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"Seven hundred and fifty thousand," he countered immediately, confirming my suspicion that his first offer had been deliberately low. "But that's my final offer."

I stroked my beard thoughtfully. "It's not just about the money. Marriage has its... benefits."

Coombes's lip curled slightly. "I find that hard to believe, given Matthew's... proclivities."

"You'd be surprised," I said with a deliberate smirk, enjoying the flash of disgust on his face. "But I'm a reasonable man, and even though I enjoy a hot, willing body, I have to admit your offer would pay for many more. Let me think about it."

"Don't think too long," Coombes warned, sliding a business card across the bar. "My offer has an expiration date."

"How long?" I asked, pocketing the card.

"One week," he replied firmly. "After that, things might become... complicated."

The threat was thinly veiled, but I kept my expression neutral. "I'll be in touch."

Coombes nodded, satisfied he'd made progress. He finished his bourbon in one swift motion and, standing, threw a fifty down next to his empty glass. "A pleasure meeting you, Mr. Sousa. I look forward to our future business relationship."

As he walked away, Ashley emerged from the back, her expression worried. "Boss?"

"Call Jono if you haven't already," I said quietly.

"Tell him Coombes just left. I want someone tailing him, but discreetly.” Although if he was going back to his estate, tailing him would be impossible.

She nodded, already pulling out her phone.

I downed the rest of my bourbon, the rage I'd been suppressing during the conversation threatening to boil over.

The casual way Coombes had dismissed Matty, the disdain in his voice when he'd mentioned his "childish episodes"—it took everything in me not to follow him into the parking lot and beat him senseless.

But I needed to be smarter than that. I had him thinking I might be bought. That could be useful. And hopefully give us a week’s breathing room.

Then I had another thought. How exactly did Matty's godfather know about his Little side?

And the suicide attempt. Fuck, I was going to cover Matty in bubble wrap.

I stood, leaving cash on the bar. "I'm heading back. Have Ben call me when he's feeling better."

"Will do, boss," Ashley replied. "And congrats on the marriage. We're all real happy for you."

I nodded my thanks and left, my mind racing.

Coombes had revealed more than he realized.

His casual dismissal of Matty's "childish episodes" confirmed he knew about Matty's Little side and saw it as something shameful.

Something to be hidden away...my hands tightened on the steering wheel as I drove back to the club.

By the time I pulled into the compound, I'd regained some control over my anger. The prospects at the gate were doubled, and I noticed additional security measures had been implemented since the breach. Good. I wasn't taking any more chances with Matty's safety.

As I parked and headed toward the clubhouse, I could hear laughter coming from the kitchen.

I followed the sound, pausing in the doorway to take in the scene.

Matty stood at the counter, flour dusting his nose and cheeks, carefully decorating what looked like chocolate cupcakes.

Maria was beside him, guiding his hand as he piped frosting into wobbly swirls.

Three of the old ladies sat at the table, chatting and sampling the finished products.

Matty was the first to notice me, his face lighting up with pure joy. "Daddy, look what I made." He held up a cupcake with lopsided frosting and multicolored sprinkles.

"That looks amazing, little one," I said, crossing the room to examine his creation more closely. "Did you save one for me?"

"I saved you three," Matty declared, pointing to a small plate set aside. "The chocolate ones are the best."

"He's a natural," Maria said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Been helping all morning."

I ruffled Matty's hair, noting how relaxed he seemed. "Having fun?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Maria showed me how to crack eggs without getting shells in the batter. And Ellie let me use the mixer all by myself."

"Very impressive," I said, accepting the cupcake he thrust into my hands. I took a bite, making an exaggerated sound of appreciation that made him giggle. "Delicious."

Daisy appeared from the pantry, her arms full of baking supplies. "Oh good, you're back. We were just about to start on cookies." She gave me a meaningful look. "Jono's in the office. Wants a word when you get a chance."

I nodded, understanding her subtle message. "I'll go see him after I finish this masterpiece," I said, taking another bite of cupcake.

Matty beamed at the praise, then turned back to his frosting with renewed concentration. I watched him for a moment, the contrast between this happy, flour-dusted young man and Coombes's dismissive description making my chest ache with anger.

"I'll be right back, little one," I promised, touching his shoulder gently. "You keep helping Maria. I know you'll make the best cookies."

Matty nodded seriously. "I'm gonna make dinosaur ones if Maria has the right cutters."

"I'm sure she'll find something," I assured him before making my way to Jono's office.

I found my president behind his desk, papers spread out before him, his expression grim. He looked up when I entered, gesturing for me to close the door.

"You met with Coombes," he said. Not a question.

"He found me at The Last Keg," I confirmed, dropping into the chair across from him. "Offered me seven hundred and fifty thousand to divorce Matty and walk away."

Jono's eyebrows shot up. "That's a lot of cash."

"He's desperate," I said, leaning forward. "I played along, told him I'd consider it. Gave us a week's breathing room."

"Smart," Jono nodded. "Digger's been digging deeper into his finances. It's worse than we thought."

"How bad?"

Jono pushed a folder across the desk. "He's been systematically draining not just Matty's trust, but several other accounts connected to the Coombes estate. We're talking at least twelve million over the past five years."

I let out a low whistle, flipping through the documents. "Embezzlement on top of attempted murder."

