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I bypassed my motorcycle and led Cassidy to my old Cadillac. She climbed into the passenger seat, and we drove the short distance to my home inside. Striker followed on his bike.

At the house, I knocked briskly before I walked inside. “Dylan, you up?”

“Dad!” Dylan charged out of the kitchen and wrapped me in a bear hug.

“How you feeling? You get some sleep?”

“Sort of,” Dylan muttered. “Auntie Mia helped. She even played some Mario Kart with me.”

“Now what’s all this?” Cassidy asked as she entered the house. “Is someone threatening my title of Mario Kart champion?”

“Auntie Cassidy!” Dylan let go of me like a hot potato and charged toward his “aunt”. Even though Harley and Cassidy weren’t related, I knew Cassidy was as close to Dylan as any family member could be. Dylan crashed into her so hard she stumbled back, nearly losing her balance as she laughed.

Cassidy was so small that Dylan was nearly as tall as she was. She hugged him hard for a long moment, then pressed a kiss to his temple. She pulled back and brushed Dylan’s hair out of his face. “Hey, kiddo. You hanging in there?”

Dylan swallowed hard, but he nodded.

“You’re so tall now. And so handsome! Way better looking than your stupid dad.”

“That’s true,” I said with a laugh.

“I had my first shift,” Dylan said with a sheepish grin. “That’s probably why.”

“I bet it is.” Cassidy shook him, like she was so delighted she couldn’t help herself. “Good job. You’re really strong, you know that, right? Just like your mom.”

That made Dylan’s grin fade a little. Tears shone in his eyes. When one fell, Cassidy reached out and rubbed it away with her thumb.

“Don’t worry,” Cassidy said. “Your mom is a lot tougher than she seems. You know that, right? It takes more than one mean old dragon to knock her down.”

Dylan nodded, and Cassidy pulled him into a hug again. “We’ll get her back soon. I promise.”

I put a hand on Striker’s shoulder. He was watching Cassidy and Dylan, riveted. Cassidy was good with him—she obviously loved him a lot. Her words did more than soothe my son. They soothed me, too.

She believed in me. She believed we’d get Harley back.

And damn it, we would

“Dylan, you want to show Cassidy your room?” I asked. “Maybe she’ll play a few rounds of Mario Kart with you, too.”

Dylan nodded, mood lifted again. “It’s really sick! Dad got me a VR setup, too!”

“I’ll skip that one, unless you want me to get motion sick and barf,” Cassidy said.

Dylan laughed as he dragged her up the stairs.

I turned to Striker. He grimaced, then blew out a breath like he’d been holding it for a long while.

“You all right?” I patted him on the back. “How you feeling? It’s a pretty wild sensation, isn’t it?”

“You could tell?” Striker gripped his chest like his heart was hurting him. “Am I that obvious?”

“Not to Cassidy,” I said. “I recognized the signs from when I first met Harley.”

“Jesus. Did it feel like your heart was about to leave your body?”

I barked a laugh. “Yeah, pretty much.” Even though it’d been a decade since I felt it, I remembered that all-consuming sensation like it was yesterday. It was like being struck by lightning. Like the rest of the world had fallen away, and all that mattered was my mate standing in front of me. From that very first moment, I knew I’d do anything for her. Anything to keep her safe and happy and by my side.

Striker was feeling the same inescapable pull toward Cassidy.