“Fuck,” Wrench cursed, waking me from the most peaceful slumber I can remember having in a very long time. I shot up in the bed, looking around as he leaped up and grabbed his jeans from the floor.

It was then I heard the sounds of motorcycles and my heart stopped. “Op’s dropping off Harlyn this morning.”

“And you couldn’t tell me this before now?” he snapped.

I tossed the blankets back and ran over to my drawers, dragging out whatever clothes I could find to put on. The bikes came to a stop outside the apartment, and suddenly I spun around in horror. “Is your bike outside?”

He was just pulling his cap on, the bill covering his eyes. “No, I walked.”

Wrench lived at the clubhouse, but he also had an apartment not far from here where his sister lived with her boyfriend. It wasn’t unusual for him to stay there and help her out with the tech stuff that needed doing for her home business.

Thank God, because if Optimus had seen his bike outside my apartment at eight a.m., the both of us would be dead.

A few seconds later there was a knock at the door. “Stay here,” I whispered as I shot out of the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind me. When I got to the living room, I let out a soft groan before plucking my clothes that I was wearing last night from various places around the room. “Fucking Wrench, has to toss shit everywhere.”

BANG. BANG. BANG.

“Coming,” I called out, my eyes searching for somewhere to stash these until Optimus left. Running out of time, I dived into the kitchen and pulled open the pantry, throwing them inside and slamming it shut. I tried to stop my heart from racing as I jogged over to the front door, inhaling deeply and plastering a smile on my face before pulling it open.

“Mom,” Harlyn cried, diving on me. The smile didn’t seem so forced then as I giggled softly and wrapped my baby girl in my arms. She held on tight, her arms around my neck and tucking her face in close. I closed my eyes, breathing her in. I’d seen her the day before but had pleaded with Optimus to allow me more time with her.

Harlyn had been my life for so long.

The almost six years we were away, I really didn’t have any friends. We lived in a nice apartment and kept to ourselves for the most part. We were fine with each other’s company, and now I’d torn that away from her, from us.

I looked up, seeing Optimus standing in the doorway, watching us with a soft smile on his lips, Slider and Ham standing just behind him looking much the same.

I cleared my throat and stepped back. “Sorry… come in.”

They toed off their heavy boots at the door and made their way inside.

“You still sleeping?” Op asked, his eyes moving around the room.

I gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, sorry.”

He shrugged. “How’s the shop coming?”

Harlyn pulled back in my arms with a wide grin on her face. “Can we go there again today?”

I laughed, pecking her softly on the cheek. “It’s closed today, baby girl. I was thinking today felt more like a baking day.”

She bounced up and down. “Yes! Can we save some for me to take back to the clubhouse tomorrow?”

I pursed my lips as though I was thinking hard about it. “I don’t know about that, I might eat them all.”

Harlyn giggled, the sound like a beautiful melody to my ears. “No, we have to share with Daddy.”

I looked over to Optimus, ready to make some joke about how he doesn’t like cookies, but it fell flat on my lips when I saw what he was holding between two fingers.

A torn condom wrapper.

I froze, and just as Harlyn turned to grin at her dad, he tucked it in behind him. “Yeah, I sure would like it if your mom shared with me…”

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I bent and placed Harlyn on the floor. “Say bye to Dad and then go wash your hands,” I told her, pressing my hand on her back. “We better start baking now if we’re gonna feed all these guys.”

She bounced happily over to Optimus, giving him a quick cuddle and waving goodbye to Slider and Ham as she shot down the hallway to the bathroom.

Op didn’t miss a beat. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Op… it’s not... I mean…” I couldn’t find the words, my mouth dry and my stomach churning.

How could I explain that?

How do you tell the person who’s been taking care of your child, that instead of taking responsibility for her and doing my job as a mother, that I was busy screwing around and having my own fun?

