I smile, knowing that for the first time in a long time, I am exactly where I’m supposed to be.
With Roman.
With my home.
With my future.
Epilogue
Viper
“You wanted to see me?” I ask, rapping my knuckles lightly against the door of Dragon’s office.
He starts suddenly and turns to face me. His brow is furrowed, his golden-green eyes distant, his body tense. It’s not uncommon to see him like in the days since Gunner’s death.
“Yeah. Come in. Close the door.” He clears his throat and shuffles the papers on his desk.
Stepping inside, I shut the door and drop into the chair across from his desk. Dragon leans back in his own chair, studying me for a long moment before he speaks.
“Got some information from an anonymous source today,” he says, his voice neutral but his face troubled. “The feds found Atlas’s body. Apparently, he was in a small shed on some property the Rejects owned.”
Whatever I expected him to say, this wasn’t it. Atlas. My former president. The man who was supposed to be like a father to me, who promised my actual father on his deathbed that he’d look out for me.
“They found him tied to a chair,” Dragon continues, reaching for a stack of papers on his desk. “Looks like someone, probably Naomi, left him there to die.” He pushes several printed photos toward me. “They even sent pictures.”
I glance at the images just long enough to see the slumped figure, the ropes, the decay and then look away. “Doesn’t really matter to me,” I say, the words coming out harsher than I intended. “Atlas has been dead to me since he turned his back on Kayla when Demon kidnapped her.”
Dragon studies my face, then nods once. “Fair enough.” He gathers the photos, crumples them in his fist, and drops them into the trash can beside his desk.
As he does this, he adds, “This source also warned that whoever the Rejects were working with might still be active in the area. Said we should watch our backs.”
“This anonymous source. Do you think it’s…?”
“Todd?” Dragon interrupts, his mouth twisting in disgust. “Almost certainly. Fucking asshole.”
We let the silence stretch between us for a moment, both of us content to leave the topic of Todd behind. I’m still not sure what I would do if I ran into him again. Probably nothing smart.
Dragon leans forward, elbows on his desk, fingers steepled in front of his face. He looks at me with that unnerving intensity of his. “When you first approached me about becoming part of my club, I wasn’t sure what you’d do once the threat to Kayla was neutralized,” he says quietly. “If you’d stay loyal or walk away when you didn’t need us anymore.”
The question beneath his statement is clear. Now that Naomi is dead, now that Kayla is safe, what am I planning to do? Stay with the club or walk away?
“I’m all in,” I tell him without hesitation, meeting his gaze directly. “I’ll be loyal to you until the day I die.” I pause, making sure he understands the next part clearly. “As long as you accept that Kayla comes first. Always.”
Dragon’s eyes narrow slightly, searching my face. Then he nods, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Fair enough. That’s the way it should be.”
Dragon’s gaze drifts over my shoulder, fixing on some point on the wall. The silence stretches out, but I don’t break it. With Dragon, it’s always better to wait.
Finally, his eyes return to mine. “With Gunner’s death,” he says, his voice dropping slightly at the mention of our fallen brother, “a place has opened up among the club officers. We need a new sergeant-at-arms.”
I straighten in my chair. The sergeant-at-arms is the club’s enforcer, responsible for maintaining order, security, and discipline. It’s a position of trust and second only to the VP and president.
“You interested?” he asks.
My first thought, surprisingly, isn’t about whether I want the position. It’s about what Kayla will think. The sergeant-at-arms position comes with risks, with responsibilities that will take up more of my time, put me in more danger.
“I’ll have to talk about it with Kayla first,” I say.
Dragon chuckles, the sound warming the room. “You do that,” he says, genuine amusement in his voice. “If she agrees, we’ll put it to a vote with the brothers in church.”