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  “Yeah, beautiful, that’s far a better explanation than I could come up with.” His cell phone chirped from the kitchen, and Colin’s face pinched. “That’s my alarm. I have to roll if I’m going to make this flight home.”

  “Find another flight.”

  He gave her a squeeze and rolled off the couch. “Then I’d have to find another job.”

  “Can’t do that. Ryder and Jax would kill me.” She popped up and kissed his cheek. “Have a safe flight.”

  Colin tipped her back on the couch and took her mouth in a gentle kiss that made her toes curl.

  When she finally peeled her eyelids opened, he was coming from the kitchen, shirt buttoned and tucked in, keys and cell phone in hand. “You’re an awful man.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He tossed his keys, and his eyes danced. “And why’s that?”

  “It should be against the law to leave me hot and bothered after a kiss.”

  Colin winked. “Get some rest. I’ll text you when I’m wheels down in DC.” He slid his jacket on, reminding her how handsome he’d been the night before, and he put his hand in his suit pocket. “Here.”

  The heart-and key trinkets flew across the room, and she caught them, still connected. It was just a game, but it’d been perfect, and Adelia fell for him all over again.

  A silent nod was his too sexy goodbye, and Adelia beamed after he walked out the door, giggling that he locked the handle on the way out then twisted it and double-checked.

  “I’m safe inside.” She held the closest couch pillow to her chest. “Bye.”

  “Bye, beautiful,” Colin called through the door.

  Adelia tipped over on her couch and covered her face with the pillow. With one deep breath, she was lost in Colin again. The pillow smelled like him, masculine and irresistible, and she had the key to his heart in her hand.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Colin pulled into the crushed-gravel driveway and killed the engine. Dinner with his sister Sophia and Javier was as routine as drinking a cup of joe in the morning, yet Colin hadn’t unbuckled because life couldn’t have been more different than the last time they’d eaten their routine dinner.

  Dad died. The last few days were a blur, and other than texting Adelia, Colin’s life lurched by robotically. No one said crap about his phone being off over the weekend, and everyone offered condolences. His father had great advice and doled it to many of the men on his team.

  But that wasn’t going to get him through dinner with his sister. He hadn’t had to face her at the funeral, and Colin had never been so glad for a black veil. The simple barrier had been a life raft, and if it hadn’t been there, he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done—maybe flown right back to Iowa, to the woman who had a hundred times asked if she could be by his side for the services.

  He’d put on a front and acted tougher than he’d been. What foolish bullshit. After everything he’d taken from her, he couldn’t give her that truth. Maybe he was exactly like the pigs she worried about?

  Colin pushed away from the steering wheel he’d been strangling, disgusted with himself. It hadn’t been that long since Jax and Seven’s wedding, but it still felt as if years had gone by since he’d felt Adelia. Hearing her wasn’t enough.

  He glanced at the inviting house with the bright lights. Sophia and Javier waited for him inside, and he’d worked with Javier for years. What would his teammate think of Adelia with Colin? It couldn’t be much different than how Colin saw Javier and Sophia. But still, Javier would always have a short temper and Brazilian street-fighting reputation.

  Colin rubbed his temples, certain that any guy who dedicated years of his life searching for his sister would want her to be happy.

  “One way to find out.” He unbuckled and pushed out of the vehicle, following the familiar path to his sister and Javier’s front door and knocked before letting himself in. “I’m here.”

  Colin tossed his keys in the air and then flicked them on top of their mail pile as a spicy aroma filled the front hall. “Something smells good.”

  “We’re in the kitchen,” Sophia called.

  A small smile he couldn’t hide surfaced at the thought of talking to them about Adelia. He chuckled and groaned at the self-revelation. He had a crush on his teammate’s sister. In what universe did he see that coming? And how come it didn’t happen with Adelia before now?

  “Hey.” Javier walked across the kitchen as the refrigerator shut behind him with a beer for Colin in his outstretched hand. “Drink up. She’s been experimenting.”

