Page 44 of Knox (The Devil’s Luck MC #6)

KNOX

A week later, I still couldn’t believe I told Caroline I was in love with her.

She had yet to say it back, but far be it from me to hold it against her after the hells she’d been through—after her whole life not knowing what love really was.

I certainly didn’t expect her to say it back at Gabriel’s funeral.

She stood tucked against me, dressed in black like the rest of the Devil’s Luck. Her head was bent, the updo she’d twisted her hair into exposing the plastic wrap taped over the fresh ink. Goodbye snarling wolverine patch, hello Devil’s Luck shamrock and skull.

The rest of the Devils were gathered around Gabriel’s buried casket in a loose circle.

All the couples were joined at the hip, especially the expecting couples.

Sam and Elouise were weeping silently, arms curling protectively over their bumps.

Jackson and Abel tried to silently reassure them, even if they were barely holding it together.

We had already said our eulogies.

Now, Black Jack pulled out Gabriel’s favorite whiskey from his jacket—still sealed, having been waiting on his apartment counter for a pour that would only come after death.

With a heavy exhale, Jackson bit the wax seal and ripped it clean off with his teeth. He didn’t flinch, just yanked the cork with a grunt and held the bottle high.

“To Joker,” he said roughly. “Our brother.”

He tipped the bottle forward. That first pour was long, enough to soak the ground. The ceremony of the gesture hit me hard.

Then Jackson handed it off to Mason beside him. The VP’s pour was shorter but no less meaningful. He handed it off to the next Devil, and then the next until it passed from me to Grant.

Gabriel’s best friend.

All eyes were on him as his hands trembled around the bottle. His eyes hadn’t left the dirt since the casket was lowered into the hole. He hadn’t said much in the eulogies, either. He didn’t need to. Everyone, including Gabriel, knew how much Gabe meant to Grant.

Grant swallowed and poured the rest of the whiskey. Then he set the bottle on the polished gravestone. “Miss you, brother,” he said quietly.

A sob burst out of Sam’s chest. She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle it, but it was already out. Jackson pulled her tighter into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder.

We stood there for a while longer until it started to drizzle.

The women clustered together under the umbrellas that the men sacrificed for them and hurried toward the pickup trucks and bikes. Sam pulled Caroline with her. Over the past week, bad blood was drying up, and better bonds were being formed among the Devil girls.

Jackson and Abel helped Sam and Elle into the trucks and then swung onto their bikes.

Suzie got on Jackson’s, resting her cheek on her brother’s back.

Mason made sure she was settled right while Carrie and Andy made sure the pregnant ladies were buckled in and buried under fresh tissues.

Jameson and Brody weren’t far behind the VP.

Grant had fallen behind. After making sure Caroline was safely in the truck, I joined him.

“Alright, Toke?”

He shrugged. “I will be. Hey, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?” I asked warily, a bad feeling prickling my spine.

“I’ve already discussed it with Jackson, so I’m just starting to tell everyone.” Grant took a deep breath and finally looked at me. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. The rain slicking his hair down didn’t improve the image. “I’m leaving Reno.”

“ Huh ? What? When? Why?”

Grant nodded, starting toward the waiting crew. “Yeah. The few years have taken a toll on me, man. Bates is dead, the Wolverines are disbanded. The dust is actually settling. And hopefully it’ll stay settled.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don’t want to live this life anymore. I’m tired. Just… fucking tired. Outrunning death, hiding from it, delivering it… I can’t do it anymore. Call me an old man, I don’t give a shit. I’m just going to hit the road and see where the asphalt leads.”

Before I could ask, Grant continued, “Mason and Suzie are going to keep running the shop in my absence. They’re one hell of a team to take care of things.

I’ll keep the house, be in and out and shit.

” He paused to grin. “‘Course I’ll visit now and again to make sure you bastards don’t burn it down. ”

I matched the grin. “Babies are gonna be running around soon trying to turn wrenches into teething toys, so no promises.”

He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Didn’t think so. Auntie Susan will keep the oil cans locked up.”

“Well, good luck, man. Devils got your back. Always.”

We joined the others and revved the bikes.

As soon as my helmet was on, my frown deepened so much it hurt as much as my chest. I had known Grant for a decade.

He was ride or die Devil’s Luck since Jackson first formed it.

