Page 35 of Single Mom for the Bikers

“But you really meant it? You’d want to share?” I go quiet for a minute, thinking.

“If it’s too much, forget I said anything. Don’t fucking feel like you have to pretend to want something you don’t just because I?—”

“Now you shut up. I’m trying to think how to say this. I like you.”

“I should fucking hope so.”

“And I like Sledge, and Phoenix.”

Havoc’s hands stroke me gently. “So what’s the problem?”

“If it was just sex, I can totally see how that could be mind blowing with the right people. But I like you guys. I don’t know if I could do that without my feelings getting all mixed up. If it was just sex to them, I think I’d get my heart broken.”

“Honey, I’m pretty sure they like you, too. They’re my brothers. We're the Misfits, and we're a fucking team.” He pulls me in for a kiss that has me tingle all the way down. “But I get what you’re saying. I’m just telling you now that I’m in. Now sleep. It's been a long day, and Mia's gonna want her momma awake and rested tomorrow, I'm sure.”

I'm already drifting off when he says it. He's so nice and warm, and cuddled up on him with our legs intertwined makes me feel safe and protected. The steady beat of his heart is the last thing I hear before sleep takes me.

Waking up is a lot rougher. Sledge is in the room, shaking both of us. “Get the fuck up. The Outlaw Sons are here.”

20

HAVOC

I pull on my jeans,still damp from last night but there’s no time to dig for different clothes. “What’s happening?”

Sledge eyes the ways Shel’s clutching the sheets to her chest and raises an eyebrow at me. He doesn’t look pissed, just intrigued. “Patrol called in about ten minutes ago, reporting a dozen riders headed our way. Not enough for a full on attack, but plenty to fuck shit up. Viking briefed Eagle-eye about Shelby and Mia this morning.”

Choppy voices come out of the baby monitor. “…morning, sunshines. How about we watch… I’ll go get some… Mia, tell your mommy…”

Wrapped tight in a blanket, Shelby hobbles to the table, picking up the monitor. She peers at it and presses a button. “Hey, baby. Are you there?”

“Mommy!” Mia’s voice comes through loud and clear. “Can I have cereal? Even if it’s the sugar kind?”

“Of course, honey. Do whatever Ms. Alessa says, okay? I’m right next door. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay! We’re gonna watch Patrol Pals.”

Shel disappears into the bathroom with her bag, emerging dressed with her hair pulled back in a hasty ponytail and no makeup. She looks fierce. “Let’s go.”

I shake my head. No fucking way. “You need to stay here.”

“Would you?” she snaps.

Sledge stands beside me. He shakes his head. “He’s right, Shelby. Stay here and lock the door behind us.”

Her back snaps straight and she stares us down. “Maybe last night was a mistake if you think sleeping with me gives you the right to order me around. My daughter was taken yesterday and I’m not an idiot. I have no idea who the Outlaw Sons are, but tell me it’s a coincidence that the same club you got in a fight with earlier this week is the one outside right now, after my little girl was taken yesterday to prove some kind of point. Was it probably them?”

Her fire is fucking hot, but it’s fucking inconvenient when she aims it our way.

“We don’t know for sure, but it would make sense,” Sledge answers. At my growl, he looks my way. “Don’t baby her, she doesn’t fucking want it.”

“Thank you,” Shelby says with a nod. “Like it or not, I’m involved in this and I have a right to know what’s going on. Last time we were in danger, I hid for almost two years, scared every day until I heard he was dead, that Dodger or one of his buddies would find us and finish the job they started when they killed my step-father. You aren’t protecting me from learning that you live in a brutal world. I’ve already experienced it.”

It feels like she drives a knife right into my gut. I close the distance between us and cup her face in my hands. “If I could take all that away, I would.”

“But you can’t, and we don’t have time to argue,” she says softly, resting a hand over mine. “I promise not to do anything stupid, but I won’t go back into hiding if I can help it.”

“When this is over, you should run as far away as you can.”

---