“Copy that,” Jace agreed. “We’ll stay hidden away in the cabin. You don’t have to worry, Bolt.” He wanted to point out that he had more to lose now, since finding out that Winter was carrying his baby, but that would be a conversation that he’d have privately with his best friend.
Bolt hesitated, his tone softening. “You good, man?” he asked, seeming to pick up on everything that Jace wasn’t saying.
Jace looked at Winter again—her tired eyes, her belly, and the way that she watched him was almost too much. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Better than I’ve been in a long time.” That was the truth, too. For some reason, he had felt so alone lately and even dreamed about Winter. Having her next to him, pregnant with his baby, was like he was living in one of those dreams, and he didn’t want to wake up any time soon. Bolt mentioned something about talking to him in a couple of days, for their regular check-in, and he agreed. Jace ended the call and set the phone face down on the table.
Winter studied him, her brow furrowed. “That was Bolt?” she asked. Maybe not putting the call on speaker was an asshole move, but he didn’t want her hearing anything that she shouldn’t about their investigation into the Dead Rabbits.
“Yeah,” he said. “He was just calling me to catch me up on what’s happening around Savage Hell.”
She seemed to perk up at the mention of their club. For the time being, the Royal Bastards and Royal Harlots were both sharing Savage Hell until the Harlot’s new clubhouse was finished. “And?” she asked. He didn’t give her an answer right away, and she sighed. “I think that you’re forgetting that I’m a Harlot, Jace. If something is going on around the clubhouse, I have a right to know too.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to decide how much to tell her—if anything at all. “The Dead Rabbits think I’m still alive. They’re sniffing around Savage Hell, trying to find proof that I’m still breathing. But Bolt says we’re safer here than anywhere else.” He quickly added that last part, wanting to keep her fear at bay.
Winter’s fingers tightened around his arm. “So we stay here, and we’re safe?” she asked.
“Yes, if we stay here, we’re safe,” he confirmed, his voice steady as he tried to reassure her. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The storm howled louder, rattling the chimney, but Jace was used to the strange noises his old cabin made—especially during a storm. He pulled Winter closer, pressing a kiss to her temple.
“Let the Dead Rabbits hunt ghosts,” he murmured. “We’ve got something worth fighting for right here.” He ran his hand over her belly, and she covered his with her own.
Winter smiled faintly against his chest. “Guess this old cabin just became home. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to hang around after I told you about the baby. I thoughtthat you might send me back out into the storm to head back to Huntsville.” He looked down at her—at the woman who’d survived trudging through a crazy winter story to find him and felt the truth of it settle deep inside him. He wanted her—even after only one night together. And damn it—he was happy that she was pregnant with his kid. Sure, it had unfairly tied her to him, but it also gave him a chance with Winter that he didn’t know he would have again or would even want.
“Yeah,” he said. “It did just become home.” It hadn’t felt that way before, but having Winter there with him, in his arms, made the creaky old cabin feel more like home than he ever thought that it would. And Jace was sure that he’d never want to leave his cabin again.
Morning crept in slow and sleepy, while the storm eased into silence. The snow outside the cabin was piled knee-deep, glittering under the faint winter sun that filtered through the frosted window. Inside, the world was hushed—just the crackle of the fire and the steady rhythm of Winter’s breathing beside him in bed.
Jace hadn’t slept much during the night. He’d spent long hours holding her close, listening to the wind fade, the baby’s soft movements beneath his hand, and the questions he didn’t yet have answers to.
When Winter finally stirred, she blinked up at him, her hair a tangled mess against his chest. “You didn’t sleep,” she murmured, cupping his jaw.
He shook his head. “I didn’t need to,” he lied. “I just wanted to keep an eye on things.” He rubbed his hand over her belly, and she sighed.
“Oh, you mean me,” she said, a small smile tugging at her mouth.
He smirked. “You and the little kicker.”
She laughed softly and rested her hand over his heart. “He’s going to be stubborn like you. I can already tell.”
“God help us both,” Jace said, brushing his thumb along her jaw. “You warm enough?”
“Yeah,” she whispered, but when she looked at him, he could see her unease back in place. “Jace, I don’t want to stay here forever.”
He stiffened slightly. “You mean, you don’t want to stay here in the cabin forever? Or do you mean that you can’t stay with me forever?” He hated asking a question like that, but a part of him had to know.
“I mean, here at this cabin, in Minnesota.” She sat up slowly, tugging his sweatshirt tighter around her. “I want to go home to have the baby. Back where my doctor is. Where it doesn’t feel like the world ends at the tree line. I know that we’re safe here, for now, but I want to go back home at some point.”
Jace sat up too, their thighs touching as though he needed contact with her. He’d known this conversation was bound to happen at some point, but hearing it still made his chest tighten. He could see her reaction when Bolt told them that the safest place for them was the cabin. “Winter—” He paused, searching for words that wouldn’t sound like a command or a plea. “You know what Bolt said. The Dead Rabbits are circling our clubhouse back in Alabama. I need them to think that I’m dead, and they won’t stop looking until they’re sure I’m that I am. If I go home now, they will know that I’m alive and I’ll end up leading them straight to you—and to him.” He covered his hand over her belly again, as though trying to drive home his point.
She met his gaze, steady and unflinching. “You think I don’t know that? But I can’t raise our son hiding in the woods. I needto have him somewhere safe. I want a hospital with my doctor, Jace. I want to hold him without worrying about who’s watching the road.”
Her voice cracked, and that sound undid him more than anything else could have. He reached for her, pulling her back into his arms. “Hey,” he murmured against her hair. “I get it. I want that for you and for him. Can you just give me some time to figure this out? I don’t want to take you back to Huntsville until I know that I can keep you both safe.”
She trembled against him, quiet tears soaking into his shirt. “You promise me you’ll find a way to get us all home?” He knew that making her promises like that might not end well for him. He couldn’t keep that kind of promise to Winter because there was no way that he’d take her back home if it wasn’t safe for her and the baby.
He held her tighter, feeling the baby shift between them like a living reminder of everything at stake. “I’ll try,” he said finally, his voice rough. “I swear, I’ll do everything I can to make that happen. But I won’t put you or the baby in danger. Not for anything.”
Winter leaned back just enough to look up at him. “You mean that?” She looked so hopeful. How could he tell her that he didn’t know if he’d be able to keep any of the promises that he had just made her? He couldn’t.
“I mean it,” he said, his thumb tracing her cheek. “We’ll wait it out here until it’s safe. Bolt’s got eyes on the ground. When the Rabbits move on, I’ll get you home. You have my word.”
