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I stood in the doorway and smiled.

Rose sat on my bed, Jayla tucked up under her arm as they read a book.

The sight made my heart soar.

Rose was still hurting, but we were back at the clubhouse, back home. Neither of us could wait any longer to get back, and Rose had braved the nearly four-hour car ride with the side effects of a concussion, ten stitches and bruising to her ribs and various other places.

She’d got off lightly as far as I was concerned. It could have been so much worse, but I had blocked those thoughts out, thankful she made it out alive.

We’d only spent one night in Arkansas before making the trip home to Athens. The local news over there had reported signs of a gang war, with multiple deaths.

The police came to question Judge and his boys, saying a neighbor had spotted men in motorcycle club vests, but there were more than enough witnesses who verified seeing Satan’s Sanctuary members in town during the time it all went down.

They claimed they would be in touch, but they seemed uninterested in hunting down the culprits. After what the Vicious Vultures had done to terrorize the town, I didn’t blame them for turning a blind eye.

The fuckers were gone, that was all that mattered.

We weren’t sure what the blowback would be from it all. I didn’t want to underestimate the enemy, but as far as they knew, the Vultures didn’t have a huge support base behind them. Edge had confirmed that himself during his time with Rose.

Judge had brothers coming into town from another chapter, just in case something happened, and he had us on speed dial. He seemed pretty confident that they could hold their own from here on out, though, and from what I’d seen he knew what he was doing.

“I talked to your mom,” Rose said, smiling at me from the bed. Jayla grinned next to her and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I walked over and sat on the edge next to them. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “Just wanted to check to see how Lane and Light were.”

“And?”

She sighed, and I didn’t miss it when she pulled Jay a little closer to her. “They are heartbroken. Lane was further along than they thought. It’s so sad.”

Jayla patted Rose on the leg and looked up at her with a smile. “Need a hug?”

Rose giggled. “I would never say no to a hug from you, little one.”

Jay scooted up and wrapped her tiny arms around Rose’s neck. She was gentle, though, knowing she had to treat Rose with soft touches while she was still healing.

I stood up and held my arms out. “How about we let Rose rest a little, and I take you to find Harlyn?”

She gave Rose a quick peck on the cheek and turned, launching herself into my waiting arms. I caught her with ease, shifting her to my hip. “I’ll come back.”

“She be okay?” Jay inquired, her little eyebrows pinched in the middle. I’d never heard the little girl talk as much as she had since Rose had arrived. She was more confident too, asking questions and laughing with people.

I brushed her hair back from her face. “Yeah, squirt. Rose will be okay.”

She relaxed a little, her faith in me and what I told her was obvious.

We still hadn’t quite figured out what had happened to Jayla. There hadn’t been any more nightmares or little comments that hinted at a tormented past like that day at the lake. I knew there was something, but as long as Jay was happy and healthy, my instincts told me not to go looking for trouble.

Lucy was MIA. Kat had assured us that she’d spoken to her and she was okay, but wouldn’t be returning anytime soon. So she’d suggested they find her a replacement at X-Rated.

I’d already made the decision to keep Jay with me.

The clubhouse may not be the best place to have a child. But Leo and Op did it every day, and as far as I was concerned the more people around to love and care for this little girl the better. There was another court date coming up in a few months and I would be fighting with every fiber in my body to claim custody of her. I hadn’t talked to Rose about it yet, but I wanted a house, and I wanted her and Jay to live there with me.

It was non-negotiable.

I’d fucked around for long enough. It was time to start looking into the future, and from where I was standing it looked fucking bright.

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