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“Gonna shit his pants.” She finishes my sentence for me.
“Yeah. That,” I agree.
“No he’s not,” Julius says from behind me. “He’s going to be thrilled because this is his second chance.”
“Julius,” I whisper, tears streaking down my cheeks. “You’re happy? You swear?”
“I swear it on my life, temptress.”
“Sure you’re not too old to start over, Pops?” Charlee taunts her dad. “I mean, you have grandkids that’ll be older than this kiddo.”
“Get outta here, Charlee girl. And wash your mouth out with soap while you’re at it. Your palate needs to be cleansed,” Julius rumbles, radically sighing while shaking his head at her playful antics.
“I’m happy for you, Pops,” she whispers, but not low enough that I don’t hear her.
“Thank you, baby girl,” he replies, his voice raw with emotion.
Julius shuts the door behind him with the heel of his boot. “What’s with the attire?” I ask as he winds me up in his arms, pulling me deep into his pecs, and kissing the top of my scalp.
“We found them, baby. We’re riding out in twenty minutes, but I needed to see you first. No matter what happens today, I want you to know how much I love you, how happy you make me, and how ecstatic I am about our future.” He cups my belly and strokes his thumb over it. “You and this little one, y’all are my everything.”
“Be careful, Julius. You have a lot to come home to now.”
“Even if it was only you I’d be coming home to, it’d still be a lot. You are my world. I’ll be back, temptress, and when I am, I’m going to have our wayward siblings with me,” he avows. “I’m not sure what shape they’ll be in when we find them, so I’ve called in our doctor to be here on standby. He’s going to give you a checkup in the meantime. This will be the only time I won’t be at your side when it comes to checking on our little one.”
“I look forward to each visit. Do you have backup? AreNonnoand his troops going with you?”Nonnohasn’t left town since finding me. He’s been close by in case we need him—I need him. Secretly, I think he’s scared that if he lets me out of his sight, I’ll disappear again. And myNonna, which she insisted I call her the only time I’ve spoken with her over the telephone, would skin his hide if that happened—his words, not mine.
Even though I barely spoke a word during the phone call andNonno’svisits, I’ve discovered that they can carry on a conversation without my input. They fill the awkward space for me.
With one last kiss, and a smack to my rump, he walks out the door.
“Be safe. Come home.”
Julius
“It’stime to pull your cut out of retirement, old man,” Gunner says before roaring, “Grab your gear, pick a bike, because today, we end this war. Let’s reclaim our lives and let’s ride!” The men surrounding us hoot and holler.
“Asphalt on the ground and beneath your feet,” Kruger adds. “Don’t knock your heads on it. Got it?”
“We’ve got it. Stop stressing, VP,” Texas grumbles. “You’re like a damn papa bear.”
“Watch it fucker, or my claws will pay you a personal visit,” Kruger retorts.
Shaking my head at their bantering, I head to the one closet that hasn’t been opened in years. Cobwebs cake the surface of the jamb and knob. Opening it up, I go straight to the coat locker behind the dusty door in the garage. I yank my cut from its protective garment bag and slide it over my shoulders.
Instantly, this feels right. Like being welcomed by an old friend I haven’t seen in a very long time.
The buttery-silk leather feels good against my skin and cloaked around my torso. It reminds me of how special the men I’ve either raised, or the ones who I’ve brought into the stronghold of the DreamCatcher Motorcycle Club, are. It’s brought me back home, to my roots, to what was once mine and Ma’s new beginning.
Am I crossing boundaries that I once swore I’d never defy again? Abso-fucking-lutely. But sometimes, promises made, even if they’re made to yourself, are meant to be decimated.
“Round ‘em up, boys. We’ve got a mudhole to stomp in someone’s ass,” I decree, a vicious smile spreading along my face.
This is a new era.
The beginning of a unique partnership between the DreamCatchers and theFamilia.
We’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
