“Before you say anything else, I want to point out that we’ve been a couple, broke up, got back together, and seemingly broke up about twelve hours ago.”
“Okay . . .” I stare into his eyes and am not sure where he’s going with all of this.
“I’m not sure where we stand, but I know where I want this to go.” Muffler gets out of his chair and drops down on one knee. A million things flash through my mind. I go from thinking I’m in some weird ass dream to thinking I’m dead.
Sure enough, the pain shooting through my back makes me realize I’m very much alive, and this is very much my reality.
“Look, I know I went and fucked up. I fucked up in a bigger way than I have before, even when I left you when things were hard. I lied to you, Beretta, and I’m never going to do it again. After you were hit in the head with that statue a few months back, I was terrified. I thought you were dead, and I felt a different type of fear than I ever had before. You see, I’m used to adrenaline rushes when I go out on runs for the club and whatever, but what I will never be okay with is feeling like I could lose you. It’s my greatest fear, and it’s something I felt twice today. First, when you walked out of the club, and second when you were shot. I was scared out of my mind, Beretta because you’re the most important thing in my life. I don’t want to ever lose you again, and I’m prayin’ you feel the same way.” Muffler pulls out a square red-velvet-colored box and opens it up.
A light shines over an emerald-cut black diamond, with white diamonds in the shapes of leaves at each end. It’s beautiful, and to say I’m in complete and total shock would be a drastic understatement.
“I should’ve asked you this a hell of a long time ago, but I was too fuckin’ scared to do it. Too afraid that you know I wasn’t deserving of the love you bring me . . . so I’m askin’ you if you’d do me the great honor of bein’ my wife, my ol’ lady, my best friend?”
Muffler’s given me one hell of a speech, and as much as I want to tell him to go fuck himself, my heart’s beating a million miles a minute right now. I love this man more than I could ever express, and as much as I don’t understand it . . . I want to give him a third chance.
“Third time’s a charm, isn’t that the saying?” I ask him with a smile, and Muffler rises to his feet and crushes his lips down onto mine. Even though I can tell he wants to be a savage, he’s being as gentle as he can with me right now. I kiss him back, and I can’t help but smile as I kiss him.
Muffler and I have never been walking an easy road, but I hope with time, our journey together won’t be as difficult as it has been before.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes, it is,” I tell him, and he smiles brighter than I’ve ever seen him do so before.
“Baby girl, I’m gonna get those sons of bitches who hurt you. I promise you I’m going to get them.”
I suck in a deep breath and look into his eyes. “Do you know who did this or have any guesses?”
He nods. “Yeah, I think it was the cult. I think they know how close we’ve gotten, and they took things into their own hands. I could’ve lost you in the process . . . so I’m gonna make them pay. I’m not gonna show them any mercy, Beretta.”
“Good. But they deserve to suffer for more than what they’ve done to me. They’ve hurt so many others, and I bet they’re going to keep hurting people if the club doesn’t intervene soon,” I point out.
Muffler slides the ring on my ring finger, and I stare down in complete awe at its beauty. “I can’t believe you picked this out for me. It’s so elegant.”
Muffler cracks up. “I had help. But that was one of my top three picks.”
“Who helped you?” I question, cocking an eyebrow in the process.
“Giada.” Muffler laughs, and my mouth cracks into a smile.
Just as I’m smiling, the doctor comes in, and I’m ready for him. I’m ready to find out if I’m going to be able to use my legs again. With any luck, the bullet didn’t damage me for life.
Regardless, I know I won’t have to do any of this by myself. Muffler will always be by my side.
EPILOGUE
Muffler
Six Months Later . . .
As the music plays in the background, I find it hard to believe this day would ever come. Beretta agreeing to marry me completely blew my mind. Especially after everything I’ve done to her. I walked away from her when she needed me the most, and I lied to her when I knew better. My intentions were pure, but she didn’t care about any of that. Deep down, as I stare at the beautiful woman waiting to walk toward me, I know I should’ve been honest with her from the get-go. I’ve known Beretta for a long time, and I know she appreciates honesty above all else.
We’re on the rooftop of the club, and the ladies did a hell of a job transforming it into a wedding venue. All of our typical rooftop furniture was taken downstairs, tucked away in one of the garage bays for our wedding.
Beretta picked every bit of this out, and I’m glad. I didn’t want anything to do with the design, or colors, or any of it. All I wanted was a say in the food we’ll be eating later. Beretta did a damn good job, though. The only thing my brothers and I really helped with was replacing the rubber mats on top of the roof with new ones, and we moved all the furniture downstairs. Other than that, this was all the ladies coming together to make it special for Beretta.
There are five rows of black chairs on either side, and the chairs are packed with not only people in the club but clubs we’re friends with. I spotted Gamble, the Prez of the Knights of Retribution, in the crowd. Zane and Octavia are here from the Reapers Rejects MC in Montana, and even Devi and Joker made the trip down from Toronto to be here for our special day.
We opted not to have bridesmaids or groomsmen, but we wanted to include Destiny as our flower girl. We don’t have a ring bearer, so I’m holding onto the rings. Destiny’s in a sparkling silver dress that flares out like a tutu around her waist, and she’s throwing dark purple rose petals as she walks up, and then she stops in front of the arch for a moment. She curtsies and then walks over to her mother and takes a seat next to her and Ricochet.