Angels and Ashes (Heaven's Rejects MC Book 2) Read Free Page B

visiting chapters outside would warrant a disturbing the peace call, but they know not to interrupt our club’s business. I called a couple of favors in over the last few days to help with the traffic on our ride to the cemetery because I wanted shit to be as easy as possible for his family.
    Maj leads me over to the bar where a box sits on the counter. She pulls t-shirt after t-shirt out of the box, and it’s in that moment that I realize that I’ve seen these shirts before. They’re Jagger’s.
    “Darcy sent these over for the guys. She thought they may want them as a tribute for the ride today. What do you want me to do with them?” she asks.
    “Tear them into strips and give them to all of the riders. It’ll be like Jagger is riding with us.”
    Maj takes the black Harley shirt in her hands and rips a strip from it. She moves to my arm and ties it around my bicep. Giving her hand a squeeze after she finishes knotting it, I kiss her on cheek before she goes back to work, handing out the shirts to the club girls and the other old ladies to cut and distribute them to the rest of the club.
    As I make my way out to the back lot of the clubhouse, Ratchet and Hero walk out of my office toward the front doors. Ratchet nods at me when we pass, signaling that he’ll be with us today. I know he’s hurting, but I won’t hesitate to corral him if he gets out of line with Darcy. I know he sees her as the sole reason why his hero walked away from this life, but it was Jagger’s decision, not his.
    Stepping into the sun, I see Jagger’s black and gray metal casket being loaded into the back of our Harley Hearse by the people from Morton’s mortuary. Darcy got her religious memorial service last night at the funeral home, so today is all about the club’s traditions and saying goodbye. Darcy argued with me, but I wanted his last ride to start from the clubhouse. She reluctantly agreed after explaining to her that it was her husband who designed our funeral rituals and that Jagger would have wanted it this way.
    While I button up my cut, I see Darcy standing outside as the boys slide into the family car that will be following me. Darcy’s face is hidden behind a wide-brimmed hat and black lace veil, but even I can tell she’s visibly shaken up. She clutches a white handkerchief in her hand and stops to watch me prepare for the ride. I can feel the heat of her veiled stare for a few moments before her body disappears into the car with Morton closing the door behind her. As he makes his way to the driver’s side of the car, I walk to the hearse holding my brother’s body and lay my hand on the warm glass.
    It shouldn’t have been you, Jag.
    Lifting my hand from the hearse, I make my way to my bike and slide my leg over the warm leather seat. I turn on the ignition before firing up the engine. I let my Harley rumble for a few minutes while I settle into the ride to come. Turning back to the hearse hooked up to my bike, I take in Jagger’s last time at our clubhouse. I rev the engine of my bike and begin to pull the hearse in front of the clubhouse to gather the rest of the procession that’s already lined up.
    I hesitate momentarily before I inch my way to the end of the parking lot and pull out onto the highway. Two neat rows of his brothers are lined up behind the family car, ready to give him a final salute.
    “Time for one last ride, my brother.”

ONE YEAR LATER
    Three short words forever changed the course of my life. I never imagined at thirty that I’d be a widow raising three children on my own. Brent had once promised me forever, and even though we both knew with our twenty-two-year age gap that he would pass long before me, that’s the kind of guy he was. Brent never worried about what tomorrow would bring, and that’s one of the many reasons I loved him. He was the optimist in our relationship, even if the world looked down upon the age gap between us with disdain. Chuckling quietly to myself, I can