Page 36

Bella

After Blade leaves the car, I sit back in the seat, crossing my arms over my chest.

“You can try and chase me away all you want, but I’m gonna thank you for saving my life tonight,” I say.

His eyes are so hard. Much harder than I’ve ever seen them.

He has our mother’s coloring, green-grey eyes and light brown hair with golden streaks.

There used to be a gentleness to his face, especially when he was with me that isn’t there anymore.

Ten years is a very long time, it seems. A lot changes in ten years.

“Even if you were only there because of me?” he asks, his eyes growing maybe a smidge less hard and cold.

“Hey, like you said, I contacted you even after you told me not to ever do it,” I say. “That’s how they traced me, right? The text I sent?”

He nods. “I have no privacy with Dante. He’s been running me like a dog for a long time now. He only kept me alive after he killed Ricardo and Dad to humiliate me. But that’s over now.”

I may never have cared much about the rules of the kind of life my family led, but I do know just saying you’re done and leaving does not get the job done.

“I’m sorry that happened,” I say and a part of me truly is. But they should’ve just let me love who I wanted to love.

“I don’t blame you,” he says, his face softening by maybe half a degree. “We never should’ve tried to marry you off for favor. We were over-reaching and Dad should’ve known that. You weren’t raised to understand the importance of it. Of course you wanted none of it.”

It’s the kind of forgiveness I never expected to get. Carrying the knowledge that I caused the deaths of my father and brother was a heavy burden. And I’m only just realizing how very heavy it was now that I can finally set a little of it down.

“Stay here with me,” I say, but he shakes his head.

“I have my own scores to settle.”

“Where will you go?” I ask. “We have no family left.”

My aunt, the one who took me in back east after my father disowned me was the closest blood relative we had.

“I’m going to New York,” he says. “There’s still a few cousins left. I’ll be all right.”

“You’ll be all right here too.”

He shakes his head and reaches for my hand. “I put you in enough danger for now.”

“And I caused all this shit in the first place so we’re even,” I counter.

This time his eyes turn undeniably soft.

“You’ve paid your price in more ways than one, Bella,” he says. “But you’re back with your man now and from what I’ve seen, he’ll take good care of you. Tell him I’m sorry we beat him up that time. It was a mistake.”

A mistake that bred so many other mistakes.

“Tell him yourself,” I say and clutch his hand. “Come in with me.”

He takes his hand from my grip and places it on the steering wheel. “I’m going back east to get an army. Then I’ll return and take back everything Moretti stole from us. I owe that to our father, our brother, to myself and to you.”

“But—”

“We’re done talking, Bella,” he says. “This is how it’s gonna be. And once it’s all done, we’ll talk more. But until then, stay safe.”

He waves Blade over and repeats his request that he open the gate. Blade looks at me, silently asking if that’s what I want too. I give a small nod, because I do understand all about family honor. I’ve sure broken it enough times.

“Everything will work out, Bella,” Matteo tells me as I climb out of the truck, the lace on the dress getting caught on absolutely everything like it doesn’t want me to leave. “Just stay away from Dante. Especially in that dress.”

I smile despite myself, and he does too, and for that second, he looks like he used to, back when I was a girl, and he was my older brother who could always make me laugh and feel good. I hope this isn’t the last time I’ll ever see him smile. Or see him at all. But it very well could be.

“Don’t worry, man, I’m marrying her as soon as possible,” Blade says. “Just so no one else can try it ever again.”

“Good,” Matteo says and starts the engine.

Blade wraps his arms around me as we watch him drive through the gate.

“You think he’ll make it?” I ask and Blade holds me even tighter. I suppose that’s a sort of no, but what he says is, “I hope so.”

“That makes two of us.”

After Matteo is gone, he leads me inside the clubhouse where the rest are gathered, waiting for the full story, I guess.

“And what did you mean, you’ll only marry me so no one else can?” I ask, trying to sound edgy, but it just comes out flat.

The fear, sadness and adrenaline that’s been pumping through my veins for most of the day are starting to wear off and that dizzy, happy feeling of relaxation is threatening to overwhelm me.

He swings me around and holds me so we’re face to face. “I want to marry you for every reason under the sun, Isabella Rovina. I love you and I don’t want to live another second without you.”

The slight woman with purple hair sighs loudly. But not as loudly as me.

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to be without me ever again,” I say. “Because I’m never leaving your side again. Ever. I love you too much for that, Henry Steele.”

The tall, burly older man who was first out of the clubhouse clears his throat beside us.

“Should I just pronounce you married here, make short work of it?” he asks.

“Can you?” I ask breathlessly and Blade looks very hopeful too, even as he says, “Come on, Judge, don’t joke around.”

Judge chuckles. “Well, the legalities of it will be questionable, since I’m no longer an acting judge. But she’s already dressed for a wedding, and you’ve already spoken your vows, so why not? It can’t hurt…”

The smile he offers me is very genuine. “Plus, I’m sure it’ll be enough for everyone in this MC. No one will send her away for something like this to happen again if I married you.”

“Let’s do it,” I say looking at Blade who’s already nodding.

Judge clears his throat. “Do you both choose each other to be partners for life in good times and bad times?”

“We absolutely do,” we answer practically at the same time.

“And do you choose to respect, trust each other, and love and support one another whatever may come?”

“Always,” Blade says, looking deep into my eyes, showing me the truth of his words. I can only nod.

“Do you say these vows willingly and honestly?”

“Yes, completely and totally,” I say in a voice that’s much firmer than I expected it to be. This time, it’s Blade who only nods.

“Then I hereby pronounce you husband and wife,” Judge says with a big grin on his face. “You may kiss the bride now, I guess.”

Everyone in the room claps and cheers as Blade does exactly that.

As ever, his kiss is like taking a drink of a healing nectar, filling me with warmth and peace and making me whole in ways I didn’t even know I was broken. The kiss lasts and last, forever, it feels like, but still not long enough.

They cheer some more when it’s over and I lean over to Blade and whisper in his ear. “Now, it’s time for you to take this dress off me.”

I want all the love I can get after the day we’ve had, in every way I can get it. His wide smile tells me we’re on the same page about that. But that’s no surprise. We’re always on the same page. Even when separated by years, by stupid ideas, by thick walls. Because our hearts are always one.

We don’t really need to speak promises of staying together forever to each other. Because it’s already a done deal. Always was. From our first day to our last. And from this day forward it will forever be our every day reality too.

He’s my ride or die and I’m his. Since the day I first said that to him, over a decade ago, we’ve proven that simple truth in so many different ways. And I’m gonna make sure we focus on just the riding part from now on. And no dying. Ever.