Free Rust: A Bad Boy Romance (Courage MC) by Kara Hart Page A

only thing that might bring us together was love. Disgusting, but true.
    Bruce made the announcement to the two crews, letting the news be heard far and wide. It wasn’t long before everyone that was connected with either Courage or Hell’s Wheels knew about the wedding. An official “wedding celebration” was set for that night and both crews were invited.
    I’d be lyin’ if I said I wasn’t nervous, but it wasn’t because I was legally bound to Jackie. That I could take care of with a lawyer and some force. No, it was because I had to face the two gangs and bring them together as best as I could. For the first time in my life, I had to act like a boss and try to unite the two. This was the best plan we had and it seemed a bit sketchy. Still, we had to try in order to know if we had failed.
    Holding hands, my wife, Jackie, and I walked into my club, to a large applause. The bass was pounding, the whisky was flowing, and the boys were a shit show, already unable to stand up from all the drugs and alcohol they had put into their ageing bodies. I thought to myself, God bless ‘em . They have no idea what is going on between the two gangs.
    Jackie pointed to a group of maybe 50 men or so in the corner. “There’s some of my guys.” she said. They nodded in our direction and I nodded back, walking towards them, hand on my holster. Just in case.
    “Evenin’” I muttered.
    They men uncrossed their arms and gave their best smile. “Congrats, Jackie.” The more Alpha one said to her.
    “Thank you, Randy. It means a lot that you came here tonight.”
    “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” he said. “I, uh, am sorry about Lane. He was everything to us. But we know you’ll be as good a leader as any.” he said.
    “You have my back?” she asked. “I wasn’t sure any of my crew did. Seems as if most of you would rather run things into the ground.” From afar, I could see Bruce eying us, making sure things were going smoothly.
    “Don’s doing his best to cause an upset. But we don’t think that’s such a hot idea. We came in solidarity. We don’t need any more war in this land. There’s been too much of it over the years.” he said, shaking his head.
    “You’re young.” she said. “But you’re already a hundred times smarter than the captains of our gang. It’s a new era, as you can see. And I’ll make sure that you’re taken care of once this is all sorted out.” Well, she was an honorable leader. I’ll give her that much.
    The young man held his shot glass up high in the air and shouted, “So tonight, let’s celebrate!”
    “Cheers.” I said, downing the shot and throwing the glass behind me. One of the great things about owning a bar was doing whatever the hell you wanted to do, without any fuss. A man behind me cleaned up the glass as quick as he could.
    We walked over to Bruce, to talk more business. So far, everything had been going according to plan. But we had to make sure things were smooth with our crew as well.
    “Well if it ain’t the two lovers! Congratulations, you crazy sons of bitches!” He slammed back his drink and sighed as the liquor made its way down his esophagus. “God damn, they got some strong drinks tonight!”
    “Everything seems to be in order, boss.” I said.
    “Yeah. So far so good, I s’ppose. We’ll see how the night plays out though. Gotta make sure everyone’s on the same page.”
    “How’s Johnny doin’?” I asked him, feeling that sudden weight pile up inside me, that lingering guilt that felt like a knife stabbing into my abdomen.
    “Well, I'm gonna be straight with you, boy. He's not doin’ too hot. But I told them doctors that he was a fighter. And if the good Lord sees it fit, he’ll pull through. All we can do now is sit and wait for more news.” He sighed. “I can smoke in here, right?” He held out a cigarette as if it were a magic wand.
    “You can do whatever the hell you want. It's practically your club, Bruce.” I