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“Where are you staying?”

She blew out a breath, and I knew she was stalling. She didn’t want to tell me where she was, and I didn’t pry. I couldn’t exactly tell her I was in Texas when I should be home in Oklahoma City. She would ask why, and I would have to lie to my best friend. We might not tell each other everything, but we didn’t lie.

“It’s a gated building. No one can get in with the security they have here.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have gotten a couple of referrals for in-person sessions, so I will begin those this week. That will slowly give her a chance to adjust to me not being around every minute.”

“Sounds like you have a plan. So, what did you call me for?” I laughed, knowing she just needed to talk it out.

“Because, bitch, I needed to vent.”

“You can vent to me anytime, babe,” I assured her.

“Thank you. So, what’s new with you? I feel like we haven’t talked in forever.”

“Not much, just busy with clients. One in particular is tough.” Smiling at Dani, I shared what I could. “A little girl that was taken at birth. Her father just recently found her, and she’s barely two, so they are just getting to know each other. But she was so severely neglected, my heart just breaks for her.”

“That’s awful. I don’t know how you do it, working with kids.”

“It’s not easy.” Normally I was fine separating my personal life from my professional life. But this time, all the lines were being crossed. Only I didn’t care. I would probably lose my license if anyone ever found out. But then again, if Danny and Dante never came home, I would no longer be a doctor, anyway.

“Never tracked that guy down, huh?”

“No. As soon as I saw the bike, I ran.”

“Still don’t want to talk about why?” she asked.

“Nope,” I answered, popping the p at the end.

“What if he was the one?”

“He can’t be. Not if he rides a motorcycle.” I’d had too many bad experiences with bikers to even consider being with someone who rode even just for enjoyment.

Bikers, whether they were in a club or not, were a different breed. They were rough men. Men who lived by their own rules.

“So how is Oklahoma City? Still the same metropolis of degradation?”

I laughed at her assessment. Haizley had grown up in a small town in the Midwest. For her, Oklahoma City had seemed comparable to New York. Though the two cities were miles apart, to someone who lived in a town with less than two thousand people, they wouldn’t understand the differences without experiencing them both.

We stayed on the phone for another hour talking while Dani played on the floor in the hotel room. Not for the first time, I wondered if I was doing the right thing.

Chapter Twenty-One

Melissa

February 13, 2025, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Dani and I had finally made it to Little Rock, Arkansas. In Dallas, the day before, I had traded in my SUV for a smaller car. I purchased it under the name Danny had created for me. After the note in El Paso, I had to consider the possibility that whoever was leaving them knew my vehicle and my phone number.

So, I replaced them both.

It amazed me how muscle memory worked. I hadn’t been home in ten years, yet I knew exactly where to go.

The roads I traveled were achingly familiar. I traveled to the clubhouse as if on autopilot. I hadn’t spent a lot of time there, but I knew where it was. The streets were filled with memories, reminding me of the life I led before college.

When I still had a family.