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“Fuck.” I rubbed my forehead. Two guys down and a theft? Sean was escalating. This was not the time for this to happen.

Harley came up the deck stairs with Dylan behind her. Hawk was still at the grill, finishing up the steaks, while Mia and Bella had retreated inside to get out of the sun. “Stephan? Is everything okay?”

Striker glanced between us. “I’ll wait out front,” he said and descended the stairs of the deck to walk back around the house.

It wasn’t okay. This kind of thing was exactly why Harley was hesitant to let me into Dylan’s life at all. I didn’t want to lie to her—but I didn’t want to tell her about this, either. Not yet. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ve got to handle some business. I know I said we’d have the whole afternoon, but…”

Harley frowned. Behind her, Dylan slumped, and his claws retracted of their own volition. My dragon whined. I was disappointing them both. But Striker respected my time. If he said it was serious, I knew it couldn’t wait.

“Stay here, have lunch,” I said. “Stay as long as you want. Mia and Hawk will be here for a while.”

“Yup,” Hawk said in confirmation. He caught my eye and gave me a small, serious nod. “And I just finished these steaks, so Ace will be the only one missing out.” He winked at Dylan.

Harley sighed. “No, that’s not?—”

“Please, Mom?” Dylan grabbed her hand and tugged at it. “I’m hungry! And I want to hang out in my room before we go back to Mama Liz’s.”

“Okay, we’ll stay for lunch,” Harley said. She nudged Dylan. “Say bye to your father, then go see if you can help with the dishes, okay?”

“Will you show me more soon?” Dylan asked me, those wide eyes boring into mine.

“Of course,” I said. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

Dylan threw his arms around my middle again, and this time, I was ready to return it. I hugged the boy close, and my dragon rumbled happily. This was where we were supposed to be. With our son. Ourmate.

And yet I was walking away. Again. All because my twin brother had some kind of death wish.

Dylan let go. I smiled and nudged him toward the back door. “I’ll see you soon, kiddo.”

He nodded, disappointed but appeased, and rushed inside shouting for Bella.

Then, Harley and I were alone on the deck. Mia and Dylan’s laughter was barely audible through the windows, and the midday breeze rustled the trees at the edge of the deck.

“So, what is it now?” Harley asked. Her tone wasn’t accusatory, just… resigned. Somehow, that was worse than anger.

“It’s work,” I said. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Work.” She scoffed, her gaze cutting to the side. “I don’t want to know what kind of ‘work’, do I?”

“Probably not,” I admitted. I wasn’t going to tell her that Hawk was sticking around to make sure she and Dylan were safe. I didn’t think Sean would try anything crazy, but… I couldn’t be too careful with my son in the picture.

The breeze rustled between us. A lock of auburn hair fell across Harley’s forehead and into her eyes. I reached out and tucked it behind her ears. My fingertips skimmed across her warm skin, and those blue eyes that had lingered in my dreams for ten years met mine.

Her lips parted a fraction. The air seemed to crackle between us. My dragon longed for me to reach forward, kiss her,claimher.

Harley took a small step back. “Be safe today, okay? Your son is counting on you.”

“That’s my first priority.” I nodded, then left to meet Striker at the front of the house.

I didn’t know what the hell Sean was thinking, but I was determined to find out.

9

HARLEY

“Come on, Dylan,” I called from Stephan’s living room. “It’s time to go.”

There was only silence from upstairs. Hawk was on the floor of the living room playing with Bella, and Mia was on the couch with a book. It was mid-afternoon, and I wanted to be back at Mom’s before dinner. Sure, Stephan had said to stay as long as we wanted, but I didn’t want his family to think they had to deal with us for dinner, too.