Beck stood outside the jail cell of a man he’d helped put behind bars several years ago. A man Beck needed to do something for him now. A man who’d thought him a friend until Beck turned on him and took him down.

Two guards stood beside him. King lounged on the top bunk, looking relaxed and indifferent, despite the black-and-blue shiner, cut lip, and swollen knuckles, keeping up appearances as just another inmate. He was anything but. King’s eyes darted to the wall beside Scott Lewis. Beck stepped to the side so he could see what King wanted him to see. Beck’s heart beat faster when his gaze landed on the colorful drawings taped to the wall. Ones he recognized as Adam’s art.

“Trigger? Is that you?”

Beck purposefully left his jacket in the warden’s office with Ashley and pulled up his sleeves so Scott would see his tattoos and recognize him.

“Hey, man.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Scott’s angry gaze narrowed with rage.

“We need to talk.”

Scott spoke over him. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“About Adam,” Beck finished.

Scott moved to the bars, clamped his hands on them, and leaned his face between them. “What about my son?”

Beck nodded toward the officers to let him out.

“Step back,” one of the officers ordered.

Scott did as he was told, but his sharp gaze never left Beck’s.

“Open ten,” the guard spoke into his radio. The bars slid open a moment later.

Scott held his fists at his sides, but didn’t move to leave his cell.

“The warden wants to see you.” Beck waited.

“I want to know about my boy.”

“Come with me, and I’ll tell you everything.”

Scott glanced at the wall beside him. “I haven’t heard from his mother in almost a year.”

“I will tell you why.”

“Is he dead?”

“No. But he is in protective custody.”

Scott hung his head, understanding what Beck didn’t say. “Jackie.” Scott understood she was dead. He finally walked out of his cell and stood on the white line in the alleyway between the two officers.

“You, too.” The officer waved King out of the cell.

“What the fuck did I do?”

“Started a fight in the mess hall. Now you get to clean it up.”

King fell in line behind Scott, moving a bit slow after taking down a rival to the band of misfits Scott ran in this hellhole, his swollen face a mask of barely restrained rage. Beck gave him credit for playing his part. He just might make it through this dangerous situation that even Beck would have balked at taking.

Beck hoped to make things a bit easier but no less dangerous for him with this talk with Scott. Beck pulled his sleeves down, hoping no one else recognized him with his hair cut and arms covered. He stared straight ahead as they walked out of the cell block to mean taunts and bawdy and unwanted requests that sent a chill up Beck’s spine.

Beck opened the door to the warden’s office and let Scott and King walk in ahead of him. The two guards stood outside after Beck closed the door.

“Holy shit, you’re Ashley Swan.” Scott stared at her, his jaw open.

Ashley walked away from the window she’d been staring out and went to Scott. She held out her hand. “Scott, it’s so nice to meet you.”

He stared at her hand for a good five seconds, then wiped his hand on his red jumpsuit, and took her hand, shaking it softly. “It’s nice to meet you. What are you doing here?” The disbelief that she’d be here of all places filled his voice.

“I came to talk to you.”

“Let her go and take a seat,” the warden ordered Scott.

He let Ashley loose and did what the warden said.

Ashley turned to the warden. “Thank you for setting up this meeting. I appreciate it. If you don’t mind, what I have to say to Scott is personal and between us.”

“I’m not leaving you in here alone with two unrestrained inmates.”

Ashley smiled at Scott and King, then back at the warden. “I’m positive they’ll behave themselves.”

Beck stepped forward and laid a hand on Scott’s shoulder, giving him a hard squeeze, mostly to appease the warden, but also warning Scott to be good. “I’ve got this, warden. There are some things you don’t want to be privy to. Plausible deniability and all that.”

“Special Agent Cooke, I leave her safety in your hands and hold you personally responsible if this goes south.”

“It won’t. Her safety means my life.”

The warden reluctantly left them alone, though Beck had no doubt the two guards remained by the door. Just in case.

