Page 140 of Tortured Tones

“I’m still in the making mistakes phase,” I mumbled. But my gaze followed Charlotte as she giggled and ran across the fort’s bridge. Her blonde curls bounced beneath her beanie. My heart flipped inside my chest. How could I ever regret sleeping with Shelby when I had the most incredible daughter? Flint was right. Charlotte was the result of my friendship with Shelby—not a mistake. Yes, that night all those years ago had been messed up. But Charlotte was amazing. And I’d do everything in my power to honor Shelby’s wishes and make sure our daughter grew up into a beautiful young woman...Well...as best as this fucked up musician could do. “But I’m trying to change that.”

“What happened with your bodyguard?” Intrigue flitted across Hunter’s eyes. “I saw something online about the two of you.”

“Ava?” I winced. “That turned into a downright mess.”

“They’re the ones that leave the biggest mark.” He chuckled. “Fuck, Kara and I didn’t get along when we first met. Look how that turned out.”

“Yeah, but I kinda fucked up Ava’s life.”

“How so?”

My breath misted the air. I tugged and tightened my scarf, still frazzled by what had happened. “Her crazy ex had us followed and photographed; now she could lose custody of her kid. He’s out to make Ava look like an unfit mother and that she wasn’t doing her job. He’s out to prove that she jeopardized our safety and her team’s. That she was always in dangerous situations or fucking me while on the job.”

He raised one eyebrow. “Were you?”

I wished we’d been together more often. “No. The couple times we were together, she’d always been off duty.”

Concern furrowed his brow. “So some crazy fuck has been stalking you, causing you stress, and plans to use that shit against her? Dude, that doesn’t seem right. Isn’t there some law against doing those things?”

Is there? Could we twist the situation back on Luther?

But my own concerns speared my chest. My stress levels hadn’t come down since Ava had left. “I don’t know. I’m afraid what went down could blow up in my face too. I have my final review with children’s services when we get back to LA. I’m terrified they’ll use what happened between Ava and me, along with the other gazillion things I’ve done wrong in my life, against me. That they’ll rule me unfit and I’ll lose Charlotte.”

He straightened, taking a step away from the pole. “Then make sure you prove to them how good you are with her. Make sure they know everything you do for Charlotte”—he counted on his fingers—“the help you’ve got in place, the plans you have for her, and how much you love her. Show them every picture you’ve taken, document every place you’ve been to, and make a list of all the support you have around you.” He tucked a long strand of flyaway hair back beneath his beanie. “I don’t know much about custody, but isn’t it about stability, safety, and security? You have money—not an issue. You have a great house and a security team—tick. But the most important element is yourself, your friends, and your family. They’re part of your world and the environment that Charlotte will be raised in. They play a huge part in her life, right?”

“Yeah. Absolutely.” Dare I let hope to fill my chest? I wasn’t alone. I never would be. I may have been single, but Charlotte had a family who loved her. She’d always be around people who cared. “You make everything sound so easy.”

Just as Ashleigh and Charlotte happy-shrieked and slipped down the curly slide, a young couple with their two young children entered the park. Their kids looked about the same age as Charlotte and Josh. My heart missed two beats. I’d always wanted Ava to bring Josh on a playdate, not just because I had no idea on how to be a parent, but because I wanted to spend time with her. Be with her. Crap. Could we be like that couple? Be together with our kids?

“Being a parent isn’t easy. Trust me.” Hunter grunted. “But it’s also freaking phenomenal.”

“Yeah. It is.”

Crap. What am I doing? Ava and Josh had a toxic man hindering their happiness—a sick fuck who wouldn’t let them be free. No one should live like that. She had her sister, dad, and work friends around her for support, but she could have so much more. Deserved more. As I closed my eyes, Ava’s smile lit behind my eyelids. Just seeing her happy again would be incredible. But giving her a life full of laughter and fun and a family who adored her would be even better.

What if the way I felt for her fizzled out? But fuck...what if it didn’t?

Shit.

I couldn’t let her go—not without a fight.

I tilted my head toward Hunter. “Thanks, man. You’ve put a lot of things into perspective. I needed that.” I patted Hunter on the arm and threw him a smug grin. “And here I was thinking you were just a pretty face.”

“Fuck you.” He laughed and nodded. “I have my moments. Life happens, bud. You’ve gotta be prepared to move with it or it will leave you behind.”

“So true.”

I’d been afraid to change and had resented the adjustments I’d had to make. I’d wanted everything on this tour to be the same as it had been when Phil was alive, but we weren’t the same guys anymore. The others had moved on and grown up, but I didn’t want to. Charlotte had forced me to do so. So had Ava. And that had been a good thing. If I was going to survive in this business and make this father thing work, I needed to make more changes.

It was time.

Losing Aidan had taught me not to ignore the people I loved. Phil’s death had burned into me the need to step up when someone was in trouble. Priah had shown me how incredible love could be. Fuck, I’d loved her. But we hadn’t been meant to be. It was time to move on. Charlotte was family. The band was family. I wanted Ava to be part of my world too.

I wasn’t afraid to fight for her. I wasn’t going to let her down.

I’d caused her issues, so somehow I had to fix them.

But how?

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