Page 3 of Until Forever

I couldn’t get off the compound fast enough, and when I finally did, I sat in my car and sobbed, my heart shredded by the sight of everything I’d ever wanted in another woman’s arms.

And it was my own fault.

Brent touched my shoulder and slid his hand down my arm to my hand. He squeezed. “Need your game face on this one. You got it?”

I sniffed once and nodded, “I’ve got it.”

The courtroom doors opened.

“That’s your cue,” Brent said, giving me a little push.

So I threw back my shoulders and lifted my chin.

Showtime.

*************************

Gate

Gate rolled onto the compound, slowed his Harley, and dragged his boots on the pavement to stop.

Years ago, when he and Talon had taken over the club, providing Moose with a graceful but necessary exit from the gavel, they’d moved the whole operation from a rundown warehouse in an industrial area to an old high school gym at the edge of a suburb that bled into a business district.

They’d bought the property for a song, and with Talon’s engineering background, he’d come up with reno plans that were the shit, and as the club had gotten its head above water, they’d gone about making those plans into reality.

Now the façade was brick with black, industrial doors that looked like any other high school gym, until you got to the Iron Dragons emblem etched in the metal.

And at that point, anybody thinking they were looking at urban industrial lofts for rent realized their mistake. If the Harleys parked on the right side of the building didn’t do it first.

Gate was proud of what he and the club had accomplished in the fifteen years since he’d taken over the gavel. He’d always thought Talon would have made a better president, but T would have none of it, so Gate had done the best he could by his brothers, and for years, things had turned out alright.

He and Talon had eased the club out of the drug trade and into more solid investments. Like hookers. And fenced artifacts from Europe.

Talon ran the hookers, Brick ran the imports, the club made bank on both, and everyone was happy.

But then last summer they’d lost Smoke, and the rest of the year had gone south fast.

The only bright spot had been Talon finding the woman of his dreams, putting a ring on her, and planting a baby. Not exactly in that order.

Gate stowed his gear and tried to remember that last timehewas happy.

Really happy.

And he found that he couldn’t. Not since Anna left.

Gate sighed as he hauled his ass through the front doors and up the stairs.

He heard his brothers before he reached his office and saw them.

Brick giving Talon shit about knocking up his woman before she wore his ring, which didn’t bother Talon in the least. Deuce giving Brick shit about sounding like a woman about it. Brick telling Deuce to shut the fuck up what did he know anyway.

Gate grinned in spite of himself. Life might well and truly suck sometimes, but if you had your family, by blood or by choice, then you were ahead of the game and almost everybody else playing it.

Walking through his office door, Gate knocked Talon’s boots off his desk. Again.

“I’d remind you of the title on the nameplate, but I guess that’s pointless,” Gate said, taking his chair.

“True,” Talon admitted, grinning at their running joke. “So what’s up with the judge?”

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