King rose and went to Ashley, hugging her close. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, beautiful.”

“What happened to you?” Ashley gently touched King’s battered face.

King cocked his head toward Scott. “I saved his ass this morning.”

Scott eyed them. “What the hell is going on? How do you”—he pointed to King—“know her?” His gaze shot to Ashley, suspicious of them both.

Beck moved behind Ashley and sat back against the warden’s desk. “You know I’m DEA.”

“Yeah, I figured that out when I got arrested and you were the only one besides me who knew where and when that shipment would be delivered.”

“You arrested him?” Ashley turned, disbelief in her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want to squash your hopes that Scott would turn you down outright when he found out what you and I want.” He turned his attention back to Scott. “I’m a cop. You’re a drug dealer. You’re facing a long sentence because of what you did, not because of who I am. I hope you can keep that in mind.”

“I still have no fucking clue what is going on here.” He turned to King. “Are you a fucking cop?”

“DEA. I work with him, and we need your help.”

“Like I’d fucking help either of you.” Scott put his hands on the chair arms and went to stand.

Ashley put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him down. “I hope you’ll change your mind.” Ashley took the seat beside him and turned it so she sat facing Scott. “I’m not sure how much you’ve seen on TV about what happened to me.”

“The two of you getting taken down on the road by those men was really cool.”

Beck shook his head. “Yeah, loads of fun.”

“Looked just like one of the movies you’ve been in,” he said to Ashley, then turned back to Beck. “I didn’t make the connection between that guy with her and you.”

Beck tilted his mouth into a lopsided frown. “Too bad Guzman did, though I put a bullet in his head after he sold Ashley back to Brice and before he kidnapped your son again.”

“Again?” Scott moved to the edge of his seat. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Ashley laid her hand over the scorpion tattoo on Scott’s arm. A symbol many of the men in Guzman’s organization wore. “Did you know Jackie worked for Brice?”

“No. She sent me letters about Adam. Pictures from him, but she kept the details about their life to a minimum. I didn’t want anyone knowing where my son was. Just in case.”

In case someone wanted revenge and went after his kid.

“She worked for Brice at his ranch. They had a relationship.”

“I heard what he did to those women. The ones they found buried in his yard. Are you telling me she was one of them?”

Ashley had asked the sheriff to hold off notifying Scott about Jackie and Adam, so she could do it herself. “Yes.”

“That bastard tortured her to death?”

“Not exactly. When I met her, they were having an affair of sorts. She warned me away. When I couldn’t escape, she pleaded with Brice to let me go. For going against him, for not following his rules, he killed her.”

“Are you saying she’s been dead for nearly a year and that’s why I haven’t heard from her?”

“Yes.”

Scott sat quietly for a moment, absorbing the news and holding back the grief Beck saw in his eyes, but Scott didn’t let out. He couldn’t. As an inmate for the last several years, he’d learned never to show emotion or any sign of weakness.

Scott finally spoke. “What happened to Adam?”

“Adam remained at Brice’s house, mostly hidden away in a room all alone, barely fed, beaten when he disobeyed.” Beck hoped Scott thought about his own circumstance living here in a cell at the mercy of his jailers.

Scott’s hands fisted on his thighs. “Is he okay?”

“At first he barely spoke. He shied away from everyone.” Beck thought back to those first few days. “But he saw me as a protector and showed me more and more the bright, happy little boy he’d had to hide away from Brice. He feared being punished for the simplest thing, like spilling crumbs on the floor. He got over that with me when I showed him that not all men are mean.” Beck kept his gaze locked with Scott. Yes, he was the man who’d taught Scott’s son to trust again. “He loves sweets and Scooby-Doo and Ashley. When Ashley finally had an opportunity to escape, she didn’t hesitate to take Adam with her. She carried him for miles in four-inch heels and a ball gown three sizes too small for her with four cracked ribs and lash marks up and down her thighs. You want a mother for him who will protect that boy, love him, put their life on the line for him—she’s proven she’ll do all that and more. Hell, she blackmailed a judge to change Brice’s will so his entire estate goes to his one and only heir—Adam.”