  “With the spices of your people.” Sophia turned around with two bottles of seasoning in hand. “I can’t help it if my man likes it hot.”

  “Come on, Soph.” Colin’s nose scrunched. “Give me a break.” At least that was enough of a buzz-kill to wipe away his permanent Adelia grin.

  Javier laughed, muttering in Brazilian Portuguese, and wrapped his tattooed forearm around Sophia’s porcelain neck, kissing her until she squealed and beat him away with the seasoning shakers.

  “Cute,” Colin pointed out. “And that’s all I want to see.” They were sweet to the point of ridiculous, and all appeared normal for tonight’s dinner—no tears over Dad and Sophia didn’t launch into an immediate Colin-Adelia inquisition if she had any idea they’d disappeared together at the wedding reception.

  Colin twisted the cap off the top of the bottle and flicked it into the garbage. Perfect shot.

  He took a long drag from the icy bottle. “What’s going on?” He wiped his bottom lip with the back of his wrist. “Besides cooking for this guy?”

  Sophia’s attention turned from her husband to Colin like she’d been given directions. Her eyes danced, and the curl of her lips said that it wasn’t Javier who Colin needed to be worried with in regard to Adelia. It was his sister.

  Sophia put down the seasoning bottles and turned back in a no-nonsense half-spin. “I should ask you the same thing.”

  “There’s nothing going on.” He made a cross over his chest. Not like that would help.

  “What do you think?” Sophia turned to Javier.

  “You’re going to get yourself in trouble, buddy. She knows.”

  Of course she knew. Colin refrained from rolling his eyes or sharing that sentiment.

  Sophia leaned into his chuckling embrace. “I think…”

  “Careful, Soph,” Colin warned then slugged back another gulp of beer. No wonder Javier met him with a beer.

  “Those are hearts in your eyes…” she teased him.

  “What?” Javier balked. “Hearts? For Adelia? That’s what you’re going with?”

  “She’s a sweetheart!” Sophia batted against Javier’s chest. “Aren’t you supposed to be stomping around, growling, or throwing things? Mister Macho, overly protective—”

  Javier’s eyebrow arched. “First, I know her better than you.”

  “I know things,” Sophia protested.

  “She’s never shot at you.” Javier kissed the top of his wife’s head. “Me? Yeah. Colin, yeah.”

  “Years ago, and you all haven’t mentioned that since. Everyone’s friends.”

  Javier pointed at her then Colin and back to his chest, signaling that Colin could have done those things when it came to their coupling under questionable circumstances but didn’t. “Have you forgotten who’s involved in this conversation?”

  Sophia blushed. “We were different.”

  “Uh-huh,” Javier said unconvincingly.

  “My point is that, never, in all my years, have I ever seen my big brother—”

  “Sophia.” Colin had no idea what she might say, and he didn’t want to hear it. His hand went up like a crossing guard’s while the other wagged his beer. “Don’t finish that sentence. I don’t want to know what you think you see.”

  “Oh, I know.” The oven timer beeped. “Saved for now.”

  At least they weren’t having a heart to heart about Dad’s unexpected death.

  Javier shook his head, and he and Colin g
rabbed the piles of plates and utensils Sophia had laid out, setting about their weekly tradition.

  When the oven opened, the spicy air made Colin’s mouth water, and by the time they’d set the table, Sophia had her main dish plated and sides on the table. With their drinks in hand, they grabbed their familiar places, and as Colin shook out his napkin for his lap, he noticed that his sister hadn’t moved.

  Javier and Colin picked up dishes to serve themselves, but this wasn’t going to work. “Okay, let’s get this over with so we can have a normal dinner. What do you have to say, Soph?”

  “Thank you.” She took her seat. “I want to know your opinion on her. That’s it.”

  Man, she didn’t even have to take a breath or think of a question.

  Then again, he didn’t have to either. “Adelia’s sweet and beautiful.”

  Sophia’s “aw” was loud enough the neighbors could have heard. Colin gave an uncomfortable flat grin. “Now, are you going to eat?”

