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“I slept really well.”

Blackjack glanced at York as if wanting to thank him. Rather than signal the other biker, my dad returned his gaze to me.

“Make sure to keep food in your stomach,” he said and stroked my mom’s head. “You’re taking a lot of pain medication, and I know you don’t like to puke.”

“Does anyone like to puke?”

“I don’t mind it,” Rowdy said and squatted between his boys.

Colson and Cavan wore identical expressions when they realized their dad was down low with them. The boys began to bounce and squeal with delight.

Yarrow stopped crying long enough to admire them before she looked at me. The corners of her mouth turned downward.

Still confused about why I had been attacked, she asked, “Why do people pick on you?”

“It was just those three guys, and they’re dead.”

Yarrow nodded, but her gaze remained clouded by fear. She suddenly focused on York, who stood in the kitchen. He drank his coffee and watched everyone. I admired how he owned every room he was in.

A guy like Zodiac was a loudmouth, forcing attention on himself. Exile’s cowboy hat drew eyes to him. Rowdy was a wildly charismatic jokester. Farley was the easygoing pal.

And then there was York Lacroix doing nothing more than watching the room and drinking his coffee while exuding a calm dominance.

My gaze flashed to my dad. Blackjack wasn’t showy like his president, Oz Savo. He wasn’t a young gun like his clubmates, Glitch and Camo. But Blackjack exuded power without lifting a finger.

“I want to make a baby with York,” I whispered to Yarrow before she could say anything to him.

My mom’s sour expression immediately flipped to a joyful one. Her wet eyes glowed with hope.

“Does he know that?”

“Probably, but I haven’t told him. He’s just smart.”

Yarrow sighed. “I like being a grandma,” she said and cuddled against me. As I stroked her head, she sighed again. “I can’t wait to hold the baby inside Nova. I loved holding you when you were tiny. You were so beautiful, and I loved you so much.”

Despite my mom’s loving words, I began to cry. The room was sunny, and today felt better than yesterday. Yet, I was struck by a profound sadness.

Blackjack wrapped an arm around me and rubbed a worried Yarrow’s cheek.

“I thought I was going to die,” I said, cuddling with my parents. “It just hit me how close I came to never seeing you again.”

Consoling Yarrow and me, Blackjack knew the right tone to help us find our way out of the darkness.

I glanced at York, wondering if our drama inspired him to make a run for it. I found him watching me in that curious way he always did. I was apparently quite fascinating.

After calming down, I accepted the breakfast plate handed to me by Farley.

“I want to go to the Netherlands,” I announced. “York said it’s a cool place. That’s where I want to go after I’m healed up.”

“What the hell is a Netherlands?” Yarrow asked. “Is it like the ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ game?”

“It’s a country,” Blackjack said and typed into his phone. “It’s next to Germany and Belgium.”

My mom had zero schooling. Outside her small life in Rawlins, she didn’t understand how anything worked. I still marveled sometimes at how well she parented Boone and me considering how little parenting anyone ever offered her.

“Can I go there?” Yarrow asked Blackjack.

“Sure. We’ll go after Goldie is better.”