Scott slapped his leg and gaped at Ashley. “Damn, you don’t play.”

“Brice owed him a debt and I made sure he’d pay up for taking Adam’s mother away from him.”

Fury flashed in Scott’s eyes. “Oh, he’ll pay.”

Beck exchanged a look with Ashley, reading the threat of revenge in Scott’s eyes. With Brice in the prison infirmary recovering from his injuries, and word spreading fast that he was here, it was only a matter of time before Brice and Scott crossed paths. Beck wouldn’t want to be Brice when he faced off with Adam’s father.

Beck couldn’t help thinking that Brice and Scott ending up in the same prison had something to do with the powerful people Brice pissed off. Beck smelled a setup, but couldn’t prove it or do anything about it.

“Where is Adam now?” Scott demanded.

“Protective custody with my brother and his fiancée. Caden is also with the DEA.”

Scott nodded, taking a moment to absorb that, too.

Ashley held out the papers she’d been holding. “I had a busy morning. In addition to getting Adam’s compensation . . .”

“You make it sound like you got him an insurance settlement.” Scott shook his head and smiled, admiring Ashley for her ingenuity.

“I also got the judge to give me and Beck guardianship over Adam so he doesn’t end up in foster care.”

Scott’s eyebrows went up as he stared at Ashley. “Aren’t you the badass.”

“We only get to keep this so long as you don’t ask a judge to revoke it and send Adam to his grandmother in Florida. She’s raising Adam’s cousins down there, and they’ll probably end up in a place like this in the next five to ten if they keep on the path they’re headed down right now.”

Scott scrubbed his hands over his face and head. “I don’t want him in foster care or in Florida, so what do you want from me? He’s my son. I thought Jackie was taking care of him. Instead she’s fucking a psychopath and allowing that sick fuck to hit and terrorize my kid.”

“I want you to sign over your parental rights and allow Beck and me to adopt Adam. We will raise him as our son.”

Scott fell back in the chair, his mouth open, eyes filled with disbelief. “You want me to just give him up?”

“You aren’t getting out of here anytime soon.” Ashley gave Scott the cold hard truth. “Do you want him to end up at his grandmother’s where at best he’ll be taken care of but allowed to run wild like his cousins, or put in the foster care system where God knows what will happen to him? Beck and I want him. We’ll give him a good life. I promise you that.”

“He’s my son, and you just want to take him from me because I’m in here.”

“We want to give Adam the life you can’t.” To help him make his decision, Beck took out his phone and called Caden, who was expecting the Skype call.

Beck smiled at Adam when his cute face appeared on-screen.

“Beck.” Adam’s smile and joy at seeing him warmed Beck’s heart.

“Hey, buddy. What are you doing?”

“Making peanut butter cookies with Aunt Mia.”

“Are you going to save one for me?” Since Brice’s arrest, he and Ashley went to see Adam every night. Now, they wanted to take him home.

Adam stuffed half a cookie in his mouth, smiled around it, then mumbled, “Maybe.”

Beck laughed. He loved seeing Adam so carefree. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. When am I coming home?” He asked that every time he talked to him or Ashley. He really did think of Beck’s place as home and Beck and Ashley as the ones who’d take care of him for the rest of his life. “Soon. I’m trying to work that out right now. Do you remember your dad?”

“Kinda. I make him pictures.”

“He keeps them on his wall.” Beck glanced at Scott watching him back. “Do you want to talk to him?”

“I guess so.”

Beck felt for Scott and the sadness in his eyes. His own son didn’t know him. Not really. Not as anything more than an absent father. “Here he is.”

Beck turned the phone to Scott and handed it over. Scott held it reverently and stared at his son, probably for the first time in a couple of years. The guy who had to hold everything inside and be tough as nails and coldhearted to survive jail teared up at the sight of his son. “Oh man, you got so big.”