  She fluttered her eyelashes. “I don’t remember you sharing from the heart like that before.”

  He didn’t remember doing a lot of things before Dad died. In the short amount of time since, Colin had made a couple decisions that were significantly out of step from his norm, but not enough that he planned to share with Sophia. “I can’t recall a hunger strike.” He took a plate from Javier and scooped some Feijoada. “Thanks.”

  Javier nodded, putting some on her plate.

  “Well, then should we talk about Dad, or do you want to avoid that too?”

  With his fork in hand, Colin froze. “Can’t we just eat?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, of course. More worried about Mom than anything else.”

  “Funny, she said the same thing about you.” Sophia speared a piece of chicken.

  “Dinner looks great,” Colin tried to change the subject, picking at his meal. The hairs in his nose burned before he took the first bite.

  “Are we done talking then?” Sophia muttered.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m broke up over Dad, and I like a girl.”

  “You’re right.” She put her fork down and pushed away from the table. Javier watched, and Colin didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. But she didn’t walk out of the kitchen. Instead, she rounded the table, and wrapped her arms around him.

  He and Javier exchanged knowing looks, and Colin hugged her. It’d been too long since he’d done that. “Sorry, Sophia. I should’ve been here for you, too.”

  She sniffled. “It’s okay.”

  Colin rubbed her back, remembering all the ways he loved to take care of his sister. It wasn’t only Javier’s responsibility. When she gave him a quiet squeeze, he did the same, and she moved from him to Javier, muttering about killing the mood for Brazilian dinner.

  “No, Paixao, you didn’t.”

  Sophia finally made her way back to her chair, the full circle complete, and brushing the silence away as though she were embarrassed, she thanked Colin for the hug.

  “Don’t worry about it. I should’ve done it before.”

  “You know what that reminded me of?” She picked up her fork, turning to Javier. “Our Dad used to tell us when we were kids and he’d go on these long diplomatic trips, that hugs and kisses, hand holds—” Her voice cracked. “Meaningful touches are written into memories so that you can always remember that person when you need them the most.”

  Colin’s fork fell limp in his hand. “I forgot how he’d say that.”

  Sophia nodded at Javier. “But only with the most special of people.”

  Colin’s life had been filled with advice from his father, and it always felt like instructions on how to win, conquer, or simply survive. Those words were almost haunting for how strong the gut punch landed. They’d come to Colin with Adelia right after he’d died.

  After spending a day in a church questioning what the hell he’d been doing with his life and where he needed to go, maybe he’d known the answer more than he already thought he did.

  Adelia was part of his future.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Adelia cuddled next to Seven on a couch in Mayhem’s parlor overlooking the pool tables as Seven regaled her with tales of epic, never-to-be-shared romantic honeymoon moments. Adelia couldn’t see Jax acting as sweet at Seven swore he was. Maybe that was like Colin. Each day that passed since they’d said goodbye in person had been filled with sweet nothing calls and text messages that made her buzz like a bee.

  Even as Adelia laid her head on Seven’s pink-hair-covered shoulder, wondering why Mayhem was partying harder than normal tonight, she could close her eyes and feel Colin’s stomach touching hers and his confident fingers covering her body.

  Thick smoke billowed from cigars clenched between MC members’ teeth and held in their hands as beer bottles clanked raucous laughter mixed with crude flirting as bottle girls boozed up the guys and biker babes hunted for attention.

  Tex and Lenora entered the room, attached at the hip. Her Pops raised a beer bottle to greet them on the couch, but Lenora pulled away as Tex smacked her ass. She snorted and threw her middle finger in the air, sliding onto the other end of the couch. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “We’re playing pool, babe,” Tex said as he walked past, waving away recruits from their game, and racked the balls.

  What would Tex be like if she hadn’t been thrust into his life? No doubt a thousand times rougher around the edges—and maybe Lenora wouldn’t even be his old lady. She made him happy, even if most people couldn’t tell. He came off strong and had to as part of Mayhem’s leadership council, but behind the gruff, grousing, beer-drinking attitude problem, he had a heart. Whether that was because of her and Lenora, Adelia had no idea.

