Page 22 of Karma
Sighing, Lex puts her hands in the air. “I’ve had more than enough of this. I’m going to bed.”
“Lex—”
“I know. Apartment.”
She leaves, and Colt shakes his head. “She’s never alone. Got it?”
“We got it,” Dax says. “Nothing happens on our watch. We can figure out how to adjust the runs to cover things until we find him.”
“Go to her,” Ky says. “We’ll work on a plan and schedule to keep a balance. VP will be on every fucking run because the last person any of us trusts on his daughter’s protection detail is him. She needs you.”
“This better be the only extra kid you got, VP,” Colt says. “The last thing she needs is another situation like this.”
He walks into his apartment to find Lex lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. She doesn’t even glance at him, and he feels like the worst husband in the world.
“Baby?”
“I just need to process all of this. I’ll be fine.”
Stripping out of his leather and jeans, he climbs into bed and pulls her into his arms. “Yeah, you will be because we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”
She says nothing, and he worries she doesn’t believe him. All three charters will do whatever it takes to protect her, but she’s been hit with a few too many secrets today.
“I love you,” Colt whispers.
“I love you, too.”
At least she hasn’t given up on him in her anger and disappointment.
Chapter Eight
Griffin’s Beach
Hailey
“Have you talked about moving into another place?” Felicity Short asks.
Hailey Nichols smiles at the little girl on the seat next to her in the carrier. “We’ve talked about it, but we’re not really in a rush right now. It’s kind of nice being in such close quarters with each other,” she says to her boyfriend’s mother. The same mother who once called her a whore.
“I’d go crazy if I was stuck in an apartment with Ky. Kid or no kid, I need to have space. And separate bathrooms.”
Giggling, she turns from Nancy and looks at Felicity. “It’s been kind of nice not having to worry about mowing the lawn and everything that comes with a house.”
“We can make sure someone takes care of that for you,” Felicity says with a smirk. “You’re not on your own, Hailey.”
“I know.” She reaches over and tickles Nancy.
The way the baby giggles and holds her fingers makes her heart melt. While Nancy Short may not be Hailey’s biologically, she may as well be. There is nothing Hailey wouldn’t do to protect her. She always thought she’d die for Lucas, but this is different. So different.
In every other way, she is Nancy’s mother. She’s the one who wakes up in the middle of the night to feed her. And she’s the one who changes most of her diapers.
“You’re so good to her,” Felicity says. “I have to say, both of my kids made pretty good choices with their partners. You and Kent both adore their kids as your own.”
“You like Kent with Gracie, huh?” Hailey asks with a wide smile. “Could it have something to do with the way he reacted to Cole the night he patched in?”
Kent Conway, another legacy who prospected with Gavin, patched in together. Gracie and he had been together for a hot minute at that point, having been just close friends until Gracie turned eighteen. He even helped deliver her son, Nolan.
“That was crazy,” Felicity says and wraps her dark hair up in a bun on the top of her head. “He always has such a calm demeanor that I was certain his apartment was nothing but bongs everywhere. It’s weird to see a man wearing the leather who doesn’t have a quick trigger.”
