Joker by Andi Rhodes

Epilogue

^{My mother taught me at a very early age that women can’t be trusted. But Riley has taught me that some women can earn not only your trust, but your love, your heart, and your soul.}

Joker

Two months later…

“Idon’t have time to go for a ride.”

I don’t break my stride as I carry Riley out of the clubhouse. She was eating lunch with Widow and Charlie, something she does at least twice a week now that she’s living with me on Soulless Kings’ property. The look of surprise that registered on her face when she saw me walk in was comical. She thought I’d be working all day but little does she know, I haven’t been to Infinite Motors in several weeks.

“Black Bird, there’s always time for a ride.”

Riley tries to wiggle out of my hold but she’s not putting any real effort into it. She loves it when I pick her up. According to her, it reminds her that she’s more than muscle and right hooks. She’s a woman who likes to feel like a woman, like her man cherishes her and isn’t afraid of her. And I’m lucky enough to be that man.

“I have an appointment with the realtor later,” she reminds me. As if I could forget. “He found a few spaces that could work for the gym.”

“I cancelled your appointment.”

Riley’s half-hearted wiggles turn into real struggle and I set her on her feet before I drop her. She stares at me with hard eyes.

“What the fuck, Joker?!” she shouts. “You know how much this means to me, how much I need this now that I can’t fight.”

I shove my hands in my pocket and rock back on my heels. “Yeah, I do.”

“Then why would you take this away from me?” She takes a step toward me and stabs a finger in my chest. “If this is your way of controlling my li—”

“Do you trust me?”

Her mouth closes and then opens and closes again. She huffs out a breath. “Of course I do.”

“Then get on the damn Harley,” I growl.

Riley’s eyes dart from me to the bike and back again. “Fine. But I’m still pissed at you.”

“I love you too,” I say with a chuckle as I climb on in front of her.

The Harley roars to life and I waste no time taking off, heading in the direction of Infinite Motors. That’s not where we’re going, but I’m hoping it will keep Riley guessing. Especially since that’s where I took her the last time I told her to trust me before we took a ride.

It only takes us twenty minutes to get to our destination and when I pull into the parking lot, I breathe a sigh of relief that there are no other bikes or vehicles. They managed to get them hidden in time.

“What is this place?” Riley asks after she gets off the bike.

She glances around, no doubt looking for clues, but I know she’ll come up empty.

“You’ll see.”

I grab her hand, careful not to squeeze too hard. She’s done the work, gone through hours and hours of physical therapy, endured two more surgeries. Her hand is as healed as it’s ever going to get. She’s no longer in pain, but I’m still careful.

I start to drag her with me toward the entrance to the warehouse. From the outside, it doesn’t look like much. A massive black building. The only appealing thing she’s likely to see is the fact that the paint is fresh. If we were on the front side of the building, she’d see the logo, but from this side, nothing. And the inside? That’s where the magic is. If only I can get her in there.

“Joker, this is ridiculous,” she grumbles. Riley tries to pull free of me but fails.

I don’t say another word until we reach the door. I pull a bandana from my pocket and when I lift it to her face, she swats my hand away.

“Riley, please,” I plead. “I promise you won’t regret trusting me.”

She rolls her eyes but drops her arms. “Fine. You’ve got ten minutes and then I’m calling my realtor and begging for a new appointment.”

“That’s fine. If you still want to call the realtor and go look at buildings afterward, I’ll go with you.”

But she’s not going to want to do that.

I wrap the bandana around her head as a blindfold. When I’m confident that she can no longer see anything, I link my fingers with hers and lead her inside. I can’t stop the grin that forms at seeing how all of my hard work came together. All of the Soulless Kings’ hard work.

“I smell paint,” Riley mumbles. “It stinks.”

I throw my head back and laugh, a deep rumble barreling from my chest. “It does stink. But it won’t for long.”

“Can I take this off now?” she asks as she lifts her hand to the bandana.

I grip her wrist to stop her. “In a minute.” I let go of her. “I need you to trust me for just a bit longer. I have to check on something real quick and you need to stand here while I do that. No peeking, no moving. Just stand right here. Can you do that for me?”

Riley is silent for a few seconds and then gives a curt nod.

“Thank you.”

I press my lips to hers for a brief kiss and then leave her there to wonder what the hell is going on. I rush to the opposite side of the massive building and see everyone standing just inside the front door. I lift my finger to my lips and then motion for them to follow me.

Our steps are silent and when Riley comes back into my sight, my heart begins to pound. I’ve never once doubted my decision to do this for her but now that it’s time for her to see everything, I’m nervous.

“Joker, is that you?” Riley asks when I’m within a few feet of her. “Okay, this isn’t funny anymore.” She reaches out an arm as if feeling around for someone. “Joker, you’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, meaning it.

It didn’t occur to me that leaving her alone would be frightening. She’s so strong, all the time. But it makes sense that it would remind her of another warehouse, another day that changed her life.

