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Stephan was standing in the kitchen.

The coffee was on. Last night’s dishes were done. Eggs and bacon on the counter, ready to be cooked. Stephan was dressed, but his face was still pale, dark circles ringing his hazel eyes. Whether it was a hangover or exhaustion, I wasn’t sure.

“Harley,” he said. “I need you to know I didn’t sleep with her. I know I didn’t.”

I wrapped my arms around myself. My heart began to ache again, like it was one big bruise in my chest, and Stephan couldn’t stop pressing on it.

God, I was tired. I didn’t want to fight anymore.

“I don’t know how she ended up in the clubhouse,” Stephan admitted. “She’s completely banned. She shouldn’t even have gotten through the door. I never—it’s not only me that hates her, Harley, it’s mydragon.”

“Didn’t look like that was the case,” I muttered. I was afraid I’d never get that image out of my head: Stephan asleep with Blakely’s head pillowed on his chest like she belonged there.

“I’ll admit I don’t remember much of what happened after you left,” Stephan said. “I kept drinking. I knew the whiskey worked, but it worked a little better than I anticipated. So, everything’s hazy. But I remember the end of the night. Everything was winding down. The only people around were the enforcers and…” His brow furrowed slightly. “And Tori. But I know I went to my room alone. Iknowthat.”

I sighed. He was drunk when I’d left the clubhouse. If he’d kept drinking after that, he’d probably blacked out. How could I trust his memory?

How could I trust him at all?

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

Stephan’s face fell. Maybe he’d expected me to get angry again. But now, I was exhausted.

“I want you to believe me,” Stephan said. “I want you to believe that I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“I wish I could,” I said in a small voice. “But it doesn’t make any sense, Stephan. She was naked in your bed. All the explanations in the world won’t change that.”

“Let’s talk about this.” He poured a cup of coffee and slid it across the counter toward me. “Please.”

I stayed where I was. I felt like a stray cat he was trying to lure closer with treats. My heart wanted to trust him. I wanted to be closer, to lean against the strength of his chest and feel his arms wrap around me, to lose myself in his kiss and imagine that everything would be okay.

But that was a fantasy. It’d been a fantasy ten years ago, and it was a fantasy now.

“There’s nothing left to talk about,” I said. “I’m taking Dylan back to Atlanta tomorrow.”

Stephan’s face fell. “What? Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow morning. I already booked our flights.”

“Harley, please.” Gold flashed in his eyes, and his expression was shattered, like I’d reached into his chest and pulled out his heart. “Don’t leave. Not like this.”

“I have to.”

“You don’t have to.” There was a desperate edge to his voice. “We can figure this out. I’m handling it. I’ll handle Blakely?—”

“You’re always handling it,” I said. I wasn’t angry anymore, but there was a steeliness to my voice that made Stephan fall silent. “Blakely was a problem a decade ago, and she’s still a problem now. Sean’s still a problem. The cops are still a problem. And you’ve got this distillery business that looks like it could be a wholenewproblem. Nothing’s been handled, Stephan. It’s too much.” I pressed my fingertips to my temples, then closed my eyes to hold back the tears that threatened to start falling again. “It’s all too much. We got through Dylan’s first shift. That’s what he needed, that’s why we came here. And now we’re leaving.”

Stephan stared at me. His expression was still full of pain. I hated seeing him like that. My heart wanted to fix it. Wanted to give him another chance. But I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk my son getting wrapped up into this mess. Sean had threatened us last time—what if he was planning something worse?

I couldn’t count on Stephan to protect us. Not anymore. Not after seeing him with Blakely.

“I’m not going to keep you out of Dylan’s life,” I continued. “You’re still his father. I still want him to have a relationship with you.”

“Harley—”

“Once things are settled down in Lakeview, and everything’s safe, you can have him in the summers. But only when everything’s safe.”

Stephan braced both hands on the counter and dropped his head. He took a few breaths, then looked up at me, his eyes burning gold with emotion. “I can’t force you to stay here. I’d never do that.”