19. Trick

I’m worried how the baby shower will affect Heidi. No one in the club knows about the child she lost, and I’m not going to tell anyone her secret, but I don’t want her to be upset after it.

When I enter the common room, I expect things to be heated, tense even, but instead, the girls are sitting together, laughing and relaxed. My gaze instantly seeks out Heidi, checking for any new scars, visible or otherwise. I don’t see any sign that she is unhappy, and that makes me relax.

When she sees me, our gazes lock together, and I like the way she softens for me. She pushes up from her seat, trailing her fingers over Sophia’s head before she comes to me.

I’m not sure what to expect. I know kissing her in front of everyone earlier made her anxious, so when she rolls to her toes and claims my mouth, I don’t react at first. After a moment, my senses kick in and my hand wraps around the back of her neck, pulling her closer.

She kisses me without any uncertainty, without any embarrassment or concerns about being seen, and I fucking love it.

Eventually, she pulls back and her eyes are heated. “I missed you,” she says and, fuck, if that doesn’t make everything feel right.

“I missed you too.”

“You ready to go home?”

There was a time when she didn’t see the house as her home, so hearing her call it that unlocks any doubts I might have that she is in this with me. “Yeah, babe, I’m ready.”

We wander over to the table, and Heidi says goodbye while I gather my daughter’s things. Sophia is excited to see me, something I never thought would happen. She and I are developing a bond and I fucking love it.

On the drive home, I keep my eyes peeled, danger feeling closer than ever before. I’m not sure if it’s because I have the two most important things in my life sitting in the car with me, but I suddenly feel like the wolves are closing in. The pressure to keep both safe is a constant aching feeling inside me. I can’t lose either of them.

“Was the shower okay?”

She pulls her gaze from the side window to look at me. “Yeah, surprisingly, it was.”

“I was worried about you,” I admit.

Reaching across the centre console, Heidi places her hand on my thigh, and her searing touch is enough to calm any conflicted feelings inside me. “You don’t need to worry about me, Trick. I got through it, and the way those guys are making babies, there will be others that I’ll also get through. Does it hurt to think my child should be here with the other kids? Yeah, it tears me apart every time I think about it, but I have a place to go now to remember Sunshine and that helps.”

This woman… she is amazing, and I don’t think she has any idea how much I respect her.

When we get home, I scan the street as I get my daughter out the car seat and into the safety of the house. “She probably needs a nap,” Heidi says as she drops Sophia’s bag in the hallway.

“I’ll put her down.”

I carry my daughter up the stairs, her eyes barely staying open. She clings to my kutte, her fingers tangling in the soft leather as she tries to fight the pull of sleep. I’m careful as I lay her in the cot, and ideally, I would have changed her into one of her sleep suits, but I don’t want to disturb her.

Leaning over the railing, I press a kiss to her hair, my heart thudding. The love I feel for my child consumes me completely, and I want desperately to make her world a safer place.

Careful not to make any noise, I back out the nursery, slowly pulling the door almost closed before making my way down the landing.

I pause outside the bedroom I once shared with my late wife. I haven’t stepped foot inside since the moment I came home. I know that’s crazy, but there is a finality in opening that door and knowing it will close that chapter of my life for good.

It’s already closed…

I will never forget Mara and the things we experienced together over the years, but she’s gone and my life has to keep moving forward. My hand hovers over the door handle, and I close my eyes before pushing it down. The lock disengages, but I don’t shove it open. Instead, I release the handle and step back.

Fuck.

Raking my fingers through my hair, I head for the stairs and make my way down to the kitchen, where I can hear Heidi moving around. She glances up as I enter, and I take a moment to drink her in. I am a lucky bastard. Most people never find even one person to love them, and I’ve had two.

“Did Sophia go down okay?”

I nod, but I don’t want to talk about my daughter right now.

I prowl across the floor, capturing her between my body and the counter behind her. Slamming my lips to hers, I kiss her as if my life depends on it. Instantly, her arms come around my neck, her mouth meeting mine kiss for kiss.

Lifting her, I slide her arse onto the counter and step between her parted legs as our mouths fuse back together until we are forced apart so I can take a breath.

She lifts her bottom so I can pull her pants down, and I open my jeans just enough to free my cock. In one solid move, I surge into her body. Her nails dig into my shoulders, the gasp she makes turning my shaft into granite. I fuck her hard and fast, loving the little moans of pleasure she makes. The recklessness I feel as we both go over the edge and my cum fills her is indescribable.

Breathing hard, I bury my head in her shoulder, my legs feeling like jelly. “Fuck, that was perfection.”

I like how flushed her face is when I pull back. I like knowing I affect her full stop. “You always give me what I need.” Her hands trail over my jaw, as if tracing every inch of me.

“Let me grab some tissue.” I pull back out of her body, taking in an eyeful of my spunk dripping out of her pretty pussy. Fuck, I like how that looks.

I grab a roll of toilet paper from the packet under the sink and move between her legs again. She watches in silence as I clean her up, but the electricity between us is dizzying.

A loud bang has me instinctively pulling her off the counter and pushing her to the ground. I recognise the sound for what it is—the back gate swinging open and hitting the fence. “Stay down,” I order.

I press Heidi onto the floor as I slowly rise to peer out the kitchen window. The garden looks the same as always. The small patio area in front of the sliding doors needs weeding, and the grass beyond needs mowing, but there are no figures standing, waiting to attack. The back gate is open, the street beyond visible.

Heidi grabs my bicep as I try to creep towards the back door. “You can’t go out there alone.”

She doesn’t question whether or not we’re being attacked. She already knows how it feels to be in the firing line of our enemies and what they are capable of.

I press a kiss to the corner of her mouth, holding her head between my hands. “I have to make sure it’s safe.” I hand her my phone. “If I’m not back in a couple of minutes, call Howler, then grab Sophia and get the fuck out of the house. One of the prospects should be waiting across the street.”

Her eyes are scared, but I also see determination in them. I know that no matter what happens to me, Heidi will protect my daughter, and that loosens the bands wrapped around my ribs.

I slide the patio door open, pulling one of my knives out from my back pocket and flicking it open.

As I step into the garden, nothing moves other than the plants blowing in the breeze. I walk to the back gate and carefully peer through it, but there’s nothing on the other side either.

Checking the lock, I see nothing there. I guess the wind must have blown the catch free. I shut the gate, making sure it’s properly latched this time, and with a final scan of the garden, I head back inside.

Heidi is waiting for me, one of my knives in her hand and a fierce expression on her face that only melts away when she sees me.

I close the patio door behind me, putting my knife away as I go to her. “I thought I told you to run if I don’t come back, not arm yourself.”

The defiance in her eyes as she stares up at me is fucking hot. “You really think I would just walk out of this house, leaving you to die or get hurt?”

She grabs me by the front of my shirt, pulling me into her as she captures my mouth with a searing kiss. I kiss her back, sensing she needs this and willing to show her that I feel the same as she does. I would do anything to keep her and my daughter safe.

When we pull apart, she nuzzles against my chest, wrapping her arms tightly around me as if she’s scared to let go. “I’m not losing anyone else. I don’t care what happens to me, but I can’t bury anyone else I love, Trick. If you think I would run and leave you to die, you’re fucking wrong.”

I hold her tight, knowing that in spite of everything, there is a light in this darkness that has shrouded us for so long, and I intend to keep walking towards it.