Riding Him (Ghost Riders MC #5)(23)

I’m finally at peace with myself and my life, and I’ve got someone to always make me feel safe. It was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. And now we’ve got the rest of our lives to do this thing we call love.





Epilogue





Violet





5 years later…



“What are you doing?” My sister Vanessa leans over in the passenger seat, trying to look at my phone. I’ve been staring down at it for the past five minutes instead of leaving the grocery store parking lot. We were supposed to be back at Mom and Dad’s twenty minutes ago to cook for Mother’s Day, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of Knox for the past three hours, and it’s starting to really piss me off.

Something is up with him, and I’m wondering if he knows and he’s freaking out. There’s something I’ve been keeping from him. I wanted to wait for Mother’s Day. I felt it was fitting, and I could tell everyone at once.

Since I brought Knox home, he’s become a Cassano. One of us. He’d even taken my name when we got married. It wasn’t normal and it shocked me at first when the subject came up. But when we got hitched years ago, he made the decision.

He said my family has been better to him than his own had ever been, and that he’d be honored to carry my name if I let him. He said he’d want our children, when we had them, to have that name. Everyone got a little choked up, even Cas. My sisters all turned to a pile of goo, and even I fought like hell to stop the tears from flowing.

I thought this was something that he wanted. Hell, when I’d gone to the doctor months ago to get my new birth control shot, I was told I didn’t have an appointment. After the third time it happened, I knew it was Knox canceling them. He’d actually hacked into the system and canceled my appointments.

That seemed like he was on baby board, if you ask me, but over the past week he’s been randomly falling off the grid. What the f*ck is he up to, and who with?

“You know this place?” I show my sister my phone. It’s a map of Knox’s location on my iPhone tracker. I have it on satellite so I can actually see the building he’s in. Looks like just a bunch of new office spaces.

“I know the new center that was built, but I’m not sure of all the businesses that have been set up there.”

I pull the phone back, debating what to do.

Knox has never given me a reason to question him, but this is driving me nuts. I’m blaming it on the pregnancy hormones.

“Violet,” Vanessa says in warning.

“Well, why the f*ck isn’t he answering his phone?” I snap back.

She grins evilly. “Let’s go spy,” she says. “We’ll just, like, drive by. Park right across the street or something.”

“Okay,” I agree, like I’m down with her idea and I wasn’t already going to go there.

“We don’t even have spy stuff.” She starts digging around in the truck like she might find some as I pull out of the parking lot.

“Bingo.” She produces a pair of sunglasses and slides them on.

“Oh yeah, no one will ever know it’s you now,” I tell her, but she doesn’t seem to care. She’s just happy to have the giant sunglasses.

“Whose are these?” she asks, taking my rearview mirror for her own usage. They clearly aren’t mine. They are giant and have freaking pink diamonds on the side.

“Probably Valerie or Victoria.”

“They’re mine now.” She says it with a smirk on her face. You’d think at this age the three of them wouldn’t be fighting over clothes, but here they are still doing it.

“Wait, what are you doing! We have to hide, not pull right in!” Vanessa explodes.

“Right.” I throw the truck into park. “Stay here,” I tell her as I exit, slamming my door behind me. I see Knox’s chopper sitting outside, and I have to resist kicking it. Even with my sister carrying on in the car, my mind has been whirring with possibilities. What is he doing here? Why?

Feelings of jealousy that I’d never felt bear down on me. I keep telling myself it’s irrational, but here they are. I know this can’t be club shit or I’d know about it. So then what the hell is it? Never has Knox cleared my phone call.

I push open the door, and the bell sounds.

The office is pink. All the walls are covered in a soft pink, and different kinds of chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Three desks with computers sit there, and written on the back wall is, “Perfect Match”.

Is this like a f*cking dating match-up place? I see red just as Knox comes out from the back. He stops when he sees me.

I’d always thought if something like this ever happened, I’d be on him. That I’d be cutting his dick off like I always joked, but for the first time in my life all I want to do is run. Maybe vomit.

“Baby?” He starts coming towards me, but I don’t want him to touch me.

I turn and bolt for the door.

I almost make it to the truck before I’m spun around by Knox. I swing, and he dodges it, grabbing both my arms and pinning me to my truck, his big body caging me in.

“Don’t play rough here, baby. I can’t f*ck you in this parking lot. Save that shit for the bedroom.” His tone is teasing, and he leans down, kissing between my ear and neck. I jerk against him.