“Not tonight, sweetie,” I said.
Juice shut the door and walked around the truck next to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about him needing a special seat.”
“It’s fine. After what he’s been through, I’m okay with him riding back to the clubhouse with just a seatbelt.” I turned to face Juice and put my palms on his chest. “Thank you for bringing him back to me. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened.”
He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me. “He’s safe now, Sammy. Both of you are. And I’m going to make sure it stays that way. I promise.”
Relief flooded my system. I tilted my head back and looked up into his eyes. Even in the dark, I could see he meant it. He held my gaze, his big hands curled around my shoulders. I’d always felt safe with Juice. Even back in college, he had a way of setting me at ease.
The moment stretched and something new passed between us. I was too tired to try to put a name on it, but for just a few seconds I forgot about the anger and hurt I’d carried around with me for years. Then Hades let out a low growl, breaking up the moment and pulling us both back to the present.
“We’d better get moving.” Juice put his hand at the small of my back and guided me around the truck. When he was satisfied I’d securely buckled myself, he shut the door, then climbed behind the wheel.
Oliver let out a huge yawn and tried to blink away the sleepiness that threatened. I scooted as close to him as I could and pulled his head over to lean against my side. The scent of the baby shampoo from his bath the night before filled my nose as I ran my fingers through his baby-fine hair.
He was my world, my everything… and I could have lost him.
I tried to stay awake during the drive back to the clubhouse, but must have dozed off. I woke up inJuice’s arms, my cheek snug against his chest, as he carried me from the truck into the clubhouse.
“Where’s Oliver?” My heart skittered, and I immediately snapped out of my drowsy state.
“He’s safe. I already carried him up to Stone’s room. Poor kid’s sacked out and didn’t crack an eyelid when Sirius jumped onto the bed and curled up around him.”
Juice navigated the stairs like I didn’t weigh a thing and set me down right outside the bedroom door. I shouldn’t be surprised. He used to spend more time at the gym than he did in class when we were back in college. But I’d never been a tiny little thing and still hadn’t lost the baby weight I’d packed on when I’d been pregnant with Oliver. In his arms, I felt protected… cherished even.
“Why don’t you go in and check on him?” Juice asked. “If you’re tired, you can take a nap, but at some point, we need to talk.”
I looked up at him, wanting to flinch at the pain in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I started.
He shook his head. “Not now, Sammy. Go check on our boy. I’m going to get some coffee started. If you feel up to talking, you can find me downstairs.”
He’d saidour boy. I didn’t know how to interpret that. Oliver and I had been on our own for so long. Was Juice planning on becoming a permanent fixture in our lives? A chill raced up and down my spine. He wouldn’t try to take him away from me, would he?
“Okay.” I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again, not with so many emotions swirling around inside. I’d savemy questions for later, though. At that moment, all I wanted to do was set eyes on Oliver again.
Juice opened the door for me and motioned for me to go inside. Then he turned and walked down the hall, disappearing from sight, and leaving me with more questions than answers.
CHAPTER 9
JUICE
I’d beenawake for over twenty-four hours, but the adrenaline buzzing through my veins wouldn’t let me even think about catching some sleep. I was too hopped up from everything that had happened—seeing Sammy again, realizing we shared a son, taking on the Savage Bones—in the space of a single evening, my world had totally changed.
I watched the carafe at the base of the machine fill, drip by agonizing drip, until there was enough of the brown liquid to fill a mug. Inhaling the strong smell of a freshly brewed cup, I held the mug to my lips and relished the bitter taste as it burned the back of my throat.
It was barely after six, and except for the guys manning the front gate, everyone was still asleep. A peaceful quiet blanketed the clubhouse, giving me time to think about what I wanted out of the inevitable conversation with Sammy. If she’d asked me five years ago if I ever wanted to be a father, I would have laughed right inher face. She never would have asked though because she already knew the answer.
Back then, we knew everything about each other. We’d been unlikely best friends—the bad boy who was putting himself through college by taking off his clothes and the good girl who wanted to use her degree to change the world. But when we got paired up in our freshman seminar class, that was it. We bonded over late-night study sessions and the care packages her mom sent with homemade cookies.
Sammy had seen past the facade I hid behind, and I’d gotten to know the amazing woman underneath the thick layer of self-doubt. We pushed each other beyond our comfort zones. She made me open up about my childhood and all the shit I’d been through as a kid, and I forced her to loosen up a little and have a good time.
Then that one night changed everything.
“Thanks for waiting up.” Thunder came into the kitchen and headed straight to the coffee pot. Dried blood covered his cheek, and he winced as he wrapped his fingers around a mug. He and Arrow had sent a text when they started on their way back, so I’d been expecting them.
“How did it go?” I took another gulp of coffee, eager to hear how they’d left things with the fuckheads up on the mountain.
