Rogue kissed me again and then brushed my cheek with his fingers.
“You’re an angel. You’re the one I’ve been looking for,” he murmured. I blushed. There it was…me using that word “romantic” again. Rogue was an unlikely romantic, but there was no denying that he was.
“If you’re trying to distract me, it’s not going to work. We need to get you to go see that doctor Grimm was talking about. Let’s go. Now! Amanda can stay here with Hazel,” I laughed as I tried to drag him out of bed. Rogue kept pulling me back, kissing every inch of my face, laughing with me and reminding me that my life was going to be very different from now on. I had finally found the man who was going to keep me safe forever.
Epilogue
Rogue
One Year Later
It was my turn to pick up Hazel from school.
A year had gone by, but I still couldn’t get that feeling out of my gut—that Hazel needed to be protected and kept secure at all times.
Carli told me often that Grimm and I were spoiling her and making her too dependent on us. But I also reminded her that we could never be too careful.
After all, Grimm had yet to give up the Black Cobra life. Not only was he still president of the Black Cobra MC, he had also taken over all of the Sons of Satan’s possessions and capital. No one was allowed to still wear a Sons of Satan cut, and if they did, they were dealt with accordingly. Rumors were that some of them were still around, but to us, they were no longer a real threat. The Black Cobras were now bigger, stronger and richer than ever before. Which meant that the threat to Hazel’s life was still very real.
And now I was back in the club as well. As much as I tried to fight to stay out of it all these years, I knew it was part of my legacy to be involved. Besides, being involved made keeping Hazel safe a heck of a lot easier when I knew exactly what was going on with club business.
I waited in my car outside her school, keeping an eye on the road and every corner in the perimeter for suspicious activity. For the rest of the week, when I was occupied with my business, I didn’t think about it…but on days when I spent time with her, I was reminded again of what she had been through.
Hazel was feistier than ever before. She had lived through a kidnapping! Her dad was the president of a now powerful motorcycle gang and she had fire in her genes. I was pretty sure that she would grow up to be a force to be reckoned with. Until that happened though, while she was still just a kid, I was going to do everything to keep her safe at all times.
I jumped out of the car and threw my arms open for her when she came into view.
“Uncle Rogue!” she squealed and came running to me, her ponytail swinging behind her. Every day, she grew up more and I couldn’t get enough of her.
I picked her up and she hugged me tightly.
“Ice cream first?” I suggested.
“Obviously!” she exclaimed, and we walked to the ice cream van around the corner from the school.
Amanda had moved in with Grimm six months ago, which meant that Hazel got to see her dad more often. On Fridays, I picked her up from school and she usually spent Saturday with Carli and me in our apartment.
“So, are you doing it today?” Hazel asked. I knew what she was talking about, so I pulled the blue velvet box out of my jacket pocket and handed it over to her. She had helped me pick the ring out the previous Friday after school. I’d placed the order based on Carli’s size and collected it today.
She opened the box and screeched.
It was a big white diamond with a nest of sapphires around it. Hazel had insisted she knew exactly the kind of ring her aunt would adore. She used the words “tasteful” and “classy.” I didn’t even know she knew those words.
“I’m so excited, Uncle Rogue! This is going to be so much fun. Do you have a plan?” she asked.
We’d reached the Kane cream van and placed our orders. It was always the same. Vanilla for me and Mint Chocolate Chip for her, both of us preferring it in cones. Once we had the ice creams and were strolling back toward the car, I told her my plan.
“We’re going to go to a restaurant, Mario’s. I’ve booked us a private table for three, overlooking the fountains. After dinner, I’m going to get down on a knee and you’ll hand me the box. What do you think?”
Excitement filled Hazel’s eyes. There was no doubt about it—her aunty Carli was her favorite person in the world.
“She’s so going to say yes! She loves you,” Hazel said in a teasing voice and gave her Kane cream a big long lick. I laughed and ruffled her hair.
“You know all about love, do you, big girl?” I asked and she rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, I do. I see Mommy and Daddy kissing in the kitchen all the time, and then Mommy has this weird look in her eyes after Daddy leaves and I know she’s going to be dreaming about him all day. It’s the same look Aunt Carli gets when you kiss her,” Hazel explained.
It was pretty precise. Her answer to my question was straight forward and fair.
“And what about your daddy and me? Don’t we love them, too?” I asked.
Hazel smiled.
“Daddy loves Mommy. I know because she made him stop drinking and he doesn’t complain. And he’s always kissing her and telling her how beautiful she is and how much he’s missed her. And I know you love Aunt Carli because you have that same look when she kisses you. The one she gets. And because you get sad every time, she leaves the room.”
I lifted Hazel up in my arms again.
“Wise ass!” I joked and she giggled while the ice cream cone wobbled in her hand.
We got into the car and drove in the direction of our apartment.
“What do you think, kid? Is your aunt going to be back home from her classes when we get back?” I asked and Hazel shrugged.
“I hope not because we have lots to do. You need to buy lots of roses and throw the petals around in the rooms. And candles! We need lots of candles. And chocolates!”
