Five

Vale

"Cookie!"

I rolled my eyes, turning away from the door and leaving it hanging open for the huge, blond-haired man who'd been leaning negligently against the frame when I'd opened the door. I'd say a different guy from the club visited me every day, but this giant seemed to be here most afternoons.

"Biter, don't you have a bank to rob or something?"

"Ow," he gasped, his heavy footfalls following me into the living room. "You wound me."

"Doubtful," I replied in a low voice. He and I had a long-running banter. We were probably as close as Kale and I were. In fact, I'd probably call Biter my best friend. Weird really. Growing up as the daughter of a prosecutor then being the wife of a cop, an association with an MC was outside the scope of my reality or imagination. Which was one reason, I never considered contacting my parents now. We'd never been close, and never in a million years would they believe I was their daughter who'd come back in another body. I wasn't even sure yet how I'd sell that news to Dayton.

"So…to what do I owe this visit?" I continued, still heading toward the kitchen. It wasn't as if I didn't already know. "If Kale wants to check on me, he could just call. Or install a security cam."

"Like you'd let him do that," Biter scoffed. "You know how Spear is. He's worried about you being out here, and he misses you. He wants you to come home."

Yeah, my brother wasn't the least bit covert about his endgame. As an ex-special forces soldier, you'd think he would be. But…no. Spear had no subtlety in him.

"This is my home now."

Biter made a humming sound. I knew without seeing him that he was looking around at all the unpacked boxes. "Love what you've done with the place, too."

Arms crossed, I spun to face him with a glare. "Fuck off, Biter."

Geez, I'd get to unpacking when I was ready.

He pouted, looking more like a puppy than a tough biker who'd earned his name by biting adversaries whenever he was on the verge of losing a tussle. At least, club legend said that was the moniker's origin. I'd never seen it. He was a dentist, so that seemed a more likely root to the name. Like all the guys, except Kale, Biter had a J.O.B. outside of club business.

"Can I at least have some cookies before you kick me out and I go back to report you're fine?"

My gaze skimmed over his perfectly lean frame. "You know the sugar will rot your teeth and ruin those perfect abs, right?"

He laughed, showing off his gloriously white and perfectly straight movie-star smile, and I wondered why I couldn't be attracted to the guy. He was like a cleaned-up version of Henry Cavill's Witcher, but a bike. Hot.

"I'm a really good brusher and flosser," he assured me while he ran his fingers over the eight-pack beneath his white tee. "Plus Wrecker would never let these babies die."

Wrecker being a local gym owner who made it his personal mission to keep all of the guys in the club—and me—in shape. Monster.

"I bet you give all little kids suckers if they're good for appointments, too."

He looked affronted. "Never! They get patches for bravery." And by that, he meant stickers. I knew that about him.

Shaking my head, I started into the kitchen again. "The cookies are already packaged up. I knew you'd be the one stopping by today."

"Chocolate chip?"

"Of course. I even burned a few for you, weirdo."

"Oh my heart," he said, slapping a hand to his wide chest. "Marry me."

I laughed again. Biter never let me get too serious. "Mmm. Let me think. No."

He made a pained sound. "Wounded again. Cookie, you're terrible for my ego—"

"Doubt it," I interrupted. Going to the counter, I picked up the two dozen cookies I'd packaged up in a plastic container. "Share these and bring this container back if you want more." I tapped the red lid with my pointer finger.

He smirked. "Will do. You know… It would be easier if you…" He trailed off and held up his hands against the withering look I leveled at him. "Okay. Okay. Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you, Spear wants you to come home tomorrow night. Family dinner. It's a church night."

"I don't go to church." Club meetings were only for the guys.

Biter lifted an eyebrow, silently challenging me.

I sighed because it was a battle I'd never win. Since the accident, Kale had been relentless about keeping me close and protecting me—something he hadn't done before, apparently. Before-Vale had run wild. I only knew that because Biter had explained it to me. Now, I'd been gone for less than two weeks, and I'd already seen all the guys more than I had when I'd lived at the club. I had a feeling if I didn't show up tomorrow, Kale would drop this pretense and haul me back there.

"Tell Kale I'll be a dinner and I'll bring dessert."

"Chocolate-chocolate seven-layer cake?" Biter's hopeful tone was almost comical. It was beyond me how he'd been a special forces soldier and now was a supposedly a hardened MC member. That guy and this guy didn't equate.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a mess?" I teased.

"Never hurts to ask. Like… Who are those cookies for? You have a secret beau?" His chin lifted toward the plastic-wrap covered plate still on the counter.

"A beau? Really, Biter? You been watching Bridgerton again?"

"Hey, I went to college. I know college words. So tell me about your new boyfriend, Cookie. I won't tell Kale. Promise." He crossed his heart like a preteen girl sharing secrets at a sleepover. It was a promise he'd never keep. Kale's men were loyal to him, down to their last drop of blood. They'd followed him into battles and still followed him today.

"No boyfriend. They're for my neighbors, Nosy."

His expression changed, all lightheartedness fading away, and he seemed to grow a foot taller. "Which neighbors? You want me to check them out?"

"No." I injected annoyed exasperation into my adamant tone. I'd never had an older brother, and now I had close to a dozen. And they were all a pain in my ass. "He's a cop. He took in his teenage brother when they lost their parents a few years ago. Pretty safe."

The fingers on one of Biter's hand curled briefly. "Not all cops are good guys, Cookie."

"Not all cops are your cousin, Biter," I shot back. Biter's cousin had done his best to find dirt on the Ghosts of Vengeance until he'd moved across state to avoid disciplinary action. I wasn't so sure he'd stopped looking, even now.

And that reminded me of another fly in the ointment of my plans. Dayton wasn't only a cop, he was a detective. Tenacious. A proverbial dog with a bone. I couldn't imagine he'd easily accept my family, and I was a package deal with them, now. The Ghosts and I were family, just as he was with Brennan.