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Shepard hesitated just long enough to tell me everything I needed to know. The police were grasping at straws. They suspected I had something to do with it because I was an outlaw, a biker with a criminal record. Because my ex-wife was involved. But they couldn’t prove it.

After a long, tense pause, Shepard spoke again.

“Is she here?”

No one said a word.

“Come on," he probed. "I heard the report about the break-in last night. I know Ms. Fields is in town now. But when I showed up at her sister’s house this morning, she wasn’t there. Her sister wouldn’t tell me where she was, and I can’t imagine you’d be sitting here with scrambled eggs and bacon if she was missing so…”

More silence. I could keep playing dumb all day long. Just because Baby Doll trusted Shepard didn’t mean I felt the same way about him.

“It’s okay, Neil,” Hattie said, emerging from the corridor. She cast an apologetic smile at Shepard.

“Damn it,” he hissed softly, shaking his head. “I told you to keep your distance. And you didn’t notify the police that you were in town.”

“I didn’t think I would be here long,” she replied. Her gaze flicked to me. “I had a family emergency, and then things…got out of hand.”

Shepard sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. What kind of dirt did Baby Doll have on this guy to put him in this position? Walking the minefield between local cops and outlaw bikers was tricky and stressful. One wrong move would cost his career.

“Well, an officer has been posted on duty outside your sister’s house as a precaution,” Shepard said. “I will personally escort you to the courthouse on the day of the trial. We’re not expecting any trouble. It’s merely a precaution.”

“Thank you,” Hattie replied, flicking a glance in my direction. Knowing it didn’t matter if the cops surrounded her. My men would still be there to keep her safe.

Chapter twelve

Hattie

For the next two days, I kept getting distracted by memories of Neil’s hands on my body. The idea of returning to Seattle when all this was over should have been a welcome reprieve—to clear my head, to put distance between us.

Instead, it simply made me ache, empty and alone.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples as I met my gaze in the bathroom mirror. There was no denying that my feelings for Neil were just as strong as they used to be.

But did that change anything?

The Blackjacks still consumed so much of his life. Now that he held the Presidential seat, he was even more deeply entrenched with club life than before. Which would bring an entirely new set of challenges for me to navigate as his Old Lady.

During our marriage, he’d been promoted from Sergeant-at-Arms to Vice President. Adapting to the additional responsibilities placed on his shoulders back then had been difficult enough. It seemed as if bikers had been practically living in our home alongside us.

He would often get called away in the middle of the night, for God knows what. I gave up asking after a while when he wouldn’t tell me a damn thing.

Although I would never forget that day when Neil returned at three o’clock in the morning, with his arms coated up to the elbow in blood.

“It’s not mine, baby,” he said immediately, registering the horror on my face.

Neil never came home bloodied like that again. But I wasn’t stupid enough to believe it stopped happening. He just learned to hide it better, which made me feel even worse.

Emma whimpered from somewhere in the house. Connie sang softly, soothing her.

I braced my hands on the sink counter and blew out a breath. My biological clock was ticking, and the countdown was nearly over. The chances of getting pregnant at this age were growing slimmer by the day. I could always adopt, but I didn’t want to be a single mom. The dream of having my own family was gradually slipping through my fingers. At this rate, I wouldn’t even have a husband to settle down with either.

I glanced at my left hand, tracing the smooth skin where Neil’s ring used to be. I could go back to him. He would welcome me with open arms.

Was I ready for that though? Was I willing to live on the edge of fear every waking minute, wondering if my husband would come back to me? And being with Neil meant burying my hope of having a family. He had no desire to be a father, and I couldn’t imagine he would welcome that idea now at fifty-five years old.

The alarm on my phone went off, signaling I had to get ready for the trial. It started in less than an hour.

Emerging from the bathroom, I found Connie in the kitchen, swaying Emma in her arms. Dark circles shadowed Connie’s eyes with exhaustion, and her ponytail was a ratty mess.