“I can read. Aunt Mia helps.”

Choked up, Scott said, “She does. That’s real good, Adam. You keep at it. You learn as much as you can.”

“I want to see Ashley.”

“She’s here with me. You like her a lot.”

“Yes. She saved me from the bad man. Are you a bad guy?”

“I’m trying not to be,” Scott answered, looking up at Beck. “I heard about your mom, buddy.”

“The bad man hit her. She went to sleep. I tried to wake her up. He took her away. I don’t think she’s coming back.”

Beck shared a look with Ashley, silently letting her know they’d do everything they could to help Adam understand what he’d seen and cope with what it meant.

“She’s not coming back,” Scott confirmed for Adam.

“Are you coming back to take care of me now?”

Scott leaned his elbows on his knees, held the phone in one hand so Adam could see him, and scrubbed his hand over his mouth and jaw. “I’m sorry, son. I can’t come home.” Scott looked from Beck to Ashley, then back to his son. “Do you want to stay with Beck and Ashley?”

“I’m going home with them soon.”

“Are you happy at home with them?”

Adam nodded. “Beck lets me sit on the horse. I help him exercise. He’s like a big ride.”

Scott glanced up at Beck.

“He likes to sit on my back while I do push-ups. I carry him around on my shoulders so he thinks he’s a giant. Stuff like that.”

“We’re going to make a snowman,” Adam added. “He promised. I told Uncle Caden we can’t because I have to do it with Beck.”

“Are you having fun with Uncle Caden and Aunt Mia?”

“She cooks real good and hugs nice. I beat Uncle Caden in the car race again last night.”

“Sounds like you like it there.”

“Yeah, but I want to go home.”

“Home with Beck and Ashley?”

“Yeah. She needs me. I make her smile. She only smiled when I snuck out and she saw me. The bad man broke her arm when she stopped him from hitting me.”

Scott turned to Ashley and saw the tears slide down her cheeks.

“Daddy, can I read you my book?”

Scott turned back to Adam, who read him Goodnight Moon, not missing or stumbling over a single word.

Scott wiped away another tear. “That was so good, Adam. You are so smart.”

“I know. Ashley told me.”

That made Scott smile. “Would you like Ashley to be your mom now?”

Adam sighed and nodded. “I hope so.”

“What about Beck? Do you want him to be your dad?”

“I thought you were my dad?”

“I am. I will always be your dad. But I can’t be there for you right now, so maybe Beck can be your dad for a while.”

“I can have two?”

Scott swallowed hard. “Yes. If you want that.”

“I like him a lot. He’s strong. He can keep the bad guys away. But not you. He’ll let you come see me.”

Scott glanced up at Beck. “Is that right?”

“You will be allowed to Skype Adam once a month. More often when he’s older and wants to talk to you,” Beck confirmed.

“I will send you letters detailing what we’re doing, how well he’s doing. I’ll include any pictures or other things he wants to send you, just like Jackie did,” Ashley assured him. “We don’t want to take him from you—we want to be the family he deserves. And that includes you.”

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” Scott eyed Beck, telling him without words that he’d trusted him once and been betrayed.

“Say goodbye to your son, then we’ll talk.”

Scott waved to Adam. “I have to go, son, but I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Bye,” Adam’s voice still held all the joy a little boy should feel.

Scott handed Beck his phone, then fell back in the chair. “He really wants to be with you guys.”

“We want him,” Beck assured him. “You have no reason to trust me, but I swear to you, I love that little boy. I will raise him as my own. And I will let you see him, so long as you don’t allow the world that led you here to ever touch him.”

“I worry that my life will make him a target. I guess the best place for him, the safest place, is with a DEA agent who knows this world and can protect him.”

“I’d lay down my life for him.”

Scott folded his arms over his chest. “And you’ll keep your word. I get to see him once a month.”

“Yes. But I want something in return.”

