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"You need to know some things." He held her close and put his lips near her ear. "Mom's house is paid for and in your name. It's yours."

She pushed against him, trying to get away from the truth.

"All my money is yours." He inhaled. "Bane has everything you'll need in case I'm not here. You can trust him."

Her eyes burned, and her vision blurred. The only reason he wouldn't be here was if her dad killed him. In her heart, she knew Jagger would never willingly leave Havlin Motorcycle Club.

There was nothing to say. She'd argued with him about how to handle her dad. He wasn't going to budge. He believed in the Havlin bylaws and would willingly take the punishment at the cost of losing everything they had together.

She met his gaze and spoke her truth. "What if he doesn't return?"

Jagger frowned. "Why wouldn't he?"

"He left me once for eighteen years."

"Kat." He leaned his forehead against her forehead. "He didn't willingly leave. He was arrested."

"Maybe he got arrested again." She closed her eyes, shutting out the intrusive thoughts.

Pulled in two different directions, she would never want her dad to go to prison again. But she had no other solution to save Jagger, who'd been a part of her life longer than her dad.

She was no longer a child. Past the age of needing anyone to take care of her, she had to find a way for the two men in her life to get along. Her dad needed to accept she loved Jagger and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

Chapter Twenty Two

THE UPS DRIVER WAVED and pushed the dolly out the door of Havlin Motorcycle Parts shop. Jagger glanced over the invoice and grabbed the tape dispenser. Sticking the paper on the closest shelving unit behind the counter, he checked the time.

As he slid his phone back into his pocket, Bane and Dio walked in from the clubhouse. He lifted his chin. "Just in time."

"I saw the truck head down to the coffee shop." Bane walked over to the stack of boxes. "Sweet. The mufflers from Alport came in."

"Are you switching over?" Dio removed the top box from the stack.

"Yeah. You?"

"Not yet." Dio chuckled. "I've sunk enough money into my ride. I'm thinking about upgrading."

Bane whistled. "Wrong time of the year, bro."

"It's always the wrong time."

Jagger walked over to the door, stuck his head out, and looked down the sidewalk. Katrina had gone to the coffee shop to grab two drinks a half hour ago. Five minutes after she'd left, she'd texted him that she was talking to Cora during her break and would get their coffee when she finished.

Not a woman who gabbed or hung out with other girls, he wondered if everything was okay. Katrina had an attitude about her father's side of the family, considering they had nothing to do with her growing up.

Deep down, he suspected she feared being judged. She associated flaws with imperfections and had the belief there was a defect about her that kept people from loving her.

She was good at keeping shallow relationships. All the bikers back in Beaverton bent over backward to include her, but she had a way of sabotaging any friendship as a knee-jerk response to fear.

Fear of losing others.

"Maverick's here," yelled Dio.

Jagger shut the door. "The invoice is taped on the shelf. Go ahead and get the orders reboxed and ready to ship out. Make sure each one has been charged. The damn prospects keep putting the charges down as being billed."

Maverick cleared his throat. "Katrina's at the coffee shop."

"Yeah. She texted me." He lugged a box into the back. "Where's Wire?"

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