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WOLF

I moved into my and Kale’s new home a couple days ago. It’s been harder than I imagined taking this on by myself. The first few weeks, I had my brothers and their women at the clubhouse helping me. I knew I couldn’t rely on them all the time and needed to find a place for me and my kid.

Cyprus had told me about this place before I found out about Kale. I’d already seen it and thought it was the shit. It looked like a peaceful area without any bullshit.

What I wasn’t expecting was a neighbor who blared music.

I didn’t have an issue with it during the day.

We’d all heard it kick on at the neighbor’s while we were all moving everything into the house.

With all the activity going on, I could ignore it.

Hell, it was damn good music. What I couldn’t handle was at night when I was trying to get Kale down, and he wouldn’t settle.

I ended up calling Noelle over to the house, so I didn’t leave him alone. It’s good that my VP and his woman lived only three doors down on the other side of the street.

Walking across the yard to the building in my neighbor’s backyard, I hadn’t expected to find what I found.

Not only was my neighbor a woman, but one sexy as hell one at that.

Slick blond hair, held back by a bandana, kept it from her face.

Her eyes had been sea green, and she’d been petite.

She looked like you could split her in two with your bare hands.

And she’d introduced herself to me. Jacqueline.

I’d given her my name and walked away.

Since that moment, I hadn’t seen her, nor had I heard her music again. The car in her driveway came and went. The lights in her house came on and went off. The ones in her building in the back, didn’t.

Having spent several hours up in the middle of the night, I noticed this.

Kale, for the most part, has been a good baby, the only thing that kills me is his sleep schedule.

He’s not sleeping through the night as much as I’d like him to.

I’ve found he’s typically waking me up around one, then again at two.

So, I typically fall asleep about three in the morning, only to wake up at six, six-thirty.

With Kale down now, I should be doing other stuff, maybe even getting something to eat. Instead, I’m sitting outside, enjoying the fresh air without Kale. I love that kid to death, but I need a moment without him sometimes. This is one of those times.

My phone vibrates in my pocket at the same time a black limo pulls into Jacqueline’s driveway.

Where I’m sitting on the porch, I’m out of view of anyone, though I can visibly see everything.

Someone gets out of the front passenger seat and opens the back door just as Jacqueline steps out of the house.

The sight of her dressed in a vibrant green dress that fits her body in all the right places comes into view.

The dress has a slit up the side of one leg, showing off the tan she’s sporting.

Her hair falls down her back. On her arms are black gloves that went over her elbows.

In her hands, she is holding onto a matching green clutch.

I watch the way she moves with grace to the back of the limo and climbs in. A moment later, the limo pulls out of the driveway.

A part of me wants to know where she’s going dressed like she is.

Better yet, with whom? Maybe I should ask Vulture to look into who my neighbor is.

Then again, she’s my neighbor. That’s all she is, and it’s gonna stay that way.

I don’t have time for women. All of my attention needs to be on my club and raising Kale.

Getting up, I make my way back into the house to check on my son, pushing thoughts of my neighbor out of my mind.

“You good, brother?” Aries asks, popping a beer top off the bottle, foot up on the coffee table, eyes locked on his woman, watching her cuddle with Kale.

He might be talking to me, but he’s always watching her.

“I’m good,” I tell him, taking a sip of my own beer.

“Neighbor keep blaring music?”

Fucking hell.

Of course, he’d ask that shit.

“Nope.” I wasn’t going to let him pull me into this conversation. Getting up, I set the beer down. “I’m gonna start the grill.” The two of them came over for dinner, mostly because Rory wanted to see the baby.

Aries and Rory were having a baby of their own, but the two of them had been through hell because of their pasts.

My brother will do anything to make sure Rory is happy.

One thing that seems to make her just that is spending time with Kale.

She, Jade, Noelle, and Rosemary are all great with my kid.

They weren’t exactly thrilled I moved us out of the clubhouse, but at the same time, they were.

Noelle agreed to watch him for me when I was busy for the club, though she had a slight fight on her hands with the others. With Noelle being just down the street, it’s easier for her to come and watch him here. Plus, she can bring Bride with her when she wants to.

In the kitchen, I gather the steaks and take them out to the grill. Aries joins me outside and leans against the railing.

“Did Viper tell you about the meeting set up with Cordova?” he asks.

“Yeah.” He told me Cordova had wanted to meet up with us to discuss possibly setting something up along the lines of an alliance rather than just a truce.

He’d taken over running the fight club ring in the area.

It wasn’t a regular fight club, either. It was a death match fight club.

The fighters fought each other until one of them was dead, and the other went on to fight the next person with the hopes of not dying in the process.

We’ve had our own go in the ring in order to free Rosemary. Each member ended up fighting to the death to save her. It wasn’t something she took well, knowing the consequences of what we did for her. But she’s family. We’ll do anything it takes to protect those who we see as family.

“What are your thoughts on meeting Cordova?” I ask, glancing his way before adding the steaks to the grill.

They won’t take long, and I knew the sides would be ready when I got back in the house.

Mostly, that’s because Aries and Rory brought a couple sides over with them.

All I had to do was cook up the steaks I’d already bought at the store.

“I don’t trust him,” Aries remarks, not hiding his opinion about the man. He’s not a fan of Cordova, and I get why. He told Aries how he wouldn’t mind being in his place and having Rory at his side. “Why now would he want an alliance rather than just the truce? Some things had to have changed.”

“Agreed.” I nod and flip the steaks, making sure they’re seared to perfection. If there’s one thing I know about cooking, it’s how to make sure my steaks are the best of the best.

One thirty in the morning . . .

Kale wakes up at his usual time. Sighing, I get him out of his crib, change his diaper, and give him his bottle. Unlike any other time, he doesn’t settle back down and go to sleep. He’s fussy and won’t let me put him down.

In the living room, I rock him in the recliner, letting him lie with his cheek against my chest. Noelle explained to me the importance of newborns and young babies having skin-to-skin touch with their parents.

Rocking him, he finally settles, though if I try to move, he’ll wake up. It’s what he’s done twice now already.

A light shines through the front windows, and I glance through the opening and see the limo pull back into my neighbor’s driveway. She gets out before the door can be opened for her. She’s out of view in seconds, and the limo pulls back out.

The sight of her reminds me I want to talk to Vulture about her. Make sure living next to her isn’t going to cause problems.

I should do this, but I’m not going to. It’s not my business. I don’t need the headache of what could possibly be found in whatever she’s about.

Settling more into the recliner, I glance back at the TV and allow myself to drift to sleep, holding my son protectively to my chest. He’s all I need to worry about. Nothing else matters.

Not even the pretty little neighbor.