Silver and Chrome: A Bad Boy MC Romance (54 page)

Epilogue

"I
can't believe you're engaged!  It feels like last week that you were asking me
who Chase Anderson even was!"

"It was six months ago, but I agree. 
It's flown by so fast.  Anyway, the wedding won't be for a while.  Chase is
just going through the divorce with Mirana now and we have to be careful not to
get married right after or we’ll set off red flags I'm sure."

"Doesn't she have her G
reen
Card already?"

"Yes, but she just got it a couple of
months ago.  I don't know if they can take it away, but we don't want to take
any chances.  I would hate for anything bad to happen to her or Diego.  He's
such a great kid.  And she’s such a wonderful woman as well.  The shelter would
be lost without her.  She really holds that place together."

"Well I'm sure you do your part as
well.  If I know you, you're working just as hard."

I shake my head.  "Only on the
foundation side of it, not the actual shelter.  Honestly, Mirana is the glue
that holds that place together.  She’s so strong with all of those women.  I
don't know how she does it.  All I do is push papers and make phone
calls."

Evelyn is looking at me with a raised
eyebrow.

"Okay, I do more than that,
especially with the expansion plans on taking the shelters nationwide.  But my
point is that we don't want to do anything to put her legal status at risk.  So
we’ll probably wait at least six months before we get married.  Maybe more.  It
doesn't matter.  I'm happy as long as we're together, no matter what form that
is."

"Well shit, with a ring that size I'd
be happy too!"  Evelyn grabs my hand and pulls it up to her face again. 
"Wow, it really is gorgeous!  Did he pick it out himself?"

I nod.  "I would never have let him
buy something so big if I had been with him."

"So you're going to ask him to return
it for something smaller?"

I yank my hand back and clutch it against
my chest.  "Of course not!"  We both fall against her couch in
laughter.  "Let's not talk crazy..."

"Oh Lila, I've really missed
you."  Eve reaches for the bottle of wine and refills both of our glasses
with Chardonnay.  She has a heaviness about her lately.  I've heard it on the
phone when we’ve talked and it was one of the reasons I wanted to get out here
and talk to her in person.  It could just be that her job has kept her so busy
that she hasn't had time to make any friends, and we're 2500 miles apart.  She
has her boyfriend of course, but she needs a friend too.

"I know.  I'm sorry I haven't been
out here to see you more."

"It's more my fault.  I haven't been
to Vegas at all since you moved there.  Between work and Edward, I've been so
busy.  But that's no excuse."

"Well, I'm here now.  And you have me
for the whole weekend."

"Perfect.  And I made sure to stock
up enough wine for an army.  So it should last us until Sunday."

We both laugh again.  I've really missed
spending time with my best friend.

We continue to talk and finish the bottle
of wine.  When Lila returns with another, I ask a question that's been weighing
on my mind. 

"Have you spoken to Harry
recently?"

"Are you kidding?  After what you
told me about his screwing around with those hookers?  No fucking way.  I
blocked him on my phone right after I sent him a message telling him what kind
of a piece of shit I thought he was."

Evelyn always has my back, and I
appreciate it so much.  I know she was friends with Harry, hell she introduced
us, but I shouldn’t have ever worried that she might take his side over mine. 
Not that he really has a side.  But I was just happy to not have her talking to
him anymore.  That means I no longer have any ties to him, and that is the way
I want to keep it.

"What about Chase and that Denise
bitch?  Do they still talk at all?"

I'd told Evelyn everything of course, and
she has almost as much of a hate on for Denise as I do now.  I shake my head,
feeling tipsy as I do.

"No, thank god.  He changed his cell
phone number after she started trying to text him again after the house
closed.  But that was months ago.  The last I heard, she'd moved on to someone
new.  I heard that she hooked up with some internet tycoon and the two of them
moved to the Cayman Islands or something.  Good fucking riddance."

"Cheers to that."

"I've had it up to here with exes. 
Well, Mirana doesn't count.  She was never really with Chase anyway, and she’s
actually really nice.  At least I won't have to worry about his ex-wife.  What about
Edward?  Any lurking evil exes in his past?"

Evelyn shakes her head.  "He never
really talks about ex-girlfriends, so I don't think there’s ever been anyone
special.  Certainly no one else has come sniffing around him in the last few
months, so if he did have any they’ve moved on." 

"How have things been going with you
two, anyway?" 

Evelyn sighs as she picks up her glass and
drinks about half of it in a single swallow.  "It's been good, but so
busy.  I mean, I knew it would be, don't get me wrong, but I've never been the
assistant of someone so... rich and powerful, you know?  I'm constantly running
around the city doing things for Edward that I barely get to see him until the
end of the day - and often by then we're both exhausted."

"So you're feeling overworked and
under-appreciated?"