Scott turned to King, who’d sat quietly through this whole thing, then turned back to Beck. “I’m not a snitch.”

“That’s not what we need,” King spoke up. “I saved your ass this morning.”

Scott’s mouth drew into a tight line. “A calculated move on your part, I take it.”

“I get in with your crew here I have some credibility to go with my incarceration for possession with intent to sell.”

“So? That’ll only put a target on your back from my rivals here.”

“Exactly. And for the next six months, I’ll watch your back and you’ll watch mine. And when I get out, you’ll vouch for me.”

Scott laughed. “Vouch for an undercover DEA agent. You must be smokin’ somethin’ you shouldn’t, man.”

“Do this and I will bring Adam here to see you once King is set up in Iceman’s crew,” Beck promised.

“You think I want my son to see me in here? After he witnessed his mother’s murder, you think I want to traumatize him more by subjecting him to this place? He already thinks I’m a bad guy—I don’t want him to see the kinds of people I’m with in here and make him believe I don’t have anything good to offer him.”

“Then what’s it going to take to get you to cooperate?” Beck didn’t back down.

Scott turned to Ashley. “Every year on holidays and his birthdays, I’ll pick something I want you to get him. You’ll buy it and give it to him from me.”

“I’d do that anyway,” she said, giving Beck no leverage to use there.

“Rich girl like you, I’m sure you would.”

“You want to show Adam you have something good to offer, then do the right thing. Help King infiltrate Iceman’s crew. All you have to do is vouch for him. Keep your record inside clean, show us in the calls and your letters to Adam that you want to be a positive influence in his life and Beck and I will speak at your parole hearing. When you get out, we will help you get a job and find a path that keeps Adam in your life.”

Scott eyed King. “Are you prepared for life inside for the next six months as my new best friend?”

“Whatever it takes. Iceman knows Beck took out Guzman and why. He may even know Adam’s connection to you, Brice, and now Ashley and Beck. The sooner we take him down, the sooner we eliminate a potential threat against your family.” King meant Adam, and now Ashley and Beck, too.

Scott glared at Beck. “You’re a real pain in my ass.”

“You’re not the first to say that,” Beck confirmed.

“Iceman is not a man you cross. If he knows about Adam, or has targeted you”—he shook his head at Beck, who he probably thought deserved what he got—“he’s a threat, and we don’t have six months. We’re going to have to get you set up and out of here on good behavior.” Scott stared out the window lost in thought for a long moment. “Did you know Iceman has a daughter?”

“No,” King and Beck said in unison.

“She hates him, but she may be your safest way in. She hires ex-cons and helps them get back on their feet if they prove to her they really want out of the life. Iceman stays close to her. She knows who and what he is. They have this strange love/hate thing. You might be able to use that because getting out of here and going right to him or someone in his crew isn’t going to work. He’s too paranoid. With Guzman out of the equation and him taking over or at least rising in the ranks, he’ll be even more suspicious and dangerous.”

King tilted his head, his eyes filled with doubt. “Why are you helping me like this?”

“Beck may have gotten me arrested, but he saved my life.”

“You did?” Ashley asked him.

Beck shrugged it off.

Scott didn’t let it go. “He grabbed the gun out of my hand seconds before the cops busted in to take us down. He claimed he was a better shot and would protect me. He was really making sure I didn’t shoot at the cops and get killed. He protected them and me.” Scott shook his head. “Even if he doesn’t want to take credit for it, I pay my debts. So if this eliminates Iceman as a threat against him and my son, I’ll give you all the information I have on the guy.”

Scott took the papers giving up his parental rights from Ashley along with the pen. “I guess I owe you another debt for taking care of my kid.”

Beck shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything for that. Not when I get the better end of this deal.”

Scott nodded knowing Beck meant it, because he’d get to be Adam’s dad and enjoy all the moments big and small Scott would miss in Adam’s life.

He went to sign the papers, then stopped. “Are you going to turn my kid into some spoiled, messed-up child star?”

