Page 77

HARLEY

I felt a little better when I woke up in the mid-morning sunshine.

I’d slept like a baby in Steph’s arms. When he’d left for work early that morning, he’d woken me up with a soft kiss and a promise to be back soon.

After yesterday, I wasn’t too keen on letting him leave at all.

I’d be happier if he was holed up in this house with Dylan and me, but I knew that wasn’t possible.

Yesterday’s events still hung over me like a dark cloud.

The risk was suddenly too real. More unpredictable.

What if Steph got shot on his way into town?

Or what if those guys showed up at the garage ready to kill everyone?

I wanted to lock the doors of this house and never leave, which was basically what I had agreed to do until this was all sorted out.

The enticing aroma of coffee wafted through the air, and I heard the unexpected sound of toddler giggles, followed by Dylan’s laughter.

I got dressed and went downstairs to find Mia and Cassidy on the couch, sipping coffee while they watched Dylan help Bella stack a tower of wooden blocks and knock it over.

Zoey, the German Shepherd, was on the couch with her head in Cassidy’s lap.

Striker sat at the dining table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper in front of him, but his eyes were fixed on Cassidy.

He saw me looking, then jerked his gaze away and gave me a sheepish grin.

That was another reason I was ready for all this mess to be over. It was about time for Striker to stop being stuck on enforcing duty so he could actually talk to Cassidy. I wasn’t going to push him to do it before then, though—we had enough on our plates.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Mia said. She looked pretty as ever with her blonde hair pulled up in a bun atop her head. “Hawk and Steph had some clan stuff to handle today, and I thought you might want some company.”

I heard the words she didn’t say. After yesterday. Her soft gaze conveyed her concern. Dylan didn’t know about the drive-by shooting, and I intended to keep it that way. My boy had been through enough since we came to Lakeview.

“Thank you.” I poured myself a cup of coffee, and Mia joined me in the kitchen. The soundtrack of the kids’ laughter and the dog’s playful yips eased my worries.

“How are you doing? Hawk said you didn’t sound so good on the phone yesterday.”

I sighed. “It just feels never-ending, you know? Every time I think we’re going to get a moment of reprieve, something else happens. And honestly, Hawk didn’t sound good on the phone, either.”

Mia nodded. “He was worried someone might show up here. He’s getting paranoid.”

“I don’t think that’s paranoid at all. I think it’s reasonable.” I glanced at Striker, who was staring at Cassidy again. “I’m glad we have the enforcers around here.”

“Tank’s outside, too,” Mia said. “Hawk said they’re keeping guys on the perimeter. He’s getting really antsy.”

“How’s he handling this?” I asked.

Mia sighed. “Not well, honestly. This whole thing with Sean is really hard for him. Beyond the danger, I mean. Hawk really wanted Sean to turn it around and come back to the clan.”

“Was that ever a possibility?” I asked. For as long as I’d been back in Lakeview, Sean had been nothing but an enemy.

“Maybe a long time ago, but not in the past few years. Hawk always held out hope, though.” She shook her head and smiled fondly.

“He’s an optimist. Sometimes to the point of na?veté.

It’s one of the things I love about him, but it hurts him, too.

He never fully gave up on Sean, and now he’s having to come to terms with that. ”

“And Steph did?” I asked.

“Ace is the alpha. He can’t afford to be na?ve. He took Sean at his word, even if he didn’t like what he was hearing.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, my heart breaking for Steph all over again. “It still can’t be easy, though.”

Mia nodded, and we sipped our coffee while we watched the kids play around in the living room, carefree as anything.

I didn’t know much about Steph’s childhood, but Sean was his twin brother.

They must have been close once. I’d been so caught up in my own fear, my own rage, that I hadn’t thought how difficult this might be for Steph.

Cassidy was the closest thing I had to a sister—how would I feel if something in her shattered, and she became my worst enemy?

The mere thought of that was enough to turn my stomach.

To end this, it wouldn’t be enough for Steph to beat Sean. He had to kill him. It was the only way to be sure.

Shame twisted in my chest. “I haven’t talked to him about this.”

Mia squeezed my shoulder. “Right now, your safety is the most important thing to him. Sean kidnapped you, Harley. Ace isn’t expecting you to have any empathy for Sean.”

I huffed a laugh. “I know. It’s not that I feel like I need to. I want to. I want him to know he can lean on me… Even now. Even for this.”

“He’s lucky to have you,” Mia said.

