Page 40

Dagger

Six months later

I t was a good day to be alive.

We’d done the wedding our way—quiet and simple.

A courthouse in the next town over, just us and Dani.

Sinclair wore a white summer dress and held a small bunch of daisies, her belly already rounding under the fabric.

I wore a clean t-shirt under my cut and didn’t bother trying to hide the tears when the judge said she was mine—legally, finally, and forever.

Now, the clubhouse was packed. The parking lot full, tables set up in the backyard under strings of lights that would flicker when the sun went down.

Kids tore through the place on a sugar high.

My club brothers’ old ladies drank wine coolers from Solo cups and gossiped over plates piled high with ribs and potato salad.

The guys were already a few beers deep, talking shop, cracking jokes, and tossing side-eyes at each other like nobody ever grew up around here.

This was family.

I leaned against the wall near the back patio door, one arm draped around Sinclair’s shoulders.

She was glowing—fuck, there was no other word for it.

Seven and a half months pregnant and radiant as hell.

Her cheeks were pink from the heat, her hair was pinned up loosely, and her hand rested protectively over her bump.

She looked up at me and smiled. “You okay?”

“More than okay, babe,” I said, brushing a kiss to her temple. “Just takin’ it in.”

She let out a soft laugh. “You get quiet when you’re emotional.”

“I’m not emotional,” I grumbled.

She gave me a look.

“Alright, maybe a little. But only ‘cause you married me.”

“You got lucky,” she teased, nudging her bump into my side.

“Every damn day.”

Dani came sprinting out of the clubhouse, with a cupcake in her hand yelling something about Falcon letting her ride on the back of his bike in the parking lot.

“Please tell me that didn’t actually happen,” Sinclair muttered.

“Pretty sure that was just a push across the lot,” I said. “Falcon’s dumb, not suicidal.”

Dani ran straight up to us and held out the cupcake. “This one’s for the baby.”

Sinclair knelt slowly, taking it with a grin. “The baby says thank you.”

Dani leaned in and hugged her tightly. “I can’t wait to be a big sister.”

Sinclair just laughed. “You’re going to be the best big sister ever.”

“I know,” she said with a huge smile, then bolted off again.

We’d worried about how she would take the news of the baby, but we shouldn’t have. Right from the start she was so excited to be a big sister.

Diesel wandered over, two beers in hand. He passed one to me and gave Sinclair a friendly nod. “You look good.”

“Thanks, Diesel. I feel… huge, but good.”

“That’s your old man’s fault.”

“Trust me, I know.”

Diesel snorted and glanced towards the grill where Rocky and Hawk were in charge. “Looks like me, Ellie, and the kids will be eating leftovers all week. The prospects bought enough steaks to feed an army.”

“Sounds like heaven,” Sinclair said, eyes lighting up.

“Help yourself. There’s peach cobbler too. Mabel dropped it off earlier.”

Maverick’s grandmother’s peach cobbler was world famous. “Mabel’s Peach cobbler? That’s it. We’re staying here tonight, babe. Forget our booking at the Mirage.”

Sinclair laughed, “I’m not giving up on my spa break. I’m sure we can wrap it to go.”

Gio, Rebel, and Hollywood wandered over next, all three of them carrying plates and arguing about something dumb. They waved at me and gestured to the far corner where some of my club brothers were gathered.

Diesel’s old lady, Ellie, followed not long after, a toddler on each hip, and Leo in tow. Chopper trotting behind him, no doubt hoping to get a share in the barbecue.

“You having fun?” Sinclair asked them.

“It’s a good turn out,” Ellie said with a smile. “Come sit with us,” she offered, motioning towards the big table set up under the awning. Peyton, Katey, Grace, and Nikki were already there, nursing beers and watching their kids play with amused eyes.

Sinclair kissed my cheek. “Go play biker. I’m good for a bit.”

I watched her head off to join the rest of the old ladies and their kids, her hand instinctively resting on her belly.

Slate came up beside me. “You did good, brother.”

“I know.”

“She’s tough. The quiet kind. You can’t shake her easy.”

“That’s why I married her.”

The party rolled on—beer flowed, music blasted, engines roared and quieted.

Rocky handed me a cigar. Hollywood got stuck in a kiddie pool after losing a bet to Winter.

One of the prospects brought fireworks, and Diesel only allowed it because Harper lit the first fuse.

There was nothing like a clubhouse party.

***

Later that night, I found Sinclair on our hotel balcony.

We’d decided we needed to do something special, and as a honeymoon wasn’t a possibility partly due to the pregnancy and partly because it was term time and Sinclair couldn’t take any personal days, we’d decided to book a night at fancy hotel in Vegas.

The honeymoon could wait until after the baby was born. The night air had cooled just enough to make the wind feel good against our skin.

I sat beside her and took her hand.

“You happy?”

She nodded. “More than I ever thought I’d be.”

“You remember when I said I couldn’t imagine my life without you?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s still true. Every single day.”

She looked over at me, eyes soft. “I love you too.”

She turned in her seat, taking both my hands in hers, resting them against the swell of her belly. “You know, I spent so much of my life thinking happy endings were just for other people,” she said. “But somehow, I got you. Dani. This baby…”

“You didn’t get lucky, Sinclair,” I murmured, leaning in close. “You got what you damn well deserved.”

She smiled at that. Soft. But strong, too.

We sat there like that for a while, quiet. Comfortable. Watching the Vegas lights pulse in the distance like the city’s own kind of heartbeat.

My cut hung over the back of a chair, and Sinclair’s dress was folded next to it.

Our life wasn’t polished. It wasn’t perfect. But it was ours.

And I knew—just like I knew how to breathe or ride or bleed—that whatever came next, we’d face it together.

My father had drilled it into me that caring for people was a weakness, and for most of my life I’d believed him. But now with my woman by my side, and my baby growing in her belly, I knew he was wrong.

It was the love I had for her, for Dani, and for our baby that gave me strength. Strength to deal with whatever life threw at me.

And I wasn’t going anywhere.

THE END

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