Page 88 of Guarded Secrets
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The days following Jaxon’s arrest flew by. The judge ordered him held without bail, and that kept him sitting in a jail cell. Keeley would have to testify, but she was no longer in danger.
With her parents back from visiting Aunt Carla, Keeley moved back to her cottage.
Owen spent his time off with her and she was happy. Giddy happy. Even if marriage wasn’t in their future, she wasn’t going to worry about it.
For now, living in the present was good enough.
On an afternoon when the sun shone brightly, the storm from earlier in the week having left only mud puddles, the rumble of a motorcycle drew her and Owen’s attention. They were sitting at her little patio table enjoying the warm afternoon.
Keeley recognized Nero as he rode up the driveway to stop in front of her garage, another rider holding tight behind him. The passenger let go of Nero and swung off the bike. She took off her helmet and shook out her long black hair. Keeley rushed forward to engulf Destiny in a hug.
“Hi, Miss Montaigne.” The pretty girl returned the hug. When she pulled back, she grinned, silver wires glinting on her teeth.
“Oh my, Destiny, you got braces.”
“Grampa says he liked my smile just fine, but I’m glad my teeth won’t be crooked anymore.”
Owen stood at her elbow and Keeley could tell by his watchful expression that he was ready for anything. Keeley had no such qualms. Nero wouldn’t cause any trouble with his granddaughter present. He shed his own helmet, and Keeley led her unexpected guests to the patio.
They sat at the table, and Destiny caught up Keeley on what her friends were doing. Abby spotted the surprise guests and waved. She brought out a plate of cookies, and after a short conversation, invited Destiny to the house to meet Iggy.
After encouraging her to take up Abby’s offer, Nero watched until his granddaughter was out of earshot before turning to Keeley.
“Got somethin’ to share with you both that I’m not ready for my girl to know about.” He pulled on his long beard, then proceeded to explain an agreement he’d come to with the district attorney.
Law enforcement hadn’t been able to access the encrypted flash drive. Keeley thought Jaxon would be happy to give up the password as part of a plea agreement, but the district attorney had other ideas.
He’d chosen to throw everything he had at Jaxon including the murder charge, and after long discussions with the Ravagers top officers, had proposed an agreement. The sheriff would hold on to the flash drive but would not pursue efforts to access its contents. In return, the Ravagers would give up their criminal activities.
“DA knows our organization has never been involved in human trafficking, and we weren’t part of the drugs or gun trade.
“Now, I’m not sayin’ what we’d done in the past was exactly legal, but Ravager businesses only skirted the edges of the law. There’s evidence of said enterprises on that flash drive, but the DA’s always struck me as a principled man. I’m trusting him to keep his word.”
“I’m so glad, Nero,” Keeley said. “I didn’t like Destiny being exposed to that sort of lifestyle.”
Nero gave her a long look. “It was talking to you the other day that convinced me to get off the dime and make the changes I’d been considerin’ for a while. My son’s in prison and I didn’t like that my girl might grow up to think criminal behavior was okay. I don’t want her to end up in prison.” He shrugged. “A lot of us Ravagers are old-timers. We got kids, some of us like me got grandkids. We don’t want them caught up in the life.”
“So no more Ravagers? That’s got to be hard for you.”
His blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “Not so hard because we’re not disbanding. We’re still a motorcycle club, but with a new purpose. We’re establishing a nonprofit to support our community. We’ve got some money and connections to get us started. Our focus is helping families in crisis get big things likehousing and transportation. But little things too, like diapers and eyeglasses for those who need it.”
Keeley studied Nero’s weathered face. “That’s good work, Mr. Paulson, and Destiny’s future is already brighter.”
He nodded as Destiny returned and a little later after a last hug good-bye, Keeley and Owen watched the pair ride away. Owen said, “My guess, they probably ran chop shops for stolen cars.”
Leaning back against him as he stood with an arm around her, she murmured, “What they’re doing now is the best possible outcome. There’s such good in the world and it outshines the bad every single time.”
She felt his arm tighten and tipped her head back to see his face. “You okay?”
He turned her to face him and caught her in a kiss that warmed her all the way through. “You’re the good outshining the bad,” he murmured. “I feel like the luckiest man alive.”
His body responded in the most delicious of ways. “Yeah? I think you might get even luckier.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Oh man, this is so good,” Keeley murmured. She was leaning back on the sofa in the living room of the big house.
