if killing Marks is enough to fix the problem or if we need to make the Village bleed.”
“What about her?” Lowell asks, gesturing toward the woman now jumping from the couch to a chair.
“She can’t go back,” Anders says before adding, “But I don’t have anything here for a woman.”
“Well, deal with it tonight. I’ll send Lana and Topanga over tomorrow to figure out clothes and other shit,” I say as Pixie climbs off the chair and onto Anders’s back.
She wraps her arms around his wide shoulders and holds on like a damn monkey. “When do we get Mama, Dove, and Future?”
No one speaks. I see the exact moment when she realizes her family won’t be saved and how helping Anders probably got them killed. I feel bad for the weirdo, but I’m unwilling to ride into the Village and take on John Marks’s army for three strangers. Not at least until I’ve gotten a decent night’s rest and talked out the options alone with Lowell and likely Conor.
I leave Anders’s house, where he’ll need to live with the consequences of his little obsession. Lowell and I ride to our separate houses and snuggle up with our honeys for the night.
Tomorrow is a can of worms I’m not ready to open.
PART 10: EPILOGUES
LANA
For those first few months in Elko, I feel like a tourist on vacation. Then school starts, and life settles into a groove.
I get the hang of waking up early to prepare the girls for drop-off. Desi is excited about attending Elko Elementary since she never enjoyed school in Shasta. Bronco also hires a tutor to provide her with extra help. Desi’s grades quickly improve, as does her confidence.
With Elko’s size, the elementary and intermediate levels are located in a single building. I drop Desi off on one end and Sidonie at the other. Each day, Summer walks across the street to grab a ride to high school with Topanga and Dunning.
My family soon eases into a nice routine. Even Carina gets the hang of the morning trips, playing with the mobile attached to her seat.
After the school run, Topanga and I often get coffee out or shop together. A few days a week, we work on in my gym or hers. Carina eventually gets big enough for an activity center. She enjoys her workout while I get in mine.
Lunch is time for Bronco and me. We eat out if Topanga can watch the baby or he’ll bring something home. I love afternoon sex while Carina is sleeping. By the time he heads back to work, and I prepare to pick up the girls, I’m rejuvenated from our time together.
Before the weather gets cold, I take Desi and Sidonie horseback riding a few times a week. Other days, we hang outside in the yard or take walks. Summer often has friends over after school. Like clockwork every night, we eat dinner as a family.
The Woodlands is a fun place to live. At the community clubhouse, we throw a birthday extravaganza for everyone born that month. There are baby showers, wedding anniversary parties, engagement bashes, and a big celebration of the founding of the Executioners.
This community goes wild for the holidays. Halloween is especially nuts. Every house is decked out with creepy decorations. No one keeps their lights off and hides. Even people without kids hand out candy.
From six to eight, the younger kids can safely trick or treat. From eight to ten, the older kids pick up candy while also running from masked monsters that jump out and chase them.
I don’t know why, but Summer and her friends love that shit. I hear them screaming like banshees during the big kid period. I’m inside with the younger girls while Bronco and Rooster wear Freddy Kruger and Jason Voorhees masks to terrorize the Woodland teens.
For Thanksgiving, we have a big charity pot luck at the clubhouse. Christmas is another over-the-top celebration. The entire neighborhood is decked out with decorations. Topanga and a few of the other old ladies play music twenty-four-seven from their front yard sound systems. There are carolers and more charity bashes. Woodlands is one endless party.
The club becomes my family. I know everyone. I don’t like them all. I’m sure many of them don’t like me. But I no longer fear their disapproval.
I’m Lana Parrish—Bronco’s wife and mother to Summer, Sidonie, Desi, and Carina. My club family doesn’t have to like me, but they better show me respect. I’ve learned to embrace this fact. Not because