Page 110 of The Lies We Tell

“Preacher man,” King says. “Although, guess I can’t call you that anymore. You must be Rose.”

As King’s cut opens, I see his gun. It dawns on me that Saint is not armed. I glance over the knife block.

“You won’t be needing those, Rose.” King holds my eye contact for a moment.

There’s something unnerving in the way he looks at us. Like he won. And I don’t know why.

He turns to Saint. “Some of my men voted for you. Some of them didn’t. But you paid your dues. Earned respect.” He tosses Saint’s cut onto the kitchen counter. “You come back, but you start at the bottom. Not as a prospect. But you don’t get a vote. You don’t come to church. You don’t get any information before anything happens. You will not be told where anything is stored. You won’t have access to any supplies. You can keep the strip club. Makes more money under you anyway. The only money you get from the club for the first twelve months is your management salary from the strip club. You don’t get a cut of anything else we do. Your share goes to our legal fund, just in case. Keep your nose clean for those twelve months, and we’ll review. Is that understood?”

Saint reaches for the leather. I see the way his fingers dance over his patch the way they touch me when we make love. With reverence.

He slides it over his shoulders.

Spark catches my eye and winks. With a smile.

Relief slips through me.

The sight of the cut back on his body means the worst really has passed. He’s got what he wants. And I’m happy for him.

“Go on your trip. Come to the clubhouse when you get back, and we’ll talk,” King says. “There will be checks and balances to make sure you don’t fuck up again.”

Bates looks at Niro, and when their eyes meet, Niro grins but looks down at his shoes as if to hide it.

King runs his tongue over his lip. “One last question, Saint. What would you give to be a full member of this brotherhood again?”

Saint shrugs. “There isn’t much I wouldn’t give.”

King nods as if considering something. “There may come a point in the future where you’ll need to remember that answer.” Then he shocks me by tugging Saint to him and hugging him. “Welcome back, preacher man.”

King hugs me too before I can stop him. “Welcome to the club, Rose. I’m sorry for what you had to go through.”

“Thank you.” It’s all I can come up with. King is mercurial. All the impending doom energy lifts almost immediately.

“It’s over, isn’t it?” I say to Saint as conversation erupts around us.

“Yeah, sweetheart. It’s over. God, it feels good to have this back.”

“If we’re staying, could we buy our old place next to Hap?”

Saint grins. “You want to live in that old dump?”

I shake my head. “No, I want to build a home in it with you. I want to rip out the kitchen, and finish the yard, and buy a new coffee maker when we can afford it. Maybe grab a rug and a new bed.”

Saint kisses me. “I’ll talk to the realtor, see if the owner will sell it. Although, fuck, we’ll have to see if the bank will approve a mortgage based on a job managing a strip club.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Then I’ll apply for the loan. I run my own business, pay my own salary.”

He taps the end of my nose. “Over my dead body are you paying for the house.”

I look around at all the leather cuts and weaponry in sight. “I mean. The dead body part might still happen.”

“Nah, this means they have my back. Even if they don’t want to right now.” Saint pats his cut. “Have I told you today that I love you?”

I shake my head. “You told me I was packing too many shoes, which sounds a lot like you don’t.”

“Take ’em all. We’ll pay for extra luggage. Because I love you, Rose Whittaker. Today is the first day of building our new life.”

Sincerity radiates from his eyes, so blue and pure that I can’t help but melt into a puddle. “I love you too, Saint. Thank you for saving me that day.”