  “Keep your phone on you.” Lenora raised her eyebrows. “I heard there’s a distributor who received an unexpected shipment of merchandise. They’re going to move it quickly.”

  Merchandise meant people, and Adelia hated the terminology. “Why quickly? How quickly?”

  “Fast.” She relaxed on the edge of the couch as though they weren’t discussing a surprise delivery. “My client said his boy doesn’t want it and has no place to store—”

  “Them,” Adelia snapped. “Not it. Them.”

  Seven touched her knee. “We know.”

  “Fire sale. First come, first served. A large quantity, but it’ll, I mean, they’ll, go cheap.”

  Large but expensive still meant that Adelia needed more money immediately. “How sure are you?”

  “Get your network near Baltimore ready.” Lenora waved to Ethan as he walked from the hallway where Mayhem’s office was. “And like I said, keep your phone on.”

  The combination of this conversation and the club’s treasurer walking by gave Adelia the willies. “It’s on.”

  “Good.”

  “You breakin’ or what?” Tex held a stick for Lenora.

  “Hold your horses, big fellow.”

  And that was it. Lenora swept herself off the couch and swayed toward the pool table like she hadn’t just dropped a bomb.

  She took the pool stick and moved to the end of the table, teasing Tex as she broke and called her shot.

  But Adelia couldn’t make her mind work fast enough to comprehend how Lenora was collected enough to slide into a game, break that cleanly, and call her shot.

  “Would you be upset if,” Seven mumbled.

  “If what?”

  “I told Jax.”

  Adelia bit her lip. “Would you?”

  “I’ve never intentionally kept anything from him, but he keeps away from Mayhem business. It’s our unsaid rule.”

  “I think it’s an unsaid rule that it’s never discussed ever.”

  Seven shrugged a shoulder. “Well, that might be because everyone wants to live, ya know.”

  Adelia wrapped her arms around her best friend. “Thank you.”

  Seven’s pink hair fell over her face as she squeezed back. “What for?
”

  “Being you. For doing what you’ve done over the years when this is way more than you ever signed up for.” She let go. “And really, if you think you should tell Jax what we do, then tell him.”

  Seven held up her hand. “No. Mayhem has their code, and if it ever got out accidentally what we’ve done, no one would understand this culture.” She waved across the parlor. “I’m not sure I understand it.”

  “And you are Mayhem.”

  “As much as I can stand to be.”

  Adelia would never know what it might be like to have Cullen Blackburn, founding father of the MC, as her father, but she would always support Seven. “But we protect our own.”

  “Even when we’ve decided like this,” Seven whispered. “If it ever gets out, whoever it burns should take it to the grave.”

  “Amen.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Adelia’s underground network would never get exposed. Not unless she was caught red-handed. If it was going to happen, it would have been in the early years, when she had no idea what she was doing, and she and Seven had spent time under the most ridiculous of circumstances finding people to help and then relocating them without any resources.

  “Let’s hope that Amen heads from your lips to the motorcycle god’s ears,” Seven whispered.

  Adelia’s text message notification chirped, and they jumped.

  “That’s probably someone else.” She waved Seven’s attention away, suddenly unsure that she wanted her best friend looking over her shoulder if Colin’s name popped up with an overly sweet message preview.

  Seven’s forehead pinched, and her chin lifted, giving Adelia enough time to grab her phone and glance. Not Colin. “Or not.”

  She opened the message and it was a small distributor, explaining that they had a larger shipment than usual, and they didn’t care how or where it went, but it had to go. The last line broke Adelia’s heart. All offers considered.

  Seven groaned. They both knew that horrible circumstances were expected, but when there was no rock bottom, it was abysmal.

  They went to work quickly, making sure they had contacts in the Baltimore area who could respond to them tonight. It was easier said than done on short notice. They were Mayhem old ladies, and they had to get off their grounds, compound, or out of their houses without raising suspicion. No easy task at night.