“Thanks.” Maybe it was the stress of the last few days, but Mia’s kindness made my throat tighten a little. Steph wasn’t the only one who made me feel safe and supported, the whole clan did. I cleared my throat. “Did Hawk say anything else about yesterday?”

The giggles in the living room turned to squeals and shrieks of delight as Zoey bounded around Dylan and Bella.

“Okay, okay,” Cassidy said with a clap of her hands.

“That’s enough inside-chaos, let’s take it to the backyard.

” Laughing, she herded the young ones outside, and Striker quickly followed them.

“I’ll join you in a minute,” Mia told Striker. “I need the quiet.”

“Me too,” I said. “After raising Dylan by myself for so many years, it’s nice to have some other people around to help him burn off energy.”

“Takes a village,” Cassidy said before closing the door to the porch behind her.

“That woman’s a mind-reader,” Mia said.

“An eavesdropper, more like it,” I said. “She knows I don’t want Dylan to hear anything about the drive-by.”

Mia sighed. “Yeah, that’s wise. I didn’t hear anything else from Hawk, but I was chatting with a girlfriend of mine at the café yesterday, and she heard Blakely was talking it up.”

I frowned. “What does that mean, ‘talking it up’?”

“Ace saved her life,” Mia said. “He suspected she was involved in planting the drugs at the garage after seeing a girl on the security footage.”

“Right, that’s what Hawk told me on the phone.” I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess, Blakely is taking Ace pulling her away from open gunfire as proof of his undying love for her.”

“Exactly,” Mia said. “Apparently she won’t stop talking about how romantic it was, and how protective he is over her.”

“I really thought I had finally gotten through to her.”

“Your intimidation tactics are nothing in the face of her delusions,” Mia said with a smirk. “You’ll probably have to do it a few more times before it really sinks in. Or a lot more times.”

“I’m beginning to think there’s nothing I can do to really get rid of her,” I said.

“Well, there’s probably one thing that Harley would take seriously.”

“Which is?”

Mia raised her eyebrows, then tugged the neckline of her shirt to the side just enough to reveal her claiming mark.

It was a little paler than her skin and faded with age, but still a visible bite mark.

“Not trying to pressure you, but it might be what it takes to get Blakely to stop being a total psycho.”

I rubbed my neck in that very spot. I didn’t say anything for a long moment as I watched the kids play outside.

“Have you thought about it?” Mia asked.

“How’d you know it was the right time for you and Hawk?”

She smiled softly, like she was recalling a beloved memory.

“I had my reservations, but when we were dating, Hawk proved he was a man of his word. There wasn’t one particular moment, really.

It wasn’t like a lightning strike or something.

I just woke up one day and knew I wanted to spend my life with him. ”

I knew I wanted to spend my life with Steph.

Could it really be that simple?

“Are you ready?” Mia asked. “Is that something you want with Ace?”

“I don’t know. It’s… it’s a big commitment.”

“Bigger than marriage,” Mia said. “You know what happens, right? The whole soul-connection part?”

“Yeah. It’s a lot.”

“It is, but I wouldn’t change a damn thing about it. I love having that bond with Hawk.” Mia rubbed her chest, right over her heart. I wondered if there was a physical sensation to the bond, too, like she could feel Hawk’s presence in her heart itself. “It’s intense. I can’t lie about that.”

“It’s hard for me to open up to someone in that way,” I admitted. “Even someone like Steph. I’ve been on my own basically my whole life, you know. Especially with my mom being so…”

Mia rested a hand on my forearm in understanding.

The only other person in my life who was supposed to love me unconditionally, my mother, had proven that love was, in fact, quite conditional, and always came in second place to her one true love: alcohol.

That still hurt me, and I still struggled to really believe that Steph would always put me first. That he wanted to put me first. I was afraid if I let him claim me, one day he’d decide I wasn’t enough for him and he’d leave me—like my mother had, like everyone had.

And it would be even more painful because we’d be bonded. Because I loved him.

But Steph wouldn’t do that. He promised me he wouldn’t leave me. And he never really had betrayed me, no matter how many times the world tried to pull us apart. He always came back.

I was ready to stop letting my fear control me.

“I’m scared. I think I’ll always be scared about letting Steph claim me, but I think I’m ready, Mia.”

“Honestly, I’d be worried if you weren’t scared,” Mia said. “It’s a big deal for dragons, and even bigger for humans. But I think it’s the right thing. The right next step.”

“Me too,” I said softly. “Thanks, Mia.”