She gathered her things and left the room without another word.
The sob that escaped me was unexpected and sudden. I curled into Axel’s big body as his arms came up around me holding me tightly.
“I’ll go see her out,” Sal offered, leaving us a few moments together.
“Baby.” Axel’s sigh was sympathetic as he held me tighter still.
“I don’t know why I’m crying!” I sputtered. “She was always so mean to me but I guess I miss her, which is so screwed up.”
He squeezed me tighter. “She’s your mom.” He knew firsthand how deep that love ran and how confusing it could be.
“Yeah,” I agreed hoarsely.
“For what it’s worth, she just gave us the rest of the information we need.”
“Really?” I pulled back, looking up at him as he wiped my tears away.
“Yeah, babe. We’re gonna be able to end this. Soon.”
I blew out a relieved breath. “Good.”
*****
With the information my mother had provided handed off to the police, an arrest warrant had been issued for my father. It was a rare show of partnership between the Knights and the local PD. Not something, Axel assured me, I was likely to see again.
I didn’t know the details of the charges and, at the moment, didn’t care. I assumed Axel would tell me what I needed to know. I was focused on keeping Maddox content and hoping we’d be in our own beds that night.
A group of the guys went out scouting and came back confirming that his cronies had left town. Too many cops, too much heat for them to stick around. Plus, I’d guess with their boss about to be locked up, there wasn’t much reason for them to stick around. There’d be nobody to pay them.
It was late by the time the guys agreed it was safe enough for all of us to disperse.
Ryker had decreed he’d be staying with us for the night, wanting Axel to have him at his back. It’d been a long day and all I wanted was to get home.
Home.
“What’s on your mind?” Axel asked, his head cocked toward me as we drove up the mountain with Ryker’s bike rumbling behind us.
There was so much going through my mind just then, but mostly, I was thinking about how all of this was nearly behind us and together, we could just look forward.
“I was thinking about the house,” I answered him.
His brow lifted and I could tell that wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting.
“I was thinking it’s time we made some changes, work on Mad’s room,” I explained.
“Guess I had to put a ring on your finger for you to come to that conclusion, finally,” he goaded me with a chuckle.
“Whatever,” I huffed as he reached over and tickled my side.
“Hey!” I protested through laughter as Mad squealed from the backseat.
“Your mama’s ticklish,” Axel told him, his deep chuckle reverberating through the small space as I continued to squeal.
“Okay, okay,” I held up my hands in surrender as he grabbed one and placed it in his lap.
“You did good today,” he told me quietly.
I sighed. “Thanks.”
