“I know. I just got back. But they need a leader and I’m all they’ve got right now.” He looks at me. “I’ll visit as often as I can. And when the baby comes, I’ll be here. I promise.”
“You better be. She needs her uncle.”
“She’ll have three men who worship the ground you walk on and an entire MC ready to kill for her. She’ll be fine.” He bumps my shoulder with his. “But yeah. I’ll be here.”
I lean my head on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around me and pulls me close.
“I’m sorry,” he says quietly.
“For what?”
“For not figuring out what Dad was doing sooner. For letting it get as far as it did. For not being there when you needed me.”
“You saved me. You turned him in and stopped the wedding.”
“Barely. You were seconds away from being trapped with that monster.”
“But I wasn’t. You got me out.” I sit up and look at him. “You did what Dad should have done. You protected me. You chose me over the club. Over family loyalty. That took guts.”
“It was the right thing to do.”
“Still. Thank you.”
He pulls me in for a hug. Holds me tight like he used to when we were kids and I had nightmares.
“I love you, Bonnie. Weird-ass love life and all.”
“I love you too.”
We pull apart, and he stands, brushing dirt off his jeans. “We should head back before your husbands send a search party.”
“They’re not all my husbands. Just Ash.”
“Semantics.” He grins. “You’re claimed by all three. That makes them all your husbands in my book.”
I roll my eyes but don’t argue. He’s not wrong.
We walk back to our bikes. I stop beside my Softail and look back at the valley one more time.
“Hey, Jackal?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you really think no one can protect me better than they can?”
He walks over and cups my face in his hands. “Bonnie, those three men would burn the world down for you. Would walk through fire. Would take a bullet without blinking.” He kisses my forehead. “You’re the safest woman alive. And that baby? She’s going to grow up knowing she’s loved and protected by an army of brothers.”
Tears spill down my cheeks. “Damn hormones.”
“Sure. Blame the hormones.” He wipes my tears with his thumbs. “Let’s go home.”
“Wait.” I pull back. “I need to stop by Snake’s shop first.”
Jackal’s face goes carefully blank. “What? No. Why?”
“Because I haven’t seen him in weeks and he’s been texting asking if I’m okay.” I study my brother’s reaction. “Why do you look like that?”
“Like what?”
