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“So fun,” Dylan said. “I made a ton of friends.”

“Knew you would.” Steph ruffled Dylan’s hair. “And you didn’t cause Hawk and Mia too much trouble last night?”

“I helped give Bella a bath. And she didn’t cryonce.”

“You’re a good older cousin,” Steph said. Dylan preened under the praise. “You helping your mom with breakfast?”

“Yes,” Dylan said. “As soon as I finish my cereal…”

“Pre-breakfast breakfast,” Steph said with a smile. “I remember those days.”

Dylan plopped back down at the table to keep eating. Steph stepped into the kitchen and wound his arms around my waist, then kissed my neck. “Morning.”

“Hi, get any sleep?”

“A little. Thank you.”

“Cute,” Cassidy said from the couch. I looked up and saw her and Striker watching us with matching fond expressions.

Steph’s phone vibrated against my hip where we were pressed together. He stepped away reluctantly, pulled it out of his pocket, then grimaced at whatever he saw on the screen.

“Who is it?” I asked. If he was making that expression, it was sure to be bad news.

“It’s Blakely,” Steph said as the phone continued to buzz in his hand. He exhaled hard, then answered the phone. “What the hell do you want?”

All the eyes in the room snapped to us. Cassidy hurried over to the table and ushered Dylan outside with a whispered promise that they’d be back soon. Pouting, Dylan went with her. I hated how used he was getting to all of this chaos.

When the door to the back deck clicked closed, Steph put the call on speaker. “I need to talk to you,” Blakely said.

“You’re talking to me right now.”

“In person. We need to meet.”

Steph rolled his eyes. “Whatever you need to tell me, you can tell me over the phone.”

“I can’t!” There was an edge of desperation in her voice. “Just one meeting, Steph.”

“Why should I listen to you?”

“Because it’s about Sean,” Blakely whispered. “It’s important. Please.”

Steph said nothing. He looked at me, then at Striker, but neither of us had any answers.

“When we were younger, you trusted me, Steph. Even if it was only a little while, you trusted me. Can you trust me one more time? It’s important, Steph. I promise.”

I frowned. I knew she was lying, but there was something so pitiful and small in her voice that I couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for her. She really had nothing left in this world but the memory of how her life used to be. Sure, all of that was her own fault, but I couldn’t help it. Damn my empathetic heart.

“It better be important,” Steph said coldly. “We’ll send you a location.” He ended the call before Blakely could say anything else.

“That sounds like a setup to me,” Striker said.

“She’s not exactly trustworthy,” I said. “And she knows it.”

“I know,” Steph said. “But what kind of threat is she now? With Forrest out of the picture, she’s got no leverage at all.”

“Then what does she want?” Striker asked.

“She probably wants back in the clan’s good graces,” Steph said.