Page 30 of Single Mom for the Bikers

“Honestly? Only if you put half a bottle of whiskey in it. It's been a rough day.”

The man laughs, a deep comforting rumble. “I can work with that. Come to the kitchen. I’m Bear.”

I sit at the table, feeling a little useless as Alessa pours coffee and Bear fetches a bottle of honey colored alcohol from the top cabinet. He doesn’t give me half the bottle, but he does drop a fairly generous shot into both mine and his own. “Cream? Sugar?”

“Yes please.”

Two more bikers come down from the upstairs together with a pretty young girl who must be Izzy. They are both imposing, but one is lean, with short cropped hair and five o’clock shadow, and the other broader with spiky hair and several face piercings.

“Thought I heard company.” The thinner one crosses the kitchen and tilt’s Alessa’s face up, kissing her.

Alessa smiles. “Dante and Shelby’s daughter Mia are downstairs. Do you think you can keep them company for a bit, Izzy? Mia’s had a rough day and could use some friends, I think.”

Izzy looks like she’s about to object to being sent off with the younger kids, but she huffs a little and looks at me. “Okay. I’ll go get my stickers first. Does Mia like stickers?”

This is all so normal and so sweet that I barely manage to nod and hold it together until Izzy runs back to her room before I burst out crying. Havoc, Phoenix and Sledge are at my side in an instant which just makes me cry harder.

Bear freezes. “More whiskey?”

“I’m sorry,” I say, laughing through my tears. “I’m fine. This morning I went to work like normal. A couple hours ago my daughter was kidnapped. Now I’m here,” I wave my arms, indicating not just the house, but the whole crazy compound. “Sipping coffee and wondering if I’ll ever go home again.”

“Honey, that’s not fine. That’s fucked up,” the man with the piercings says. “And trust me, we all know fucked up around here.”

“Hawk…” Alessa says reproachfully.

“It’s true.”

“Yeah, but you aren’t supposed to say it,” the other man jokes. At least I think he’s joking.

“Snark, Hawk, this is Shelby. She and her daughter need a place to stay for a couple days until they can figure out what to do. Shelby, these are my husbands. There’s a fourth one around somewhere. I think Viking’s at the gate but I’m sure you’ll meet him if you stick around a bit.”

Hawk focuses on Havoc. “Is this related to the other business?”

“Probably,” Havoc says with a tired nod.

“All right. I expect to hear the full story later.”

Logic tells me that their dynamic should be weird. That three or four men can’t live together peacefully with one woman, but as the whiskey settles in my stomach, I can’t help but be a little envious. It's obvious they’re all completely dedicated to both Alessa and the kids.

I love her so much, but it’s hard to raise Mia on my own. There are days where I’m dead tired from work but I still have to puther first, even if it means getting up the next day barely more rested than I was the night before.

We move into the living room to make room for everyone, and when Phoenix sits next to me on the couch, pulling me in close to his side, I relax into the comfort. Snark does the same with Alessa, their youngest curled up in the crook of his other arm.

It's cozy. Like having a big family, and I can just sit here, comfortable, and be a quiet part of it.

I can't even remember the last time I felt like this, and all it took was a crazy lady kidnapping my daughter because apparently, there’s someone who thinks scaring us will hurt Havoc, Sledge and Phoenix. But right here, right now, listening to them talk and Mia’s laughter bubbling up from the basement, I feel safe.

18

SHELBY

“It's okay,she can sleep here tonight,” Alessa whispers as she drapes blankets over Mia, Izzy and Dante where they've fallen asleep on the tumble mats. They're clutching their respective stuffed animals and snoring softly. I guess all the play finally caught up to them. We got so wrapped up in talking that it took a while before we realized how quiet it had gotten.

“I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal, but I don’t know if I’m comfortable leaving her here on her own. What if she wakes up and gets scared?”

Viking, the man I saw at the gate with the braids in his hair, nods. “No problem. I get it. We can set you up on the couch if you want?—”

“She’s crashing in my room,” Havoc says without even asking my opinion.

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