Page 62 of Ky

“I’m branching out. You know how I’ve sold my cleaning business?”

“Yeah?” I say, biting into a delicious cookie.

“Well, I’ve decided to open a bakery,” she announces, and it’s all I can do not to choke on the cookie as I was swallowing. Zoe quickly grabs a glass of water, handing it to me.

“A bakery? Not to offend, but do you even know how to bake?” I ask, once the coughing fit has subsided.

“Yes, a bakery. Of course, I know how to bake, I made that cookie you almost choked on,” she replies, narrowing her gaze at me and crossing her arms over her chest. “Something wrong with that?”

“No! No, of course not, it’s just a big leap, from cleaning up crime scenes to baking cookies. That’s all I meant,” I explain as we stare at each other for a beat, hoping I hadn’t offended my best friend. Both of us bursting into laughter until we’re breathless and crying from it.

“Maybe you should bake cookies in the shape of a body at a crime scene?” I suggest in jest. “That would be a hoot with all the members of the Devil’s Carnage MC.” Another round of laughter, and it isn’t until Chains says, “What’s so funny, you two?”

As the two men come in from outside, we force ourselves to stop. Barely.

“Oh, nothing. Zoe was just telling me of her new venture. I think it’s a great idea. Free baked goods are always a good idea,” I say, sending her a wink. We linger for another hour, enjoying the company, before Ky stands making it clear we were going home.

The excitement on my little girl’s face when she knew we were going to live with Ky made my heart soar, and I felt for the first time that maybe we could make this work. Finn and Willow were both bouncing on their toes. They were so excited about living in the same house together. I was amazed with such a short time together at how easily they took to each other.

Like they knew they were brother and sister.

I reached out to take my girl’s hand, a pang of guilt for not telling her there and then that Ky was her father. As we walk back to Ky’s house, the smell of pine needles hung in the air, as the clubhouse and surrounding grounds were encircled by fir trees. From the outside, anyone looking at us would believe we were the picture perfect family, but we were far from that.

I still held hope that we would be some day.

I don’t even know where Finn’s mother is, if she’s still alive.

I’m nervous about broaching the subject of the other woman. Do I even want to know if he’d had a hand in her death? Especially with her son living with us. Arriving back at the house, it’s still hard for me to call it home, since I’ve only been here a few days, and before that another woman was living here, playing happy family with her and Ky’s son.

Once inside, both Willow and Finn ran upstairs to their respective rooms. I was shocked when I saw Ky had a room prepared for Willow, a princess theme throughout. Something a girly girl like my daughter absolutely adores. When had he had time to do all that, I’ll never know?

“No running up and down the stairs,” I call out, hearing their little feet slowing down. Smiling, I turn to face Ky. A look on his face I can’t fathom.

“Thank you for doing all that for her. It’s beautiful.” I shake my head, refusing to cry. No, there’s been enough of that to last me a lifetime.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, getting the feeling that I wasn’t going to like what he was about to tell me.

“Come sit,” he says, taking my hands and pulling me towards him on the couch.

“Earlier, I had Church with the rest of my brothers. We’ve decided it’s time we went hunting.”

I knew what he meant by hunting. They were going to go after Angelo.

“I wish you wouldn’t,” I whisper, the warmth of his hands in mine a stark contrast to the chill in my voice, my gaze pleading. I can't bear the thought of experiencing that gut-wrenching loss all over again; the memory is still too raw.

“Oh? And why’s that?” he demands. The raw anger in his voice grates on my nerves, sending a chill down my spine. I see the simmering rage just beneath the surface, and it's clear he thinks I'm protecting Angelo, that I have some kind of affection for him, which is why he thinks I'm against him going after my stepbrother.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I inhale deeply, trying to calm my own frayed nerves. Intent on explaining my position.

“It’s not what you think.”

Ky pulls his hands out of my hold, pinching my chin between his fingers, turning my face to look at him.

“What is it then?” His demanding tone, laced with urgency, is accompanied by the intense gaze of his brown eyes piercing into my soul, making me feel utterly exposed.

I swallow nervously as he tracks the movement.