Page 34 of Crash’s Secret

He comes around the bed and kisses me, unhurried, his hand at the back of my head.

“I love you, baby,” he says against my mouth.

“I love you, Crash.”

He grins. “I know.”

Saber’s yard is full. Bikes in a row along the fence, trucks behind them, kids running between the legs of large men who step around them without looking down.

Saber is at the grill with a beer and a pair of tongs, arguing with Razor about how long ribs take. Razor’s dog lies in the shade under the porch, on its side, sleeping through all the chaos.

Shelby spots us first and crosses the yard with her arms already open.

“Hey, girl!” She hugs me, then holds me out at arm’s length and looks at the cut. She does this every time. “Still not over it.”

“It’s been a month, Shelby.”

“You don’t get to dictate how long I’m excited about it.” She loops her arm through mine and walks me toward the porch. “Tell me about the new location for the bar. Saber told me almost nothing.”

“The books are finally cleaned up. The bar is making a ton of money.” We climb the porch steps. “So, I pitched Crash and Saber a second Bones and Bucks location, making it a chain. In town this time, on a busy street. Foot traffic, lunch crowd, tourists passing through.”

“On Main Street.” Shelby is already somewhere else, working. I can see it happen behind her eyes. “I love the idea.”

“Since you do the marketing for the bar, it’s really important that you’re on board, too!”

“I’m on board!” She hands me a beer out of the cooler without asking. “Where on Main?”

“The empty building next to the diner.”

“Next to the diner.” She laughs. “That’s where I met Saber!”

“I know! I love the story of how you two met.” I give her a side hug. “My brother is a lucky guy.”

“That he is,” Shelby agrees with a laugh.

Violet and Eden are at the other end of the porch, and we drift down to them. Violet is sitting next to Leo, who is falling asleep on her lap. Duke comes up the steps, takes the boy off her without a word, and she leans into his side like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Eden stands with Viper, her hand in his.

I sip my beer and look at all of it. The yard, the smoke, the kids, the row of bikes.

Crash catches my eye from across the yard and winks. I blow him a kiss.

A month ago, there was a war. Now there’s this.

Family.

Hours go by, and Saber kills the music himself, right when the sun starts going down.

“Alright,” he says. “Everybody shut up for a minute.”

The yard goes quiet. Men come in from the fence line. Shelby steps up next to me and grips my hand, and that’s when I know what’s coming, because she already knew.

“Trapper. Get up here.”

Trapper comes through the crowd. He’s been a prospect for years, but he’s done more for this club than a lot of patched brothers.

Saber holds up a cut. New leather, full patches. Top rocker, bottom rocker, the crown and skull in the middle.

“Years,” Saber says. “Years of guard duty on that gate, mopping floors. Years of making the worst coffee in Arizona.” Laughter rolls through the yard. “And you never once complained where I could hear it. You bled for this club. You stood your ground for this family when it counted, more than once.” He stops. The yard is silent. “Vote was unanimous. Get over here, brother.”