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Chapter Twenty
“Fuck,” Wrench cursed, waking me from the most peaceful slumber I can remember having in a very long time. I shot up in the bed, looking around as he leaped up and grabbed his jeans from the floor.
It was then I heard the sounds of motorcycles and my heart stopped. “Op’s dropping off Harlyn this morning.”
“And you couldn’t tell me this before now?” he snapped.
I tossed the blankets back and ran over to my drawers, dragging out whatever clothes I could find to put on. The bikes came to a stop outside the apartment, and suddenly I spun around in horror. “Is your bike outside?”
He was just pulling his cap on, the bill covering his eyes. “No, I walked.”
Wrench lived at the clubhouse, but he also had an apartment not far from here where his sister lived with her boyfriend. It wasn’t unusual for him to stay there and help her out with the tech stuff that needed doing for her home business.
Thank God, because if Optimus had seen his bike outside my apartment at eight a.m., the both of us would be dead.
A few seconds later there was a knock at the door. “Stay here,” I whispered as I shot out of the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind me. When I got to the living room, I let out a soft groan before plucking my clothes that I was wearing last night from various places around the room. “Fucking Wrench, has to toss shit everywhere.”
BANG. BANG. BANG.
“Coming,” I called out, my eyes searching for somewhere to stash these until Optimus left. Running out of time, I dived into the kitchen and pulled open the pantry, throwing them inside and slamming it shut. I tried to stop my heart from racing as I jogged over to the front door, inhaling deeply and plastering a smile on my face before pulling it open.
“Mom,” Harlyn cried, diving on me. The smile didn’t seem so forced then as I giggled softly and wrapped my baby girl in my arms. She held on tight, her arms around my neck and tucking her face in close. I closed my eyes, breathing her in. I’d seen her the day before but had pleaded with Optimus to allow me more time with her.
Harlyn had been my life for so long.
The almost six years we were away, I really didn’t have any friends. We lived in a nice apartment and kept to ourselves for the most part. We were fine with each other’s company, and now I’d torn that away from her, from us.
I looked up, seeing Optimus standing in the doorway, watching us with a soft smile on his lips, Slider and Ham standing just behind him looking much the same.
I cleared my throat and stepped back. “Sorry… come in.”
They toed off their heavy boots at the door and made their way inside.
“You still sleeping?” Op asked, his eyes moving around the room.
I gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, sorry.”
He shrugged. “How’s the shop coming?”
Harlyn pulled back in my arms with a wide grin on her face. “Can we go there again today?”
I laughed, pecking her softly on the cheek. “It’s closed today, baby girl. I was thinking today felt more like a baking day.”
She bounced up and down. “Yes! Can we save some for me to take back to the clubhouse tomorrow?”
I pursed my lips as though I was thinking hard about it. “I don’t know about that, I might eat them all.”
Harlyn giggled, the sound like a beautiful melody to my ears. “No, we have to share with Daddy.”
I looked over to Optimus, ready to make some joke about how he doesn’t like cookies, but it fell flat on my lips when I saw what he was holding between two fingers.
A torn condom wrapper.
I froze, and just as Harlyn turned to grin at her dad, he tucked it in behind him. “Yeah, I sure would like it if your mom shared with me…”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I bent and placed Harlyn on the floor. “Say bye to Dad and then go wash your hands,” I told her, pressing my hand on her back. “We better start baking now if we’re gonna feed all these guys.”
She bounced happily over to Optimus, giving him a quick cuddle and waving goodbye to Slider and Ham as she shot down the hallway to the bathroom.
