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Epilogue
Two Years Later
Iknew it. I knew she was going to be the death of me the second her little eyes looked up at me for the first time ever. And I was right because she’s gone and done it this time.
“Cartier!” I call out as she zips through the dirt track at speeds way too fucking fast. I clench the wrapper in my hand and push my other two fingers into my mouth and whistle. It’s no use. The little fucking shit sends it, flying up the ramp and flips backward into a La-Z-Boy, flipping me off with her free hands. After all the bullshit that happened with Delila, we burned The Castle down below The Village and turned it into one big riding paddock. It was fucking perfect for all of us since we’d worn out the old one.
She lands back onto the dirt and skids to a stop, removing her helmet and bouncing toward me with a smile. “What, grumpy? What’s wrong?”
“Oh? What’s wrong?” I flash the packet in front of her face, tilting my head to the side. “You’re fucking pregnant, and you’re riding like that?” Her smile falls instantly, grabbing the package out of my hands. “Tigger, what the fuck?”
“I’m not.” She shakes her head, and her blue hair falls over her shoulders. “I thought I was, but I’m not.” When the words leave her mouth, I try to ignore the way disappointment foils in my gut.
I reach for her hand, pulling her back against my chest. The smell of cooking meat and fried potatoes drifts over the cliff, and I know it’s almost time to head over to King and Perse’s for Sunday family dinner. “Hey.” I move her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. “I didn’t know you wanted that?”
Her lips pucker a little, her eyes flying over my shoulder. “I think I do. What about you?” The question I’ve thought about more than she probably realizes. “I mean, I know that’s a real stupid question, of c—”
“It’s not that, baby. It’s just—what if it’s hereditary? What if they come out to be the new Ted Bundy or somethin’ because they won’t have you?” Fear cripples my bones, and panic starts to raise my blood pressure. “Fuck. That could be a disaster.”
She raises her hands and rests them on my cheeks. “Keaton, you’re the greatest man I know. When was the last time you needed to?”
“Not the fact of need,” I say, but I already know what she’s saying. “Two years…”
A smile turns up on her face, and suddenly the sun setting behind her is way too fucking bright. I curl my hand behind the back of her neck, forcing her lips onto mine. “I love you. It’s because I love you that I don’t need to be that person anymore.”
Her smile spreads over my mouth before she bites my bottom lip playfully. “I love you too. Now, may I please have your sperm?”
My chest rumbles when a chuckle leaves me, picking her up from the ground and throwing her over my shoulder as I make our way back up to Sunday Session. “I guess so.” She laughs all the way up and through the forest and I don’t place her back down onto her feet until we reach the long rectangle table that’s stretched over the grass clearing right in the middle of where all the houses surround. Luna-Knox is running around between the tables, and Perse and King are each holding their two new additions. Everyone is seated. The crew, The Brothers, everyone who makes Midnight Mayhem what it is are all seated around the table, digging into the hot food laid out in the middle like fucking royalty.
“Guess what?” Cartier bounces around the table. “Keaton is giving me his sperm.”
Silence.
Lilith starts laughing, Kyrin is groaning, rolling his eyes, and Luna calls out, “Sperm!”
Shaking my head, I find my place beside King and on the other side of Cartier as she wriggles under my arm. This is what Midnight Mayhem was always supposed to be about. About family and a safe unit. A place where we can all rely on each other no matter how much we fight.
Kissime is at the end of the table near Kenan and Rose, and Maya has Val on her lap. Saskia and Killian are arguing about their wedding date, and their little spawn of Satan is already crawling through the grass to chase his cousins.
I’ve loved Cartier from the second I met her, but I fell in love with her gradually as time went on. Her laughter vibrates over the table as her little head tips back and she pops a bunch of grapes into her mouth. No one has run Midnight Mayhem the way she has. The organizing, the treatment of the crew, the time slots. She was born to do what she’s doing, but she was also born to—
I lean back, tapping Kyrin’s back.
He looks over his shoulder, leaning closer so he can hear me.
“Gonna ask her to marry me. You good? Or you wanna fight it out again?”
The corner of his lip twitches upward as he tosses his fork onto the table and rolls up his sleeve. “Come on, motherfucker. Let’s go.”
Loveisn’t just a word. It’s an energy that surrounds the people who you not only love, but who love you back. You give to take back.
A hundred-dollar bill slams onto the table in front of me, and I look up to who it is that has dropped it.
Eli grins down at me with his wide-ass smile. “Hundred on Keaton.”
I scoff on a laugh. “You’re so loyal. Truly.”
Another hundred-dollar bill drops. “Me too!” Lilith chuckles into the side of Eli’s neck, smiling against him. Since Eli is still a King, he spaces out his time between here and Riverside. Thankfully, it’s only a short drive, but the man can’t stay long away from his family anyway.
