The memories hurt no matter how long ago they were. She didn’t want that life for Ana. Not that she would ever do drugs, but the uncertainty of a life where bad people kept coming after you wasn’t much better. Marrying Zach was supposed to change it.
Would change it. She believed that.
Zach took her hand in both of his. Cradled it like it was precious. Like she was precious.
“I’m sorry you went through that, Kayla. No kid should have their life turned inside out the way you did. No kid should have parents who don’t care. But unfortunately they do. All the time. I can’t change what happened to you, and I can’t guarantee that disaster won’t strike again.” He hesitated. “I’m a SEAL, baby. I do dangerous things. It’s possible I won’t come back one of these days.”
She trembled. He must have felt it because he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. “That’s not the plan,” he added. “It’s not ever the plan. But it’s possible. For all of us. I promise you’ll be taken care of though. You married me, but you’ve officially joined a family. You won’t ever be alone again, Kayla. Neither will Ana. It’s not just Bailey who’ll be there for you, but the entire organization. HOT will be there if I can’t be.”
It was the first time he’d said the name of those he worked for. But she knew it because of what had happened when they’d gone to rescue Bailey from the Kings of Doom. She’d been told to never mention it, and she hadn’t.
“I don’t want HOT,” she said, her heart throbbing. “I want you.”
“And I want you.” He smiled. “So we’ve got each other, and we’ve got Ana. And if it happens that I don’t come back, which I intend to do my best to prevent, then you’ll be okay. Nobody’s taking your family away from you again, Kayla. Nobody’s leaving you to figure out how to survive. I want you to know that. If we’re living on base, then you’ll have to move out. But you’ll have enough money that you don’t have to worry about how to pay the bills, okay?”
She hated this conversation. So much. Of course she understood why he was saying it to her, and she appreciated that he wanted her to feel safe. But life without him wasn’t anything she wanted to imagine.
“I don’t care about the money. I care about you. Please stop talking about what happens if you get killed on a mission.”
He studied her for a second. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. “Okay, beautiful. We aren’t going to talk about it anymore. I don’t want to upset you. This is a good day for us. We’ve got Ana’s furniture and we’re going to fix her room. Then we’re going to have sex before you call Bailey and ask her if we can get Ana. If Ana falls asleep in her new room, and we aren’t exhausted, we’re going to have sex again before we crash. Sound like a plan?”
Her heart still pounded with anxiety but she nodded and pasted on a smile. “Sounds like a delicious plan to me. But if it’s going to happen, we’d better get that furniture put together.”
Neo thought about her reaction to the topic of him not coming back from a mission all the way home. Then he thought about it while he was laying out parts to the crib and getting his battery-powered screwdriver ready to go.
He hadn’t been trying to upset her, but considering how much she worried about stability, he’d wanted her to know she’d still have it. HOT would take care of her above and beyond what his military life insurance would provide. She wasn’t ever going to have to uproot Ana in the middle of the night and whisk her away somewhere so they could start anew.
Not that he intended to bite the dust. He intended to be around as long as possible, but he also knew the reality of what he did and the possibilities, however remote, of something going wrong.
His phone buzzed and he picked it up from the window sill. Kayla had gone across the street to see Chloe because Chloe had called and said she had something to give them. He’d watched her walk over there and he kept an eye on the street so he could watch her walk back.
It wasn’t Kayla though. It was Shade.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” he said.
“Just got a call from my contact at the correctional facility.”
Neo’s neck started to itch. “Yeah? Anything good?”
“Depends on your point of view. James Dunn’s had a regular visitor besides his attorney lately. His half-brother Steve, who was also in the Kings MC. Still rides a Harley, still wears the cut. He’s probably ferrying messages between Dunn and Gentry. It’s entirely possible Dunn is running the whole thing from prison.”
“Fuck!” Neo shoved a hand through his hair and stared out the window at Chloe and Dirty’s place. “Any news on his hotshot lawyer?”
“You aren’t going to like it. He’s managed to convince a judge to review the case next week.”
Frustration hammered his temples. “It’ll still take time to move through the system, but he could be out a lot sooner than we want him to be. He could be using Gentry to put the screws to Kayla now so it can’t be connected to him when he’s out.”
But did Dunn really want money? Or revenge? What he knew of the man told him it could be either—or both.
“It’s certainly possible. He’s a lowlife according to my contact. He’s running scams inside as part of a prison gang. Extortion, drugs, you name it. He sailed in there and took
