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“When the club is done taking care of their business,” Blue begins, “you’re more than welcome to come over at any time. We could cook Sunday supper together.”

“You have Sunday supper?” I ask, although I’m not sure why I’m so surprised. This club feels more like family than my own flesh and blood.

“Every week,” Babet announces, smiling.

“I’d love to join you.” I beam.

“Let’s finish this up.” She hands me a large grinder filled with pink Himalayan salt. “Go ahead and put as much as you think it needs.”

I add salt then take another taste, adjusting the amount until the gumbo sings with perfection. Babet tries a small spoonful and clucks her tongue with pleasure. That’s how we know it’s ready.

After ladling gumbo into three bowls, Babet, Blue and I sit at the kitchen table. I used to do the same thing with my grandmother, so I feel even more at home than before. It’s like I’m meant to be here.

“How did you meet Vapor?” I ask Blue, curious about her. She snagged the president of the MC, so she’s got to be special. As much as Vapor scares me, I can also tell that he’s exactly the right person to oversee the club. He’s smart, analytical, and the other guys seems to really respect him.

Blue smiles, and it’s as if I’m witnessing a private moment unfold. “Vapor saved me from a life I didn’t choose. My father wanted to marry me off to an old associate of his. Vapor showed up like a knight in shining armor, but with a whole lot of leather instead.”

“Sounds like a fairytale rescue,” I comment, a wistful note in my voice.

“He sure knows how to make an entrance,” Babet says, laughing.

“Oh?”

“He stopped the wedding,” Blue says. “My wedding. My first one, which was never finished. Thank God.”

“What happened?” I ask.

“He burst into the church and all hell broke loose. It was a huge scene. Shootout. The whole thing.” Blue grins. “I wasn’t sure my real wedding to Vapor could top that, but it did. We got married last year.”

“What happened to the guy you were being forced to marry?” I ask.

“Vapor killed him. In self-defense,” she quickly adds.

“Wow.”

“He’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Blue says, glancing toward the hallway where Vapor left us earlier.

It’s evident that she’s utterly and irrevocably in love with Vapor. And I wonder, not for the first time, what it would be like to have someone fight for me that way. I’m also trapped in a situation I can’t escape, but Ice is working to free me. Sometimes I wonder if what I feel is simply gratitude, but no, there’s more to it. I’m falling in love with everything about him. He’s smart and funny, very protective, and sexy as hell. I can’t forget that.

“She’s a lucky girl,” Babet says.

“Are you with any of the bikers?” I scoop a spoon of gumbo into my mouth. The rich flavors melt on my tongue.

Babet chuckles, a soft, knowing sound. “Those boys? Nah, honey. They saved my life, though,” she says, wiping her hands on a floral apron. “Years back, when I was all tangled up in the wrong kind of living.”

“Wrong kind of living?” I prompt, my curiosity piqued.

“Ran a brothel for the cartel. It was a different lifetime.” She shakes her head, and there’s a shadow behind her eyes that speaks of a past too dark to revisit.

I’m taken aback, my spoon pausing mid-scoop. Never would I have guessed that this punk-grandma figure, who radiates warmth and care, once managed such an establishment under the cartel’s thumb. The very same cartel my family is part of.

“Was it when my father was running the cartel?” I ask.

“Yes. I knew Antonio well.” Babet looks away.

“I’m sorry, Babet, I—” I start, but words fail me. How do you apologize for a legacy of ruin?

“Don’t you fret about it,” Blue interjects. “We can tell you’re nothing like them—your brother or your father.”