Stella. They gave him hell about nearly getting his ass kicked by a carpenter and wanted to know if Stella had rewarded him well last night. His refusal to confirm or deny only started the ribbing over again.

 

“She wants to come by this evening, after work, and tell everyone thank you for what they did,” Royal said. “She gets off at eight, so we can be here about eight-thirty.”

 

“Bring her by,” Doc said with a grin. “Your little girl, too. Holly would love to meet her. Katrina is her name?”

 

“Kathy, too,” Hammer added, the rest of the bothers adding their agreement, as well.

 

“Stella and Katrina,” Royal nodded.

 

“Katrina is cute as a button,” Hot Rod said. “Gets her looks from her mother.”

 

“Thank God,” Blade teased.

 

***

 

“You ready?” Gabriel asked as Stella slowed in front of the clubhouse doors. The lights were on inside and she could see men and women milling about, talking and laughing. It had been more than four years since she’d been to any type of party, and never to one with Katrina.

 

“I’m a little nervous.”

 

He reached out and took Katrina from her, holding her in the crook of his arm as she clung to his neck. “Don’t be. MC members get a bad rap by a few bad apples, but most are people, just like you and me, and these guys, and their old ladies, are better than most.”

 

She gave her head a firm nod and stepped forward, trying to emulate Gabriel’s confidence. The moment the door opened, everyone turned and fell silent a moment. An older man stepped forward with a lovely woman on his arm. “Stella, I’m Avery Doctson and this is my wife, Shari. Welcome to the Iron Kings clubhouse, such as it is.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Avery, Shari,” she said extending her hand and shaking theirs.

 

“Call me Doc, everyone else does.”

 

“Is this Katrina?” Holly asked smiling at the little girl in Royal’s arms. “Hot Rod said she was beautiful, but oh my!” She grinned at Royal. “In ten or twelve years you’re going to have your hands full!”

 

Blade stepped forward. “Don’t worry, Royal. We’ll help you beat off the boys.”

 

“Can I get you a beer?” Doc asked Stella.

 

“Sure, thanks,” Stella said, and almost immediately a beer was handed to her.

 

“If you can stand to be away from this loser for a minute, I’ll introduce you to everyone,” Doc said, taking her by the arm and slowly escorting her away.

 

Holly extended her hand to Katrina. “Hello, Katrina. I’m Holly. It’s nice to meet you.”

 

Royal chuckled as she turned away and buried her face into his neck. “She’s a little shy.”

 

“It’s okay,” Holly said with a smile. “Bryan was the same way when he was her age. You want a beer?”

 

“In a minute.”

 

Holly watched Stella as she shook hands, smiling and laughing occasionally. “She’s lovely, Royal. You were with her before, right?”

 

“Two years. I left her to join the Kings.”

 

“I thought you were brighter than that. I can tell by the way she looks at you that she adores you.”

 

“Not my best decision, no.”

 

Holly smiled and gave him a nod. “At least you know you made a mistake. That’s half the battle. You’re luckier than most. You get a second chance.”

 

“You got that right, sister.”

 

She glanced up and watched as Royal’s eyes tracked Stella, and smiled. She could remember when Doc looked at her that way and she smiled slightly. Tonight, after they got home, she would remind him why he had.

 

***

 

Royal and Stella sat in lawn chairs, nursing beers, as the brothers and sisters regaled Stella with embarrassing story after embarrassing story. He smiled, allowing them to tell their tales, Katrina in his lap, head against his chest, her eyelids slowly getting heavy as she battled sleep. They had done a good job keeping the stories PG-rated since Katrina was there, but Stella was able to glean enough from what was said that she had howled in laughter at some of his more ridiculous moments.

 

She had particularly liked the one where he’d missed a collar in boonies of Louisiana because, while on a stakeout, an alligator had taken up position by his bike. In the two years since that happened, the story had grown more preposterous with every retelling. Yes, he had eventually run the thing off by throwing sticks at it, but no, it hadn’t chased him first, and no, he hadn’t fallen in the swamp. Just because he had a little mud on the knees of his pants didn’t mean he was covered in mud.

 

She wiped her eyes and gasped, trying to catch her breath. “Oh my God! I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much!” She had been nervous, worried about the types of men and women who were in his club, but she was surprised. They had been uniformly welcoming and warm, putting her at ease and allowing her to relax around them.

 

Royal put his hand on the inside of her thigh and stroked her slowly. “We need to go. Someone needs to go to bed.”

 

Kathy nodded and grinned. “Katrina is getting sleepy, too.”

 

Stella twittered out a laugh. “I see that. Thank you, everyone, for making me feel welcome,” she said sincerely as Royal rose and cuddled Katrina, turning her so her head lay on his shoulder.

 

“You’re welcome to come back anytime,” Kathy said with a smile. “You can help us old ladies give these assholes some class.”

 

Royal and Stella finish making their goodbye and stepped into the night. “So?” he asked.

 

“Not what I expected.”

 

Gabriel grinned. “They were on their best behavior since Katrina was there, but they’re good people.”

 

She nodded as she leaned in close. “I can see they’re your family.”

 

“Yes.”

 

She nodded and watched as Gabriel slid Katrina into her car seat. It’ll be nice to have family other than Grammy, she thought, her lips cracking into a smile.

 

THE END

 

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