I nod. “Let’s earn your patch, sweetheart.” I point to Leo. “You, stay here. I’m counting on you to keep Lia and Zoey safe. We don’t know what this asshole’s got planned, but if he knows where the building is, you can be damned sure he knows how to find this house.” I take Leo’s shoulder in my hand and pull him close. “Keep. Them. Safe. I’m counting on you.”

  Leo’s eyes are wide, but his lips are set in a determined line. “I will, man. You can count on me. Do you want me to call 9-1-1?”

  “Not yet,” I say, shaking my head. “I want that cocksucker all to myself first.”

  I fly toward the building, not giving a shit if I get pulled over for speeding. At this hour, I’ll risk it. I know whatever he’s planning, he’s likely doing alone, so my best hope is for the element of surprise. I cut the lights on the truck as I slow.

  I can see a car parked off to the far side of the lot, almost hidden in the unlit tree line. I pull over right next to the car, blocking it in as best I can with my truck. He’ll be able to get around me, but that’s only if he makes it back to his car.

  As soon as I park, I see the orange. Flames.

  “Jerry!” Alice is out of the car in a flash, screaming at the top of her lungs. “You motherfucking asshole, you set a fire!”

  I can’t see shit, but since I know he’s gotta still be here, I turn the wheel of the truck and flip the headlights on high beam.

  The building isn’t engulfed in flames, but it looks like there are two fires. One coming from inside one of the storefronts, and a smaller one that lights up the night sky from someplace behind the building.

  Then it hits me.

  It can only be one thing.

  Leo’s grandpa’s truck.

  Alice disappears in the dark, running toward the fire and screaming bloody murder for Jerry to come out. I dial 9-1-1 and report the fire, giving them the address of this place. I tell them it’s arson, and the suspect is still on the property, that we caught him in the act. Then I drop my phone, because I know damn well I’ve got a matter of minutes before law enforcement arrives. And if I have any hope of tearing this motherfucker’s face off and calling it self-defense, I’ve got probably three minutes to find him.

  But I don’t have to look too hard. I hear screams and the sounds of a violent struggle coming from behind the building.

  I race back there and see Alice holding a two-by-four she must have picked up from someplace near the dumpster. She’s swinging it like a baseball bat and swearing.

  “I’m gonna kill you, you bitch,” Jerry says. “And your filthy loser boyfriend. And then I’m gonna find your no-good kid, and I’m gonna tell her what a goddamn whore of a mother she had!”

  Alice runs full speed toward Jerry, swinging the board toward his face.

  “I dare you, Jerry, you piece-of-shit coward. I never loved you. I’ve always hated you! Now, come here and try to hurt me. You just try, you worthless piece of shit!”

  She races toward him again and again, lurching and swinging, but she misses every time. He dodges and weaves away, but he stays close enough to taunt her with more threats.

  “Fuck you and your sister and your friends and your goddamn daughter!” His words are ugly, and they match his face, twisted and mottled in the blazing light from the fires.

  I hear sirens in the distance, and I know we’re out of time. Almost.

  Jerry hasn’t seen me yet, so I creep quietly around the burning truck and come up from behind him. Alice sees me approach but doesn’t say a word. She keeps screaming at him, swearing, and swinging her makeshift bat at his face.

  “Fuck you!” she screams again. “I hate you!”

  Jerry does the thing then that will be his undoing. He races forward and slaps Alice, full on the face. He lands a perfect blow that sends her staggering backward. She drops the board and falls to her knees, gripping her face in her hands.

  “Big mistake, fuckwad,” I say. Just as Jerry straightens and pulls his hand back to land another blow, I grab it, twist it, and hear the crack that lets me know his poor little arm won’t be striking my baby ever again.

  He shrieks like a cat whose tail’s been run over by a car. “You fucking broke my arm! I’m pressing charges, you goddamn maniac! You broke my arm!”

  “You hit my baby, you motherfucking douchebag,” I say, making sure to twist his arm a little harder to drive home the point. “And you’re burning down my building. So, I think the charges that are going be filed are gonna be against you.”

