Page 32 of Biker's Dark Revenge

She trailed off for a moment, and then, her jaw set with certainty.

"But I think I can provide it," she confessed. "I want to be there for her. I feel like she deserves it, after everything she’s been through. A new start, right?"

"Right,” I replied, with a grin.

"On one condition, though," she added, lifting her finger. I cocked an eyebrow.

"And what condition is that?"

"The condition that you stick around to raise her with me."

I grinned. I had a feeling that was what it was going to be. And, shit, it wasn’t as though I was opposed to the idea, not one little bit. No, the thought of getting to be there and watch that little girl grow up, it felt like...it felt like a second chance. A chance to catch up on everything I’d missed with Dina – a chance to pour all the love I’d had for her back into the world, instead of letting it curdle to anger at everything that happened to her.

"I’m going to need all the help I can get, and you’re the expert," she continued like I needed any convincing. "Look at how good you’ve been with her already. That giraffe thing, I never would have thought of that, and-"

"Hey, Liana," I told her, catching her face in my hands to stop her in her tracks. She paused, raising her eyebrows at me.

"Yeah?"

"Of course, I’ll raise her with you," I murmured and leaned down to kiss her. I could feel her smiling into my kiss, slipping her arms up and around me to pull me close – this kind of commitment, felt greater than any wedding ring ever could. A commitment to build a life together, not just for us, but for that little girl, too.

"Hey, you two!" Chuck yelled over to us. I pulled back from Liana, arms still wrapped around her tight, and we both looked over at him.

"Get off each other and help us clear up," Chuck said, but he was grinning. I knew he wasn’t mad, not really.

"Sure," I replied and tucked my hand into hers. "Let’s get to it, huh?"

"I guess so," she replied, flashing me a warm smile. Excitement was written all over her face, the thrill of what was to come laid out in front of her for the first time. I couldn’t wait to see how this was going to go – how I was going to build a new life with her, the kind of life I barely dared to imagine for so long. I had forced myself to ignore that paternal side of myself after I had lost Dina, but now? Now, it was all falling into place.

And it felt so damn right, I knew it was what I had been waiting for.

Chapter Twenty-One – Liana- Six Months Later

"Okay, Kara, put your books away!” I called through to my little girl, as she darted into her room – there were still stacks of boxes that needed unpacking, but, for now, I knew the best I could do was try and keep Kara busy until our pizza arrived.

"You alright?" Lee murmured to me, slipping his arms around me from behind and drawing me against him. I leaned my head back against his chest and let out a sigh.

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" I asked him, tilting my head back to look at him. He dropped a kiss on my lips.

"I might," he replied. "But nobody likes moving. It always sucks."

"You can say that again," I agreed, as I pulled away and went through some of the boxes waiting for our attention beside the door. The moving company had pretty much just piled everything past the doorway, leaving us to unpack everything as best we could. I didn’t know what kind of chance we stood of getting this all done in the next couple of days, but I guessed there was no rush – we had the rest of our lives to turn this place into the home I wanted.

I let out a long sigh, trying to pull myself back down to Earth. See? It was all going to be alright. I just needed to remind myself that this was a good thing, a really, really good thing – no matter how stressful it had been to move everything out of my old apartment and into this new little house Lee and I purchased on the edge of Atwood. In the end, it would be worth it.

Because we were going to turn it into a family home.

"Done!” Kara called to me, as she bolted out of her room once more. She had a grin on her face half a mile wide when I’d told her we were getting a real house to live in, She’d clasped her hands to her face in complete and utter shock, hardly able to take it in.

The moment I got the go-ahead from social services to officially adopt Kara, I knew I wanted to buy a real home for her. Yeah, I didn’t have a huge amount of savings, but Lee had been far more careful with his cash than I had – and, as a result, we were able to get a little two-bedroom home, with a tiny yard outside. It wasn’t much, but to me, it felt like a damn mansion, just because of who I was going to be sharing it with.

"Oh, that’s the pizza," Lee remarked when he heard the doorbell. "I’ll get it..."

I pulled Kara in for a hug, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close. I knew she would get tired of me lavishing attention on her like this eventually, but for the time being, I was going to enjoy every damn moment I got of her affection. She had become so much more comfortable with getting cuddles and hugs and seeing her opening up to all of it was a gift.

She still asked about her mom, sometimes, and I hadn’t exactly figured out how I was going to explain what had happened to her, but Lee assured me we would find a way to explain it somewhere down the line.He reminded me that she didn’t need to be burdened with the memory of everything that happened to her, not yet. When she was older, and she could understand that her mother had been ill, not just rejecting her, we would explain it.

But for now, I wanted her to have the most carefree, joyous childhood imaginable. And that started right here, with the obscene amount of pizza we had ordered to christen our dining table. Lee carried it in, and the deliciously savory scent had my mouth watering at once. I let out a long groan as I planted myself down at the table.

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