To be without him, to not have him bickering with Suzie in the shop, to not have him walk around his own backyard with all of us gathered around the fire pit…

But Grant was closest to Gabriel, and without him? Grief hit us all differently. Grant needed space to deal with his.

We drove to Grant’s for one last club night with him.

Luckily, we’d prepped for the rain and had extra clothes ready to change into. It was not fun peeling out of a soaking wet suit. But by the time everyone changed, the rain had stopped.

Chairs were wiped down, drinks were passed around, and Grant had the fire pit spitting sparks with fresh wood in no time. Soon, everyone was happily settled into companionable silence or low murmurs.

Caroline settled into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and resting her cheek against my head. “You okay?”

I closed my eyes briefly. “I think so. I will be.”

“Me, too.”

We both looked up when Sam clapped her hands together. “Announcements, everyone.”

She and Elle were standing together, both beaming with smiles—a much better sight than them red-eyed from crying—and hands on their bellies that seemed to have grown considerably in the past three weeks.

Jackson and Abel leaned back in their picnic chairs, looking both pleased and far too proud of themselves.

“Oh, damn,” I muttered to the perfect-ass woman on my lap. “What have they gotten into now?”

Caroline swatted me. “Hush.”

Elle spoke first, absolutely shining now. “ Baby announcements!”

Everyone except the fathers shot straight up in their seats. Holy shit, surprise gender reveals!

Sam was bouncing on her toes. “We’re having a… boy! And we’re going to name him William.”

We all broke out into cheers and congratulations. Suzie toasted the highest, smiling through happy tears.

“Abel and I,” Elle began excitedly, “are having—a girl!” Then her voice softened, and she looked at Grant. “We’re going to name her Gabriella, after Gabriel.”

Grant got emotional, even if he tried to hide it. The Devils razzed him lightly, toasting and ready to celebrate Gabriel’s sacrifice with two new lives soon to enter the world.

Everyone dissolved into their own mini conversations. Caroline stroked the hair at the nape of my neck, something she discovered I really fucking liked, and kissed my temple. I soaked in her presence, breathing in the faint perfume scent on her neck that outlasted the rain.

“Babies,” I mused when she pulled back to look at me. “Wild.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes, but there was no real menace in the glare. “Don’t get any ideas.”

I chuckled. “What, you don’t want to have kids? We’d know how not to fuck ‘em up.”

Her glare sharpened. A few months ago, it would have sent a chill down my spine—but now, it made me want to kiss her senseless until she was doe-eyed for me.

I grinned. “See, babe? You’d be great at it. Put the fear of God in them kids with just a look.”

The other guys overheard and laughed along.

Caroline blushed at the attention at first, then pulled up her courage that I admired more than anything. She prodded my chest. “Watch what you say. I have a lot to unpack before I can even think about being responsible for someone else’s life, Nathaniel.”

“Damn,” Jameson muttered. “I’ll never get used to hearing that.”

I kissed her jaw, nuzzling the bridge of my nose along the bone. “Watch what I say, huh? Okay, spitfire, how about this.” I tipped her head down so I could kiss her lips. “I’ll settle for practicing making babies.”

Caroline rolled her eyes but sighed. “Deal.”

She leaned into me, her body flush against mine. She rested her cheek on my shoulder, and suddenly, everything felt like it had fallen into place for a setup to the next chapter—a happier, less chaotic, less bloody future.

The war was over. We were alive. Together.

And after everything we’d been through?

That was a little slice of heaven for us Devils.

***

Want another MC Romance to read?

Check out Ryder!!

I’m not a good man. Not worthy of redemption.

As President of the Lost Breed MC, I fight, f*ck, and take what’s mine.

But everything changed in the blink of an eye, and now I got a kid, my brother’s kid. The teenage bastard is just like me.

And he’s gone missing.

My only hope is that the hot piece of ass that’s been assigned as my nephew’s parole officer is willing to help out a criminal like me.

She’s got something to prove to the world after losing her sister, and I plan on taking full advantage of her willingness.

She’s innocent, good hearted, and sexy as hell. A preacher’s kid.

The kind of girl I’d like to break in the bedroom.

I’m driven mad with the desire to gain her affection, to be the one that wakes her up in the dead of night to take advantage of her softness and remind her who’s king.

Why? Because she’s not buying my shit.

And I love it.

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