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Dylan dug his hands back into the dirt with renewed determination. He bit the tip of his tongue between his teeth as he pulled the weeds up by their roots.

“And he’s making his aunt work hard, too!” Cassidy said in joking frustration.

Harley looked up and caught my eye with a curious raise of her eyebrows. I smiled at her, and she stepped closer to me. I always wanted to be close to her. I was drawn to her like a moon to the Earth. When she was within reach, I pulled her into my arms for a kiss. Dylan made a dramatic gagging sound. “Mom! Dad! We’re trying to work here.”

“All right, all right, I’m just going to steal your mom away for a minute,” I said. We stepped away from the gardening project and onto the deck together, and I leaned against the back railing and pulled her into my arms again.

“Everything okay?” she asked. “Did you hear from Suri?”

“Better than that,” I said. “Hawk’s calling the enforcers. We heard from Thames.”

“And…?”

“It’s done.” I leaned forward and kissed her cheeks, then her forehead, then her mouth. I couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t stop touching her. “It’s done, Harley. Thames broke the deal. He’s even leaving the state. The Vahdat clan really put the fear of God into him.”

Harley frowned. “That’s it? Thames is just letting go?”

“He’s a sick man, but he’s not an idiot. He knows when he’s outmatched. No lives were lost. No one was hurt. He’s gone.”

The world would be a better place if Thames were out of the picture entirely. I had a feeling now that he was back on the Vahdat clan’s radar, if Thames wasn’t careful, that might happen sooner rather than later.

Harley exhaled. “I’m glad Suri didn’t put a hit out on him or anything. Then I wouldn’t be much better than Thames myself.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said warmly. “You did the right thing.”

The tightness in her posture eased. “Really?”

I nodded. “Of course. You were worried?”

“I thought I might be overstepping. You and Hawk were dealing with it, then I kind of just swooped in…”

“Hawk and I were banging our heads against the wall trying to find any solution that didn’t requireusto do the kind of criminal stuff Thames is into,” I said. “You didn’t swoop in. You could tell I needed you, and you stepped up to help.”

She gave me a relieved smile. “Okay, good. But now what? Sean and Forrest are still out there.”

“This could make Sean spiral out completely. Thames said he was at the end of his rope. Levi said the same thing. His dragon’s already starting to lose control. If he won’t challenge me himself, his dragon mightforcehim to, even if it’s a doomed mission.”

“Why would his dragon do that?” Harley asked.

“He’s an alpha, too. Without a clan, he’s losing his mind. His dragon might not be able to stand this kind of disrespect. It might get so bad that even if he knows he’ll fail, his dragon willneedto challenge me. He might choose death in a challenge over a life alone.”

“I don’t want you to have to kill him,” Harley said softly, “but I want this to be over. So, so badly.”

I embraced her tightly, and she tucked her face into the crook of my neck.

“I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, Harley, and that’s because you stepped in to help me. Thank you.”

“I’d do anything to keep you safe,” she whispered against my skin. “The same way you’d do it for me. We’re a team, Steph. Nothing’s going to break us apart.”

Her lips moved against my neck, right where a claiming mark would go on me. Even if her mark wouldn’t linger the way mine would, my dragon still craved the feeling of her teeth in my skin, marking me as hers, just as much as she was mine.

“We’re a team,” I echoed. “Forever. I promise you that.”

44

HARLEY

“I’m dying in here,” Cassidy muttered from where she was slumped over the dining room table. “If I have to pull one more weed, I’m gonna blow my top.”