"And that's not all," Jono continued, his voice hardening. "We found a connection between Coombes and Degrassi that goes back years. They were involved in some real estate deals together—deals that look suspiciously like money laundering fronts."

"So Coombes wasn't just setting Matty up with an abuser," I growled. "He was bringing Degrassi into the family business."

"Looks that way," Jono agreed. "If Matty had married Degrassi, they would have had complete control over the trust fund and could have drained it legally."

I closed the folder, disgust churning in my gut. "Did you get eyes on Coombes after he left the bar?"

"Tex is tailing him. So far he's just headed back to his estate.

" Jono leaned back in his chair. "What's your play here, Novo?

You stringing Coombes along to get evidence on him?

" he huffed. "I'm sure you've noticed we haven't had any cops wanting any sort of statement about the accident with the car. "

I grunted. "That, and keeping him from making another move on Matty while we build our case." I hesitated, then added, "There's something else. When we talked, he mentioned Matty's 'childish episodes.' He knew about his Little side and talked about it like it was something shameful."

Jono's face darkened. "Bastard."

"Yeah," I agreed, the memory reigniting my anger. "The way he talked about Matty... like he was a burden, a problem, but what I want to know is how did he know?"

"How is Matty doing?" Jono asked, his voice softening slightly, obviously not having an answer to my question.

"Better than you'd expect," I admitted. "The Little space seems to be protecting him from the full impact of what's happened. He's happy baking cupcakes with the old ladies, coloring dinosaurs, playing with his stuffies." I ran a hand over my beard. "Bolt says it's a coping mechanism."

"And when he comes out of it?"

I shook my head. "That's what worries me. When reality hits him again..." I trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

"You care about him," Jono observed, not a question.

I didn't answer immediately. Two weeks ago, Matty had been nothing more than a means to an end—my ticket to bringing down Harold Coombes. Now...

"Yeah," I finally admitted. "I do."

Jono nodded, unsurprised. "I could tell. The whole club can."

I shifted uncomfortably. "It complicates things."

"Life's complicated," Jono replied with a shrug. "Doesn't mean it's not worth it."

We both heard the crash, and rushed out.

The sound of shattering glass and raised voices propelled me through the door with Jono on my heels.

In the kitchen, Matty stood frozen, surrounded by broken cookies and shards of a ceramic plate, his eyes wide with distress.

Across from him, Spade—a newer patch member—was laughing.

"...such a jumpy little thing," Spade was saying, clearly amused. "Didn't mean to scare the baby."

Maria was already kneeling to clean up the mess, her face tight with disapproval. Daisy stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Spade.

"You know better than to come up behind someone like that," she snapped

Matty's lower lip trembled as he stared at the ruined cookies. "I'm s-sorry," he whispered. "They're ruined."

Anger surged through me at the sight of his distress. Before I could think, I was across the room, stepping between Matty and Spade.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded, my voice dangerously low.

Spade's smirk faltered. "Just having a little fun, Bear. Came in for a beer and the kid jumped a mile when I said 'boo.' Not my fault he's skittish as a—"

My hand shot out, grabbing him by the front of his cut. "That 'kid' is my husband," I growled, pulling him close enough to see the fury in my eyes. "And he's not here for your entertainment."

"Whoa, easy," Spade protested, raising his hands. "It was just a joke."

"Did you see anyone laughing?" I snarled, tightening my grip.

"Novo," Jono's voice came from behind me, a quiet warning.

I ignored him, focusing on Spade's increasingly nervous expression. "You will apologize to my husband. Now. And then you'll clean up every bit of this mess."

Spade swallowed hard, finally seeming to understand the gravity of his error. "Sorry, Bear. Didn't mean any disrespect."

"Not to me," I snapped. "To Matty."

I released him with a small shove, stepping back so he could face Matty, who was now half-hidden behind Daisy, eyes wide and frightened.

Spade cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Matty. Shouldn't have scared you like that. It was... it was wrong of me."

Matty nodded slightly but didn't speak, his eyes darting between Spade and me.

"Now clean it up," I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument. "Every crumb."

As Spade knelt to begin gathering the broken pieces, I moved to Matty's side, my voice immediately softening. "Are you okay, little one?" I reached out, gently wiping a smudge of flour from his cheek.

Matty nodded hesitantly, but his eyes still glistened with unshed tears. "I made special dinosaur cookies for you," he whispered. "Now they're all broken."

"We can make more," I assured him, stroking his hair. "Accidents happen."

"But I wanted them to be perfect," he insisted, his voice quavering. "For you."

Something in my chest constricted at his words. I cupped his face gently between my palms, making him look at me. "You don't need to be perfect, Matty. Not for me. Not for anyone."

His eyes searched mine, uncertainty clear in their depths. Then as he stared at me, he licked his lips, and I all but groaned. My cock pushed against the zipper constraining it.

Before I could respond verbally, he surged forward, capturing my lips with his in a kiss that was anything but childlike.

His hands gripped my shoulders, pulling me closer as his mouth moved against mine with surprising intensity.

After a moment of shock, I responded, one hand sliding to the small of his back while the other cradled the nape of his neck.

The kitchen around us fell silent as the kiss deepened. Matty pressed himself against me, his body warm and solid, nothing like the behavior of moments before. When we finally broke apart, both breathing heavily, his eyes were clear and determined, though a flush had spread across his cheeks.

“How about you take me home, Daddy?” he said breathlessly.