  “Fuck you!” Jerry tries to wrestle away from me, but all he can do is shriek in pain every time he moves.

  “Alice,” I call calmly. “Baby, are you okay? I don’t really wanna let this guy go before the cops get here. Can you reach your two-by-four?”

  Alice is standing up, and while it guts me to see, blood drips down the side of her face where Jerry hit her and his ring cut her cheek. But the look on her face leaves no room for sympathy. No room for worry. Alice’s face is a mask of raw emotion. Rage. Fury. White-hot anger.

  She nods and grabs the board from the ground, staggering forward, her eyes looking from Jerry’s dick to his face. I love this woman. She’s actually trying to decide where to land her blow.

  “Take your shot while you’ve got it, baby,” I say. “Time’s running out.”

  The flames are crawling toward the stars, and the sirens are growing louder and longer. Help is close.

  Then Alice does something that surprises me. She drops the board. She walks up to Jerry and looks him in the eye. Her face is sweating and bloody, her hair stained red and mangled from the furious swings she took at him earlier.

  She watches Jerry, evaluating her move, and as much as I want to twist—just one more flick of my wrist and I’ll nearly tear the dude’s arm off—I don’t. Something in me holds back. Knows that this moment is between Alice and her tormentor. This moment belongs to her.

  “Fuck you, Jerry. I hope you rot.” She steps slightly away from us and kicks him as hard as she can in the junk.

  I almost feel the impact of her kick in my nuts. Jerry screams like a bitch and drops to his knees. The pressure on his arm, which I still hold firm in my hands, causes a second agonizing scream to tear from his lips.

  “Sorry, babe,” Alice says, her voice caustic with sarcasm. “But I learned it’s a lot better to never leave a mark.” She shrugs. “Then there’s no proof.”

  Jerry is coughing and dry heaving, rolling on the ground when the fire trucks arrive. A squad car isn’t far behind, and they take Jerry into custody while the fire marshal takes Alice and me aside to ask some questions. She pulls out the app on her phone and shows them the still images the doggie cams caught. Jerry sneaking into the property. Trashing the inside of the stores. And then setting fire to the building, Leo’s truck, and even the dumpster, but that stupid motherfucker couldn’t get the dumpster to ignite. That extra couple minutes he struggled to set fire to the dumpster are probably what kept him there long enough for us to catch him in the act.

  Serves him right.

  The photos seem to be all the evidence they need. When they take Jerry away on a stretcher, he’s accompanied by two cops and handcuffed to the gurney.

  25

  “Princess Zoey! Come on, you’re gonna be late for your first day of school.” Lia scurries around the kitchen, holding two of her dogs. “I can’t find your lunch. Did you already put your lunch in your backpack?”

  “I did.” Alice hands Lia the brand-new princess backpack, complete with a new, soft-sided lunchbox.

  “Mommy!” Zoey skids into the kitchen on her favorite pair of glitter shoes. “Do we have time for Lia to braid feathers into my hair?”

  Alice chuckles and checks the time. “Not this morning, sweetheart. Let’s leave something special for your second day at the new school, okay?”

  Leo fills a travel mug with coffee and grabs a banana from a bowl of fruit on the counter. “See you around ten?” he asks.

  I nod. “We’ll be there. If the insurance people get there before I do, just get started without me. You know the property even better than I do.”

  After the fire was put out and Jerry was arrested and charged with arson, we got Zoey enrolled in school and filed a claim with the insurance company to get the building repaired. Since most of the contents had been pulled out before the closing, all the fire damage was minimal. The walls and floors needed tearing out, but we would have replaced that anyway. Thankfully, the insurance money will help pay to restore some of Leo’s grandfather’s truck too.

  “Start without you. Got it, boss.” Leo nods and ruffles Zoey’s hair as he says goodbye. “Have a great first day, princess.”

  “Leo,” Zoey groans. “Don’t mess up my hair. Lia just finished it.”

  Alice smooths back the hairs Leo messed up, although, to be fair, I think she looks the same as she did. “Okay, my love. Have a great day. I’ll see you when you get home from school. Make new friends, don’t be shy. And just have fun.”