Slider and Ham both walked silently to the door, while Op came forward, anger flashing in his eyes. “One day soon, we are going to have a little chat about this person you seem to have become.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off. “No. I don’t give a fucking shit what you have to say. Harlyn is at the clubhouse, missing you like crazy, wondering why her mother is too busy for her, wondering why she no longer comes first in your life. And you’re here, fucking God knows what guy instead.”

“I’m old enough to make my own decisions, Op. Who I sleep with has nothing to do with you,” I argued, trying to find my footing and not let his words, which were so goddamn true, break me down.

A dark smile flashed across his face, and he tossed the wrapper at me. “You think that, do you? Well, I’m telling you now… when it concerns my fucking child, it has everything to do with me.” He spun on his heel and stomped toward the doorway. I watched in silence as he slipped on his boots and then paused, his eyes looking over to meet mine. “And when I find out who he is—”

I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t you even dare.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Harlyn needs to be back by six p.m. Have a good day.”

Then he was gone and I couldn’t move. I stood there, staring at the open door, not knowing what to do next.

“Mom?” I spun around at the sound of Harlyn’s voice. She smiled excitedly. “Can we bake now?”

I shook off the dark haze or worry and guilt that had settled over me and as the roar of three motorcycles disappeared down the road and I tried to eradicate the feeling in my gut telling me that this was only the beginning. I cleared my throat, bending down and picking up the condom wrapper, tucking it in my pocket before she could see it.

“Yeah baby, you know where the book is. Pick a few things you want to bake and start getting the ingredients. I’m just gonna go clean my hands, too.”

“Okay!”

I locked the front door before rushing down the hall and bursting into the bedroom. Wrench was sitting at the end of my bed, his elbows rested on his knees and his head hanging down.

“You need to go,” I said, closing the door behind me and leaning back against it, my legs still shaking. “Op knows I’ve had someone here.”

He nodded and pushed to his feet. “Yeah, I heard.” When he finally looked up, I could see his features were tight as though he was angry or frustrated. He came forward, lifting his hand to his hat and twisting it backward, so it wasn’t shading his face. His hands went to my waist, and I melted instantly, a wave of emotions crashing over me.

“I can’t do this, it’s too much.”

“You know, he’s right about one thing. We all know that there’s something you’re not telling us, and we know that’s why you’ve let Op have Harlyn.” I cringed with every word he spoke because I knew after tomorrow, shit was going to hit the fan. “If you’d just—”

“No,” I said sharply, putting my hands on his chest and forcing him back.

“Come on, Sugar,” he growled, keeping his voice low. “Secrets never stay secrets forever. One day, something’s gonna give, and without any support, shit’s gonna come tumbling down around you.”

“What I’m doing is to stop that from happening. And if it does, at least Harlyn will be well away from it,” I argued back, shoving him again.

This time, he refused to move. He clenched his fist, placing it on the wall beside my head and leaning in menacingly. “And then what? Harlyn’s left without a mom? We get to all sit around when she’s older and tell her all about how her mom could still be there with her, but we didn’t do enough to help?”

“Stop it,” I hissed, slipping under his arm and moving away. “Just get out before Harlyn sees you.”

“No,” he threw back. “I’m gonna come through the back door and say hey to Harlyn. Maybe hang out for a little bit.”

I frowned at him. “Why?”

“Because I like the kid, okay? Heard her laugh before…” he shook his head before leaning back against the bedroom door. “…haven’t heard her that happy in a while. Just would be nice to see her back to that cheeky little kid.”

My hand reached up and I placed it over my heart. It hurt. As sweet as his words were, as much as I wanted to swoon all over him in that moment, hearing him speak so sweetly about my daughter, all I could feel was pain in my chest.

A reminder that I needed to hurry up and get this shit sorted.

A reminder that Wrench really was the guy I’d imagined he was.

“Okay,” I whispered.

His eyes shot open. “Okay?”

“You can stay… for a little while.”

He narrowed them pretty quickly, rolling his shoulders in agitation. “You hear nothing else I—”

“Or you can just go,” I said sharply, cutting him off.

He sighed deeply. “All right, all right. Baby steps, I get it.”

Baby steps.

Maybe he was right.