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Rogue and Blade approached the two cops in the road. Bullet and Vega strode toward me. Jazzy, Romeo, Blue and even Cruz, Dozer, and Tank gathered on the sidewalk.

“Your friends?” the officer asked me.

I’d lost a lot over the years. Mostly because of my choices. But maybe I’d done a few things right. Jaymi had my back. She hadn’t just risked everything for me and Lili, but she’d called for reinforcements. “My brothers.”

Officer Peters listened while I explained about France, the lies, and even mentioned the dismissed TRO.

“If you’re seriously concerned about her taking Lili, file for a TRO of your own.”

Christ, we’d gone from a custody battle to a declaration of war no one was going to win.

Eventually, Officer Kerry approached along with Natalie and Henri.

“Kerry.” Bullet hitched his chin toward the cop.

“Bullet. I see you and your club are still looking for trouble.”

“Nah. Trouble finds us.” They bumped fists.

“It’s been a while.”

Bullet chuckled. “Married life is keeping me busy.”

“You married?” The cop laughed. “Sympathies to your wife.”

“I’ll tell her you said so.”

Officer Kerry stifled his laugh and turned to me and Natalie. “Here is the situation,” the officer explained to both of us. “There isn’t a custodial agreement in place. You both have equal rights to your child. Our only priority is to make sure the child is safe and out of this argument.”

The second officer turned to Natalie. “We can’t stop you from taking your child out of the country, but if you have a pending custody order, once the judge signs off on it, you’ll need to abide by the terms.”

“Fine.” She turned to me. “I’m taking her with me.”

“You’re saying she can kidnap my kid?” I asked the cop.

“It’s not kidnapping, and she doesn’t need your permission.”

“What if I take Lili with me now? Will you stop me?”

“We don’t enforce custody agreements or force a handover without a judge’s signed order.”

“Romeoooo.” Lili ran down the sidewalk. Romeo spun around, and she launched herself into his arms.

“Hey, Lilibug.” He picked her up and sat her on his Harley.

Lili giggled. Jaymi stayed next to her and talked with Jazzy and the guys. Something warm and right slipped through my veins. This was the brotherhood. My old lady surrounded by my club, protecting her and protecting my kid. They had my back.

I turned to Natalie. “You’re not getting out of this driveway with her.”

“That’s a threat,” Natalie said to the officer. “You just heard him.”

He tucked the notebook back into his breast pocket. “About what I would say if my ex was trying to take my kid out of the country.” One of the patrol cars drove away. Peters and Kerry stuck around, talking with Bullet, Rogue, and the guys.

“Lili!” I hollered. “Let’s go.”

She ran across the grass. “Can I go?” she asked her mom.

Natalie dropped to a squat in front of her. “Don’t you want to go on an airplane? We’ll visit Henri’s family. You can eat frog legs and snails.”