Page 209 of Lost Lyrebird

She came here, and her actions have not only saved my club, but they will eventually save so many lives.We can now see what’s coming, rather than being blindsided.

So yeah, this woman deserves everything, and I’m going to give it to her.

I meet Raven’s gaze from across the room and nod.She grins a little maniacally and rushes off to do my bidding.She also holds her finger high in the air and circles it to signal to everyone that the time has indeed come.

Before Lily can catch on to the mood change around us, I guide her to the bar and order Lita to pour us a few shots.I’m gonna need a bit of liquid courage to get through it, and a shot or two isn’t going to send me down river when I have so much to live for now.

Lily holds her shot up to mine and raises a brow.“You sure?”

I grin, “Positive.”

“Okay, then cheers to ...”

“To us.To our beginning and all the days ahead.”

Her eyes light up.She repeats my words and clinks her glass against mine before we both sling them back.

Bodie comes up and lays his hand on my shoulder.“Hey, you ah… got a sec?I need you for that thing.Uh-mmm.You know?”

Lita coughs and tries to contain her laugh.I see Griz shake his head in my peripheral vision.Taz grumbles unintelligible words under his breath and palms his face.I give Bodie a look that promises death if he ruins this for me.Then I turn back to Lily.

“What’s going on?”She asks, and her gaze darting around the clubhouse.Her brows knit together, a spark of curiosity spilling into her features.

I shake my head, give her waist a quick squeeze, and lean in to whisper in her ear.“Just got something I’ve got to do real quick.Wait for me?”

“Sure.”

I pull away from her slightly, a grin tugging at my lips as I stare down at her confused, beautiful face.“I promise, I won’t be long.”

After leaving her, I slip into the crowd.Raven emerges, carrying a chair, to place it in the middle of the dance floor, a few feet away from where Lily stands.I hear Bodie’s loud mouth yelling something, and the laughter that follows.I stride quickly to grab what I stashed behind the bar for this moment and slip into Cap’s office.

It takes me a few minutes to change into the outfit Raven provided.Oh, she had many ideas.I shut down all but three to her chagrin.Ultimately, I had to go with the obvious choice and something that would leave a lasting impression.Then I spent nearly two weeks working with Raven when I could to learn some moves I could actually pull off.

From past accounts by new hires, I’d gotten the idea that Raven was a patient teacher.Maybe she was with the women, but all bets were off when the tables were turned, and I suddenly became her subordinate.It’s like she got off on and giving me shit, found a bit of glee in reducing me to a piss poor student, who apparently, didn’t have any rhythm, and she went as far as to tell me that my dance skills were a few decades out of date.

I’d show her.And fuck what anyone thought.This was for one woman and one woman only.I’d dance my ass off if it meant she’d say yes.

I finished buttoning up my shirt, threaded my belt into my pants, and slipped my shoes on.Then, I grabbed my cap and tucked it under my arm.

As a rule, I didn’t wear much white—fuck knows why, maybe maybe it offends my dark soul.But everything but the bill of the cap was just that: stark white, except the buckles.I’d never live down this moment.Me, an Army guy in a Navy uniform, which was the point, to look like a certain pilot.

But this wasn’t about me.It was about Lily, and this piece of our history tucked away in one of those journals.A string that tied her to my road name in a way she may not even remember.

I watched birds.Sometimes, I craned my neck to do so while on the road.Griz tried to settle me with one species of bird name or another, Crane, Buzzard, and fucking Sparrow.He’d thrown out name after name and even tried to tell me I didn’t have a choice in the matter.Then he’d thrown out Goose, and something about it hit home, and just felt right.

I’d had no idea why at the time.It wasn’t until I’d gone through the journals Lily had given me while in rehab that I realized why.

We’d watched Top Gun, and Lily had bawled her eyes out when Goose died.It reminded her of her dad, and she’d broken down, or so my notes said.It sparked a worry in her that I wouldn’t return, and it’s what had her demanding that promise from me.

The promise that kept me tethered to her all this time and searching for a ghost.

So I’d bring the memory full circle and show her that this Goose had at least made it home and planned to spend the rest of my remaining days by her side.

Before stepping out, I put on the cap.Bodie is standing right outside Cap’s door, ready to signal Raven to start the music, but the moment he sees me, he loses his shit.A laugh explodes out of him, and even when he tries to cover his mouth to contain it, he can’t.The fucker ends up taking his phone from his back pocket and snapping a picture.

Did I steal his phone and toss it down the hallway?I sure as fuck do.Then, head held high, I walked into the main room just as the opening notes of Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins starts crackling through the speakers.

I’d make a damn fool of myself if that’s what it’d take to convince her to be my old lady and wear my property patch, which is exactly what I do.