“Okay,” I begin and lift her hand to place a kiss on her palm. “You ready?”

“I…” She swallows. “Yeah, I think so.”

I slowly lift the bandana from her eyes and revel in the way they widen when she’s able to see her surroundings, when she hears the roar of her friends, her family, yelling ‘surprise’.

Riley’s hand flies to her mouth and she steps around me. She walks up to the first boxing ring she comes to. There are three, but she’ll get to the rest eventually. Her head swivels as she takes in the punching bags, weight benches, mats, all of it.

When her eyes land on me, her arms fall to her sides. “How… what…” She shakes her head as if to clear it. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s all yours,” I say, emotion clogging my throat. “Every inch of this building, every piece of equipment, it all belongs to you.”

“But how?” she cries. “How did you do this?”

I let my gaze shift to my brothers. “I had a little bit of help.”

Riley rushes to Fender and throws her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

She takes her time and does the same with each of them. Fender, Greaser, Piston, Riker… everyone but me.

I clear my throat as she’s hugging Squirrel.

“I think someone feels left out,” Squirrel quips.

Riley steps back from him and laughs. Then she turns and rushes toward me. I catch her when she launches herself in the air and her arms wrap around my neck as her lips find mine.

When she breaks the kiss, I set her on her feet and grin.

“There are a few more surprises,” I say and turn her around to face the wall near the front entrance.

I nod to Trainwreck and he smiles before spinning around to pull on the rope that’s attached to a tarp. When the tarp falls to the floor, Riley’s gasp is the only sound in the cavernous space.

This particular wall is painted orange while the others are as black as the outside of the building. In big bold black letters, the words ‘Black Bird Boxing’ are painted on the wall, intertwined with a painted picture that matches the black bird tattoo on her wrist.

“I…” Her hand finds mine between us and she squeezes. “This is perfect.”

I twist to face her. “You like it?”

“I love it,” Riley breathes and lifts her eyes to meet mine. Then as if an afterthought, her eyes narrow and she says, “Wait. You said there were more surprises, as in more than one. What else could there possibly be?”

I grin and snap my fingers, the signal agreed on earlier today. Damian steps out from beyond the rest of the crowd and when Riley sees him, she pulls away from me and rushes forward.

“Hey, Riles,” he says as he hugs her.

“What are you doing here?” she asks as she takes a step back.

“Well, I got a call from Joker about a month ago,” he begins. “He told me what he wanted to do for you and asked for my help.”

“Then I asked him to stay,” I add, stepping up behind Riley and wrapping my arms around her waist. “And he agreed.”

Damian nods. “Yep. Moved all my stuff into my new house last week. And forced myself not to pick up the phone and call you.”

“You’re staying?” she asks, emotion filling her words. “Like for good?”

“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, Riles,” he confirms.

I lean down and whisper in her ear. “There’s one more surprise.”

Riley spins around. “More? What more could you possibly give me?”

I lift my arm and wave Charlie and Widow over. They left right after I picked Riley up from the clubhouse and no doubt have been impatiently waiting for this part ever since.

Riley glances at me and then to her friends. “What is that?” she asks when she sees they’re holding a box.

“Ah, we’re gonna let Joker explain,” Widow says with a sly grin on her face.

I take the box from them and carry it to the ring in the center of the space. Riley follows me and when we both climb inside, I lift the lid to the box.

Again, she gasps and her hands fly to her mouth.

I set the box down and lift the custom cut out so she can see it. On the back is the Soulless Kings MC emblem, along with the words ‘Black Bird’ on a top rocker and ‘Property of Joker’ on the bottom rocker.

“Try it on,” I urge and thrust it at her. “But before you do, check the pockets.”

No one will ever accuse me of being a romantic.

Riley shoves her hand in one pocket and it comes out empty. She thrusts her hand in the other pocket and squeals when she pulls out a ring.

“Riley, I love you.” I toss the now empty box to the mat and cup her cheeks. “You’ve done the impossible. You’ve completely changed how I look at the world, how I look at others. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I want to spend the rest of our lives doing whatever it takes to keep you. I want to watch you soar, Black Bird. I want to soar with you. Marry me?”

Tears stream down her cheeks. “Of course I’ll marry you.” And then she grins. “Under one condition.”

“What’s that?” I ask, uncertainty filling my tone.

“Damian walks me down the aisle,” she says and shifts her gaze to the man who, by all accounts, helped raise her.

I turn to look at him too. “I’m okay with that if he is.”

“It would be my pleasure, Riles.”

Riley jumps into my arms and I hold her tight. Everything is right in the world. I’ve made peace with my demons, I’ve found love, I’ve become the man I was always meant to be. I’ve come full circle.

My mother taught me at a very early age that women can’t be trusted. But Riley has taught me that some women can earn not only your trust, but your love, your heart, and your soul.