  Zoey kisses her mom, then takes Lia’s hand as they head out to Tiny’s truck. “Shy?” Zoey chatters, tossing her perfect little backpack over her shoulders. “I’m not ever shy. Why would Mama say that?”

  Lia waves as they head out, tossing a smile back at us.

  Then finally, Alice and I are alone.

  I cross the kitchen and pull her against my chest. “Come on,” I say. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  “Mmm, what kind of surprise?” Alice’s caramel eyes light up, and her sugar-sweet smile fills my senses as I lean down to kiss her.

  “Come on. I’ll show you.”

  I take her hand and lead her through the house, out to Leo’s garage. I pop the door and wait for the mechanical slats to slide away, revealing what I’ve left inside for my sweet little bird.

  “Morris?” Alice twirls to face me. “What is this?”

  We’ve been jockeying cars and trucks, depending on what we need, where we need to go, but I’ve also been parking my motorcycle in Leo’s garage. On the ground beside it is a gift-wrapped box.

  “That’s for you,” I say, pointing to the box. “Open it.”

  While she opens her gift, I watch her. This is the woman I want to make my old lady. The one I want to make memories with, make love to—hell, make something I never thought I’d ever want, but which now I know I need. A family.

  “Morris…” Alice turns to face me, her eyes wet with tears. “This is…this is just…”

  “You’ve earned it, baby.”

  She pulls a brand-new, custom-painted motorcycle helmet from the box. The helmet itself is a perfect shiny black, but inked on the back in smoky gray and red are an enormous pair of wings.

  “It’s not a patch, but they’re yours. Your new set of wings.” I help her slide the helmet over her hair and size it to fit.

  “Morris, I don’t know what to say.” Her voice is shaking, and she’s smiling through her tears.

  “Say you’ll go for a ride with me, sweetheart. Say you’ll get back up with me, no matter how many times life knocks us down and tries to break us. Say you’ll fly with me as long as we both have wings.”

  She clings to me in a tight hug, made a little awkward by the bulk of the helmet. I laugh and pull a matching one for me from where I hid it behind some of Leo’s grandpa’s old tools.

  “Shall we?” I ask. I hold out a hand to my old lady. We’ve got close to three hours before my new office manager and I need to be at the property to meet with the insurance people. Plenty of time.

  Alice climbs on behind me, and I feel her grip me tight around the waist.

  “You scared, baby?”

  If the strength of her grip is any indication, she’s stain-her-panties terrified. And that’s the last thing I want to cause her.

  “No.” She whispers it against my back.

  But I know the truth.

  I feel it.

  She is afraid, but she trusts me.

  She’s uncertain how to hold on and trust.

  But she is.

  She’s doing it.

  I think back to all the times in her life when she must have been afraid. Facing the future alone with Zoey and no help, no support.

  When she realized the man she married was nothing more than a douchebag in a suit. When she made the plan that brought her into my world. The attention and care that went into every detail. She had to be that way. Had to put her little girl first. Had to put her strength and heart and head together and push the terror away.

  I climb off the bike and check the time on my phone.

  “What is it?” Alice looks concerned. “Did I say something wrong?”

  I shake my head and reach for her hand. “Nope,” I tell her. “And let’s get one thing straight. You never have to worry about saying anything wrong to me.”

  Alice’s nostrils flare as she takes in a deep breath. She’s listening to my words, but her eyes sear into mine. She’s thinking fast, wondering what I’m thinking. What I want.

  The last thing I want is for this thing between us to remind her of anything she’s been through before. That fucker Cruz. That loser whose name I don’t even need to know, the jizz-stain that brought beautiful Zoey into the world.

  “Come here,” I say.

  Alice steps off the bike and removes her helmet before she steps close to me. “What is it, Morris?” she asks, her caramel eyes going dark.

  I reach past her and click the button on the wall that closes the garage door behind us.

  “Morris?” Alice looks confused. “Aren’t we going to ride?”

  I nod. “Soon. There’s something I want to get straight with you first.”

  Alice meets my eyes, a slight frown tugging her full lips downward. “Okay. What is it?” she asks.