Hazel laughed with excitement and I was excited with her. She was right. I loved Carli and there was no question I wanted to ask her more desperately than anything if she wanted to marry me. I was going to make sure that woman was mine for the rest of my life.
Epilogue
Carli
I returned home from college earlier than usual and sat in our bedroom, looking over the pregnancy tests again. I had been feeling unwell for several days and eventually decided to test myself just to be sure.
I was pregnant.
My initial reaction was joy. I was going to have a baby with Rogue. He was the man of my dreams, the kind of person I wanted to grow old with. We had built a peaceful and happy life together in the past year and I knew he would spend the rest of his life taking care of me.
But then I thought about whether he was prepared to be a father. I had seen him around Hazel. I knew how close he was to her. Hazel was now the center of his world and I knew he worried about her all the time. Would he want another kid in his life? He didn’t even think he could be in a serious, committed relationship with anyone, let alone plan on having a family.
I had no way to predict what Rogue’s reaction to this would be.
I’d forced myself to go to classes that morning to try and distract myself, but I couldn’t focus on any of the lectures. Eventually, I just returned to the apartment and sat thinking again. I knew he and Hazel were going to be back soon. It was Friday evening; Hazel usually spent the night with us and the whole of Saturday. I decided to leave it till Sunday, wanting to be alone in the house with him to discuss it.
An hour later, Rogue and Hazel finally return.
“Aunt Carli?” Hazel shouted. I stuffed the pregnancy tests into my bag and wiped my face with my hands, hoping they wouldn’t notice the worry in my eyes.
If there were any two people who knew me best in the world, it would be Rogue and Hazel. I hoped I’d be able to hide it from them till Sunday.
“Hey, beautiful.” Rogue came to the room and saw me sitting on t
he bed. “You’re back already,” he said and rushed to me. I threw my arms around him and kissed him.
“Aunt Carli!” Hazel entered the room too and flung herself at us.
“Hi honey, how was school? Did you get Kane cream again?” I tried to be cheerful and wiped the Kane cream stains from her face.
“We’re going out to dinner to a really fancy restaurant. Aren’t we, Uncle Rogue?” Hazel asked excitedly. I looked at Rogue and he smiled.
“When did this happen? I was going to cook lasagna for tonight,” I said, laughing.
Rogue shrugged. “I decided on the way home. Just want to see you all dolled up,” he said as Hazel giggled and rolled around on the bed.
* * *
In a few hours, we got dressed and left for the restaurant. Hazel insisted on wearing her favorite dress, which she usually had safely stored away in her cupboard in our apartment.
Rogue, who I’d never seen formally dressed before, was actually wearing pants and a shirt tucked in. Hazel made sure she selected my sexiest dress, which made me a little embarrassed to wear it since the neck was so low.
“Where are we going?” I asked in the car.
“It’s a surprise,” Hazel said.
We pulled up to Mario’s, the most upscale restaurant in the city, where a valet took away our car.
“Why are we here? This is insane. We could have just got pizza somewhere!” I said, blushing as Rogue led me by the hand into the restaurant. A hostess showed us to a private table outside in the gardens, where we were surrounded by fairy lights and a flowing fountain.
“Am I missing something?” I asked and Hazel giggled uncontrollably. Something was definitely up.
After we sat down and the servers had all left us, I stared at Rogue for answers.
“What’s the special occasion?” I asked.
Rogue and Hazel exchanged looks and he finally sighed.
“This is all Hazel’s fault. Because she can’t stop giggling. I wasn’t going to do this till after dinner,” he said.
When he stood up, my heart raced in my chest, knowing what he was about to do. Rogue got down on one knee in front of me and I gasped.
In the one year that we’d been together, I wasn’t expecting him to propose. I hadn’t even thought about it because I was so happy in love and happy with the way our life was.
Rogue extracted a little velvet box from his pants and popped it open.
“Do you love it? Do you love it?” Hazel squealed. Rogue glared at her to silence her, hot tears pricking the back of my eyelids.
“Carli Smith, the most beautiful woman in the world. I want to ask you to be my wife so I can make you mine forever,” Rogue said.
My mouth hung open. I was in shock, but somehow, I managed to stand up.
“Rogue, I wanted to tell you before but…I’m pregnant,” I said.
Hazel gasped beside us and Rogue stared at me with a confused look on his face.
“Carli, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that, but that still doesn’t answer my question. Will you marry me?”
I was stunned into silence, but I managed to nod my head. Rogue straightened up, slipping the beautiful ring on my finger. Then he took me in his arms and kissed me.
“I love you, Carli,” he whispered, cradling me.
“I love you, Rogue. I didn’t know how you would take the news,” I murmured, burying my face in his shoulders. Rogue stroked my hair.
“Why would I be anything but happy? You’re going to be the mother of my child. We’re going to have another little Daniels in the family. If this one is any prototype to go by…” Rogue tipped his head in Hazel’s direction. “Then it’s safe to assume we’re going to have another firecracker on our hands.”