Ashley laughed. “No. We’re going to live here in Montana and give him the most normal life he can have with me as his mother.”

“He’s lucky to have you. Anyone who can survive what that asshole put you through has more strength than most of the guys in this place.” Scott signed the papers and handed them back to Ashley, but held tight to them when she took hold of the other side of the papers. Scott looked her dead in the eye. “He won’t get away with hurting you or my son.”

Ashley’s eyes softened. “Scott, please, don’t do anything that will get you into more trouble.”

“How could I? I’ve got a DEA agent for a bunk mate.” Scott stood and held out his hand to Beck.

He took it, held tight, and spoke first. “Thank you for allowing us to raise Adam. It’s an honor I take seriously and will wholeheartedly do my best to see him healthy and happy.”

“I believe you will. Above all, protect him. Make sure he never ends up like me.”

Beck shook and released Scott’s hand. “We’ll be in touch. If you need anything, you can contact me through the warden at any time.”

Scott turned to Ashley. “Buy him a bike for Christmas. A red one. He should know how to ride more than a horse.” The sheepish smile made Ashley laugh.

Ashley smiled up at him. “A perfect choice. It will be under the tree on Christmas morning, I promise. I’ll put some money in your account here as well before I leave.”

Scott chuckled. “Thanks. It’s like having a fairy godmother, or something.”

“Don’t think you’ll get anything out of her,” Beck warned.

“All I want is for her to be the mother Adam needs and deserves. He comes first.”

“Always,” Ashley and Beck said in unison.

Beck pulled her up out of the chair and into his arms, and they smiled at each other, so happy they’d gotten what they came here for—their son.

“You guys are making me sick,” King said. “All this love and sex dripping off you guys and you’re leaving me in here with this asshole.”

Scott eyed Beck and Ashley. “You two will show Adam that a man and a woman can be good for one another. Maybe if I’d put Jackie first when she was pregnant, I wouldn’t be here. Maybe I wouldn’t have lost both of them because of that bastard.”

With that, Scott went to the door and opened it. One guard took his arm and led him away.

The other grabbed hold of King. “Let’s go. There’s a bucket and mop waiting for you in the dining hall.”

King glanced over his shoulder. “Lucky me.”

Beck waved goodbye to his friend, hoping Scott kept his promise, and he saw King again. One word from Scott in here that King was an undercover DEA agent and King would be dead.

Ashley hugged him. “He’ll be okay.”

The warden walked in and caught them kissing. “I hope you got what you came for, Miss Swan.”

“I did.” Ashley smiled and went to the warden, taking his hand and holding on to it. “I can’t thank you enough for indulging me. You are just so sweet.”

“Happy to help,” the warden assured her, eating up her undivided attention. Beck held back rolling his eyes at how she managed to turn every man into her devoted fan when she turned on the charm.

She gave the warden an even bigger, brighter smile. “I’ll be sure to tell the press when I leave what an impressive facility you run and that the people of Montana can feel safe and assured that monsters like Brice are safely locked up.” She picked up her purse and folders, then turned back to the warden with a pouty frown. “Oh, I do hope nothing bad happens to my new friends.”

“While this is a very safe facility, Miss Swan, bad things do happen between inmates. As you saw, one of your friends was involved in an altercation.”

“Yes, well, I do hope your guards will do their best to make sure that doesn’t happen again. I don’t want anything to happen to my friends. If it does, I’ll be back to check on them.” She frowned again. “I know that’s not easy for you and your staff, what with all the press I bring with me.” She blew out an exasperated breath.

The warden’s eyes widened with dawning understanding of what she meant. The warden appreciated the good press, but anything negative reflected directly on him.

“Come on, honey, it’s been such a long day. Let’s head home.”

Beck took her hand. “Anything you want, sweetheart.” Beck gave the warden a knowing look, telling him without words that he better give her what she wanted to keep her happy and away from here with all the press who followed her.