Page 143 of The First Cut

I nod. “Yeah.”

“He’s so small. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“You won’t. I trust you with him.”

He swallows. He’s not a dumb man. He knows I’ll probably never trust him one hundred percent. Words and promises won’t change that. But maybe, one day, his actions will. What I do know is that I can trust him with Evan. He’d never let anything happen to him—and it has nothing to do with Even being his nephew and everything to do with the kind of man he is.

He reaches for Evan and eases him onto his shoulder.

“He looks even smaller in your arms,” I admit.

I look at Havoc’s face, watching an wave of emotions passing over it as he gazes down at Evan—falling in love with him almost as fast as Hannibal did.

“Oh, man. Bikers and babies are far too potent a mix for me.” Marjorie sighs, fanning herself.

“You’re not alone,” Nevaeh mutters from behind me, making me chuckle.

“So give him one. He always wanted to be a dad.” I shrug.

“It’s not him I’m worried about. It’s me. I don’t know how to be a mom.”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Nevaeh” Marjorie says, lowering her voice. “None of us do.”

I nod. “She’s not wrong.”

“Lola, get up here and cut this thing,” Elmo shouts, holding out a knife for me.

I look at Havoc.

“I’ve got him,” he assures me

“Alright, watch he doesn’t puke all over your president patch,” I tease, feeling something ease between us. Yeah, we’ll never be besties, but maybe my boy will be the glue that holds the threads of what made us, us together—enough to be friends.

I walk up to Elmo and take the knife with a frown. “This is a hunting knife, not a cake knife. It’s a little overkill, don’t you think?”

“Trust me.” He winks as Ed steps up beside me.

“Cut!” Ed orders.

I roll my eyes at the bossy man. And because it’s a cake of Driller, I can’t resist slicing through his face.

When the cake separates, I burst out laughing at the red velvet cake inside with a strawberry jam sandwiched between. Now the knife makes sense—I get to stab the man and make him bleed.

I can’t resist stabbing him in the eye. A cheer goes up around the room as Hannibal saddles up behind me and wraps his hands around my waist.

“Huh, I went for the eyes too. Great minds think alike.”

I shake my head and chuckle. It’s in moments like this that I understand exactly how Belle fell for the Beast.

The party is still going, but the kids have gone home with May and Tracey, who are as obsessed with Evan as everyone else is. They also adore Millie, so Hannibal agrees, somewhat begrudgingly, to let them go.

“Hey, come with me.” I reach out my hand and tug Hannibal from his perch on the ledge where he’s talking to G.

“Be right back,” Hannibal tells him as he follows me, no questions asked. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” I tell him, walking him back to the old place. We stop outside where Havoc and Nevaeh are waiting.

“What’s going on?” Hannibal asks.