Evelyn smiles.  "Something like
that."

"So take a vacation."

"Ha ha.  Edward would never leave the
office for a few days, much less a week.  Even a weekend to him means only
working for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, although usually he at least
does that from home."

"So, who says you have to bring him? 
Come back with me to Vegas.  You can stay at our house and you and I can lounge
around the pool all day.  Wouldn’t you like to leave this cold weather behind
for a bit?"

"Oh Lila, it sounds lovely but I
don't know.  We're so busy at work.  I don't know if Edward would want me gone
for very long.  You should have heard how much he whined about it when I said I
would be unavailable this weekend!"

"What if you were to tell him that
you needed to come to help me out?"

Evelyn shrugs.  "I don't really know
much about the non-profit foundation business."

"I'm not talking about that," I
say.  I can't hold back my grin any longer.  I can feel it splitting my face in
two as I stare at my friend, excited to see her reaction.  "I wanted to
ask if you could be my maid of honor?"

Evelyn lets out a little scream and grabs
my hand.  "Of course!  Oh my god, Lila, that's so exciting!"  She
leans forward and gives me a very tight hug.

"Well, it does mean you'll have to
see me more.  At least to help pick out my dress and do some wedding
planning."  I point out when she finally lets me breathe again. 
"That’s what I was thinking you and I could do if you came to Vegas.  Between
our pool time, of course.  Do you think Edward would have a problem with
letting you go long enough for that?"

"Too fucking bad if he does.  There’s
no way I'm missing out on helping you plan your wedding."

We both lift our glasses and take another drink. 
I've missed hanging out with Evelyn, but my life with Chase has been amazing. 
There’s never a dull moment with that man, and the fact that he’s started this
whole non-profit foundation and given it over for me to run has been like a
dream come true.  It's busy, but we still make time for each other.  I can only
hope that Evelyn can find the same balance in her life. 

"So you'll come?"

"Honey, I wouldn’t miss it for the
world."  Evelyn gives me another hug and I feel the smile threatening to split
my face again.  With Chase waiting for me back in Vegas, the only thing that
could make things even better right now is having my best friend by my side.  I
squeeze her back, even harder than she’s holding me.  I knew she wouldn’t let
me down.

I can't wait to get back and start
planning my future with the two most important people in the world.

And now for the second bonus book, Fighting for
Salvation.

Fighting for Salvation

Chapter One

Joel

"Don't get in my
way, boy!" Joel's father yelled, his eyes a blaze of fury.

"Leave her
alone!" the boy yelled, arms outstretched in front of his cowering mother.
 

The back of the man's
hand moved like a flash and the boy spun as he was struck, arms flailing as he
hit the ground.  "I warned you.  Never fucking listen to me, a
day in your life.  Like your bitch of a mother."

Joel's father advanced
again, both hands clenched into fists of black iron, dirty from an afternoon of
fixing cars and strong for the same reason.  He was lurching unsteadily,
so his advance was slow enough that Joel was able to scramble back to his feet
and throw himself between the two adults again before his father could close
the gap.  His mother stood hunched against the kitchen counter, hands held
protectively in front of her face.

Joel's father saw the boy
moving back in front of his intended target and so he swung his right arm
straight this time, trying to catch his wife before his son could get in the
way.  Joel grabbed the arm with his right and pushed it past his father,
towards the left side of the big man's body, keeping him from using his left
hand for any further striking.  While he still held the arm, Joel lifted
his leg and swung it into the man's exposed belly...

The crowd roared around
Joel as his opponent stood up unsteadily after being knocked to the ground.
 His shirtless back was covered in sweat despite the cool breeze that blew
through the alleyway, and a large gash was slowly starting to ooze blood from
where he had just sliced it on the concrete.  The man's right arm shot
towards Joel's face, but he was too quick and he stepped out of the way,
grabbing the arm with his right and pushing it left across the man's body,
blocking him from throwing a punch with his other arm and exposing his belly.

With a swing of his
powerful hips, Joel spun on the ball of his left foot as he brought his right
leg up and out, slamming it hard into the exposed mid-section.  With a
sharp exhalation of breath, the other man doubled over.  Joel released his
arm as he did and then grabbed his bent over body with both hands and pulled
him forward, slamming him into the wall behind him.  The man was only able
to raise his hands just in the nick of time to keep himself from hitting the brick
headfirst.

The crowd of 20 or so
around Joel roared in cheer as arms went up and they widened around the two,
shifting formation to maintain a rough circle and give them enough room to
fight.

The other man, the one
who just called himself "Crush", pushed himself off the wall and
whirled around to glare back at Joel.  He was panting now, clearly winded
from the blow to the stomach, but he shrugged it off and moved forward again,
bringing his arms up and squaring his hips back into his fighting stance.