I laughed and kissed him again. The diamond glittered on my finger and I couldn’t stop staring at it.
“I’m going to be your wife,” I murmured.
“And I’m going to be your husband,” Rogue said and kissed me again.
Sneak Peak at Cash
In the past months since we put the Sons of Satan back in their place; things had returned to fairly normal around here. By normal I meant; business was running smoothly, none of us were involved in random shootouts with the Sons of Satan or any of their cronies, and none of us were getting killed.
Other than that; it was a matter of opinion. What you thought was normal.
Seeing Grimm, our President, bounce a kid off his knee didn’t seem very normal to me. But he now had a family, an old lady and a kid to look after. Did it make him soft? Who was I to judge?
All I knew was that I was going to keep myself out of that shit. I didn’t need a family pulling me down. Not now, not ever. I’d dedicated my life to the Black Cobras, ever since I was nothing more than a fucking teenager, nothing more than a prospect. Grimm took me under his wing, he saw potential in me. Then when he took over as President for his uncle; he appointed me as Second in command.
It was the biggest honor I could get.
I felt what knights around King Arthur’s round table probably felt when they were knighted. Or some shit like that. I was just guessing.
It felt great. Like my life’s worth was now quantified. I was one of the leaders of our club and I was going to do everything in my power to keep it that way.
We were at the Pit now, our joint. The guys were all hanging around here, playing pool and drinking themselves shitless at the end of another successful day.
Patch, Bones and Jett were huddled together by the bar counter while Bender served them their endless drinks. Like I said, things were going well. It was peace time. None of us had anything major to worry about, other than making sure that the cash was coming in smoothly.
Sometimes I liked to stand here, in one corner of the bar, cradling a beer in my hand as I watched over my territory. Everywhere I looked, I saw something that belonged to me. Something I was responsible for.
A hand jerked me out of my thoughts. It was Patch. He was thumping my back.
“Got your text about the cargo, we should go check it out in the morning,” he said, swinging his bottle back to empty the beer down his throat. I turned to him and nodded.
“Yeah, we need to make sure it’s all in place. Some of the guys have looked over it already, but we should do our own recon before agreeing to any kind of deal with the Mexicans,” I replied.
Patch understood. He got it.
Even though he was fairly new to the crew, at least compared to some of us old timers; he and I had gotten pretty close over the past years. He was maybe just as dedicated to the club and the work as I was.
“Grimm wants me to help train the prospects,” he continued. I looked at the group of young men now. They were much younger than us, some as young as nineteen. They were all playing pool and making a rowdy noise in the bar. I was them not too long ago. Almost a decade ago!
And at thirty; I already felt old and wise when I looked at them.
“Wanna help?” Patch asked with a smirk.
“You mean, ride out with you guys to some deserted spot and shoot at cans?” I asked with a laugh. It sounded silly now, but that was how you got better at this job. Practicing your aim, making a better shot of yourself, learning the tricks that the older members of the club taught you.
Patch shrugged.
“They have to start somewhere, right?”
He didn’t have to convince me. I knew exactly how important this kind of training was. Besides, I wanted to keep an eye on every aspect of the process. I wanted to be well aware of every new guy that was patched into our club.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll do it.”
“We’re going out to the Norse Quarry tomorrow night, after the next shipment arrives.”
I nodded in response.
Someone called Patch over and he walked away. I noticed the swagger in his walk. The good mood that the whole club was in right now. Just six months ago, our President, Grimm, had been kidnapped. His kid had been kidnapped too and the Son
s of Satan wanted us to dissolve our club so they could monopolize the city. It was utter chaos. A lot of us got hurt. We nearly lost some of our men. But now with Crow, their president dead and their club dissolved there was peace, and everyone was celebrating.
The only thing I could hope for was that something else didn’t start up with one of our rival clubs. Things were going good for us, and even though I would walk straight into hellfire to keep our club alive if I had to; I much preferred this environment of calm instead.
“Challenge you to a game or you too pussy?” Bones was walking up to me. The prospects heard this too and they all turned to look at me encouragingly. I usually kept to myself. Unlike Patch and Bones and the others, I wasn’t big on making friends with the new guys.
Not until I got to really know them and trust them.
But what the hell? They wanted to see me play tonight? I’d show them how it was done.
“You talkin’ to me?” I said with a smirk as I put down my empty bottle and headed in Bones’ direction.
Things were going to get heated up around here if he was really challenging me. Everyone who knew me knew how much I liked to win. And if there were two things, I was good at in life; one was how to shoot a gun and the other was how to win at pool.
Want more? You can pre-order Cash here!
About Savannah Rylan
Savannah Rylan is a romance writer that spends most of her time writing and reading with her cat, Gris. When not penning the next great American novel, (HA), you can find her on the beach with a drink in her hand or at the gym testing out some strange new position. Yoga, obviously. She lives in Southern California with her husband and Gris, the true love of her life.
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About Kasey Krane
Rogue: The Black Cobras MC #1 Page 16