  I bend my head to hers and kiss her lips lightly.

  “Cruz was the last worthless motherfucker to lay his hands on you,” I grit out against her lips. “From now on, if I touch you, it’s because you want it so badly, you’re begging for it. If you’ve got something to say, you fucking say it. You wanna call me a no-good motherfucker because I didn’t take out the trash, you do it.”

  I lift her chin and meet her questioning stare.

  “Alice,” I say before sweeping her mouth with my tongue. “I’m not expecting you to trust me overnight, to put the past completely behind you. But I want you to try. No fear. Between you and me, there’s none of that old shit. You wanna walk away from me, you walk. You wanna run toward me, you climb aboard and ride me hard. We clear?”

  Alice swallows. She blinks at me, a shimmer of tears making me unsure whether she’s happy or sad. I’m not left wondering what’s behind the look for long, though. Alice leans close and rests a palm against my chest.

  “We’re clear,” she says. “And Morris?”

  I nod.

  “Thank you.” Alice rests her forehead against me, and I wrap my hands around her waist.

  “Nothing to thank me for, darlin’,” I say. I’m about to climb back on the bike so we can get this ride underway when Alice stops me.

  “Nobody’s home,” she whispers against me, a puff of sugary sweetness reaching my nose. “And we have a little time…”

  “Yeah? What’d you have in mind?”

  My sweet little bird steps away from me and gives me a saucy lift of one eyebrow. “There’s another kind of ride I’d like to take on this bike,” she says.

  I like the way this woman thinks.

  I nod and cross my arms over my chest as Alice slips her hands under her tank top. She shrugs the fabric over her shoulders and stands before me in another pair of those ass-hugging yoga pants and a whisper-thin bra. Her nipples bead up as I stare at them, almost like they know what my mouth has in store.

  “Mmm-hmm,” I mutter, trying hard to let her take the lead. Everything in me wants to grab her hips, turn her over my bike, and show her all the ways I want to ride. But this moment is about our connection. About Alice leading the way. About Alice learning to trust me. And that’s a lesson I’m more than happy to wait for.

  Alice reaches behind her and unclasps her bra with a single satisfying snap. Her firm tits are free, and the warm air in the garage pebbles her skin. Her eyes blaze, and I know she wants to know how I feel about what I’m seeing. She wants encouragement, and fuck, how I want to give it to her.

  “Fuck me, Alice,” I say. “Your body…your smile…”

  Before the words are out, she’s completely naked, standing before me looking proud and not even a little shaky.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asks, a tease in her voice. “That belt won’t unbuckle itself.”

  I waste no time freeing my dick from the confines of my jeans. Alice doesn’t even wait for me to step out of them. She turns and bends deep at the waist, supporting her weight on the seat of my bike. As she tries to settle herself so the bike doesn’t tip over, she starts cracking up.

  “This sounded a lot sexier than it seems to be turning out,” she says.

  “This is very fucking sexy,” I assure her. “But let’s make sure we don’t tip over. A sex accident in his garage would be real awkward to explain to Leo tonight.”

  Still wearing my shirt, I step out of my jeans so I can walk Alice’s naked body toward the wall of the garage. Leo’s got tools hanging on hooks, but there are more than enough places where Alice can brace herself with her tiny palms.

  She faces the garage wall, and I bury my mouth against her neck, kissing her ears, her hair, and reaching around her to pinch those tight nipples until she purrs. She widens her stance, opening her legs and jutting her ass up against me.

  “Morris,” she begs. “Please.”

  I angle my cock against her ass and work my hips so the head slides smooth as satin between her thighs. She wobbles as if her knees are weak, and I move my hands to her hips. She gasps, then gives a little disappointed groan when I move my hands from her tits, but she won’t be wanting for long.

  I slide myself against her lips, teasing her folds with my dick until she’s writhing, her hips working hard against me to angle her ass to feel more of my cock. I know she wants me inside. I want to feel her electric tremors beneath me as I make her come, but I want her to enjoy this. I want to take my time, taking her from slick and ready to drenched and desperate.