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HARLEY

I didn’t start making breakfast until late morning.

Despite how crazy last night was, it seemed like…

Well, like a regular idyllic morning. I was in the kitchen, humming as I whisked the eggs.

At the table, Dylan was scarfing down a bowl of cereal, since he was too hungry to wait for brunch.

I had a feeling he’d already eaten breakfast at Hawk and Mia’s, but the kid’s appetite was never fully sated.

Cassidy and Striker were on the couch, as they’d also come over after spending the night at Striker’s.

The mating bite on Cassidy’s neck was still fresh and pink, and it was ringed with hickeys.

It was a bright, beautiful day outside, and I was already brewing a second pot of coffee.

It was so close to perfect, but I had a strange feeling in my gut that something was off.

Steph trudged down the stairs, stifling a yawn. There were dark circles under his eyes, but at least he looked better than he had a few hours ago. He was already dressed for the day in jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt.

“Dad!” Dylan leaped up from the table and charged across the kitchen. He barreled into Steph as soon as he was down the stairs.

Steph caught him with an ‘oof’ that melted into a warm laugh. “Hey, kiddo. How was soccer practice?”

“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 cry once. ”

“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.

“Mm,” Striker said in agreement. “She’s got no one left to turn to.”

“She knows when this is all over, we’ll be cleaning up Lakeview,” Steph said. “Kicking out anyone who worked with Sean and Forrest. I can imagine she’s trying to save her own skin by giving us a lead on Sean.”

“Would she even have any leads?” I asked. “You said you didn’t get anything new last night.”

“That’s what I’m wondering,” Steph said. “At this point, though, I don’t want to risk missing anything.”

“Seriously?” Striker said. “You’re going to meet up with her?”

“I’m leaving no stone unturned,” Steph said.

I sighed as I poured the eggs into the sizzling pan and started to scramble them. “I think I’m with Striker on this one. I don’t think anything worthwhile will come from this other than her getting more obsessed with you.”

“You didn’t see Levi last night,” Steph said. “He’s shaken up. Blakely might be, too. If she knows something about Sean—if he’s planning something—we might need that leg up.”

“Do we, really?” Striker asked. “You think Sean is that far gone?”

“I do.”

“I don’t want you to go alone,” I said. “I don’t trust her. Something about this feels off.” I’d felt off all day, and now it was only getting worse.

“She can’t hurt me,” Steph said. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Don’t underestimate her,” I said. “She connected with Forrest and caused a lot of problems. Who knows what she could be doing now? Either she wants back in your good graces, or she wants to fuck you up in a serious way.”

“Harley’s right,” Striker said. “I’ll go with you. We can call Rome to keep an eye on the house.”

“All right. We’ll meet with her at the café. Text her and let her know. Sound good?”

“Works for me,” Striker said. He stepped outside to join Cassidy and send the message.

I took the eggs off the heat, put the stove off, then turned around and pulled Steph into my arms. “Thanks for taking Striker with you. I know you can handle Blakely, but…”

“We never know with her. You’re right. I shouldn’t let my guard down.”

“I have a weird feeling about this. I think she’s just trying to get you alone.”

“Could be.” Steph tucked my hair behind my ear. I loved it when he did that. It was so gentle and attentive, and it always calmed me down. “If that’s the case, I’ll handle it. Don’t worry about me.”

He kissed me deeply. I leaned into him, letting his arms hold me up. Even if I had a weird feeling about this, I knew I could trust him to keep himself safe.

Striker stepped back inside. “She’s good to meet us shortly.”

“We’ll leave as soon as Rome gets here,” Steph said. “Let’s get this over with.”

The two of them scarfed down a plate of eggs and toast. So much for my big family brunch around the table.

As soon as Rome pulled up on his bike outside, Steph and Striker were at the door.

He kissed me again, Striker kissed Cassidy, Dylan made retching sounds, and then the two of them left laughing.

The house was quiet again. I was glad to have Cassidy here with me, but I was getting really sick of watching Steph leave. She seemed to feel the same way as she dropped down onto the couch, heaving a sigh. I started to clean the kitchen up, just for something to do.

“Mom, can Rome and I go play catch?”

“If Rome’s okay with that,” I said.

“’Course,” the young enforcer said with a smile. “Just shout if you need us.” He grabbed the football left by the back door and let Dylan drag him outside.

I poured myself another cup of coffee and plopped down on the couch next to Cassidy. “This sucks.”

“Yep.”

“I want to beat her ass,” I said. “I should’ve done so when I had the chance.”

“Yep.”

“This sucks!”

Cassidy sighed and put the TV on. She stared at the screen, but didn’t seem to be watching at all. “This is all fucked up. I can’t believe how determined that psycho bitch is.”

“I hope she finally leaves town after all of this. She should’ve run off with Forrest.”

Cassidy scoffed. “She was just using him. She’s still obsessed with Steph.”

“Don’t remind me.”

We flipped through the channels idly for a few minutes. My phone started to ring in my pocket. I fished it out, assuming it was Steph calling to give me an update on whatever was happening, but that wasn’t the name I saw on the screen.

“Mom? Is everything okay?” I stood up and started to pace. I hadn’t spoken to her since our last big fight. If she was calling me, something was seriously wrong.

“Harley?” Her voice was shaky on the other end of the line. “I didn’t think you’d answer…”

“What’s going on?” I asked. Maybe this was why I’d felt off all day, not the Blakely thing.

“I… I need your help,” she said.

“What? Why? What happened?”

Mom coughed a few times. “Can you come over?”

“What? Now?”

“I just… I think it’s time,” Mom said. “I need… I need help, Harley. I think I need to go somewhere. To rehab.”

My heart leaped into my throat. She was actually ready? She wanted to go to rehab?

“Can you come help me?” Mom asked. “Just you? I need to pack… I don’t know where I’m going. The hospital?”

“Yes, I can come,” I said instantly.

Cassidy stared at me, her brows raised in confusion. “ Who is it ?” she mouthed.

“Thank you,” Mom said. “I know this is inconvenient…”

“It’s the right choice, Mom,” I said. “I’ll be right there.”

I hung up the phone and immediately ran upstairs to change. Cassidy was hot on my heels. “That was your mom?” she asked. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” I said as I peeled off my sweatpants and jumped into a pair of jeans. “She’s ready to go to rehab, Cass. And it sounds like it’s real this time.”

Cassidy crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe. “Seriously?”