Page 91 of Eden's Joker

We all laugh at that, even Dad cracks a grin.

Then we talk some more, and end on the happy note that we will see each other very soon.

“I should go see what’s happening in the meeting,” Dad says. “You OK out here.”

“I’m absolutely fine,” I say.

He signals something to his brothers standing around us and I’m sure it’s instructions to watch over me. Then he crosses the street and enters the Saloon, where a lot of loud talking is going on.

And as soon as the door swings shut behind him, Tyler comes out, his eyes only for me.

“Shouldn’t you be at the meeting?” I ask as he reaches me.

His eyes are full of soft devotion and hard coldness. No idea how that mixture is even possible, but here it is.

He hugs me tight and lifts me off the ground. “That was an incredibly stupid thing you did, running out here.”

“But also genius, right?” I tease, resting my arms around his neck and smiling at him. “You’re all alive because of it, whereas if I hadn’t, you’d all be dead. So I’ll ask again, shouldn’t you be in there, making peace?”

“Not before I do this…” he says, sets me down and kisses me so deeply and passionately and well that I’m glad he’s holding me tightly, because I need that support.

He tastes like dust, but also sunlight, and freedom, and above all, the kind of love I’ve only read about until now.

The town, all those people, the war, peace, it all just swirls around us as we kiss. A whirlwind with our love the anchor to it all, the shield that saved not just us, but everyone we love too.

I break away from the kiss, which is actually one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

“Now go make peace so we can have more of exactly this for the rest of our lives,” I say.

“The rest of our lives?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow. “You think?”

“You don’t?” I ask.

“Oh, I do,” he says. “This life and all the next ones. I was just checking your thoughts on it.”

“My thoughts are with you,” I say and kiss him lightly again, because I can’t stop myself. “Along with everything else. Thank you for making peace. Now hurry back.”

He doesn’t go right away. Just stands there, lightly holding my waist, looking at me like he’s seeing me for the first time.

“I could never do anything to hurt you,” he finally says, softly yet firmly. “Ever.”

He seems surprised to feel that way.Yet not sorry.

“I feel the same way,” I say, stand on my toes and kiss him again.

Deeply, lastingly, in a way that makes whole lifetimes of loving each other seem like mere seconds. Good. Because we have so many more of these seconds, these lifetimes, in front of us now. And I can’t wait to get lost with him in every single one of them. From right now, until forever.

48

Joker

So far, the peace talks have been anything but peaceful. Just a lot of arguing and shouting, insults flying back and forth and a couple of fights that very nearly ended the whole ceasefire thing before it even became a thing. A quarter of my MC rode away, fuming, calling me a traitor and worse. Some of the men from the MCs that joined us left too, but not the ones in charge.

Seems most actually want the war to end. I just wish they’d be better at articulating this so we can finally come to terms.

It’s getting dark outside, stars are popping up in the pale indigo sky and I want to go find Eden and our bed. I’m longing for it, actually. The room we’re in is stuffy despite all the windows and doors beingopen.

We began this meeting sitting at tables facing each other. One row for the Devils, another for us. Now only Cross and me are still sitting, the rest are either pacing up and down, leaning on walls or the bar. Some have long since left the room. Scorpio among the first. He hasn’t said so, but maybe he’s mad that I ended this war the way I did. I came up with the plan to get revenge on the Devils in large part to make up for all the shit he went through after the Devils killed off our families. He’s probably getting drunk by himself somewhere. I should go check on him.

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