Dax Marshall sat across from Cody and watched as the younger man fumbled for his words. So far he understood that Kyle Brady was demanding a paternity test be done on Harley’s and Cody’s little boy. Kyle and Harley had been dating when she and Cody started seeing each other. Harley and Cody went way back to childhood, and the romance that had sparked between them had burned hot enough to melt those around them almost instantly. The baby had seemed to everyone like icing on an already perfect cake, especially since Cody was as much in love with the little guy as he was with his mother. Dax could see on Cody’s face how painful it was for him to even imagine that Ian wasn’t his. He wondered if Harley hadn’t shared with him that the baby might be Kyle’s, until Cody opened his mouth again and said:

“It’s just…fuck, Dax, I think Ian has Kyle’s DNA, but he’s mine. He’s my son.”

Shit. “So…how long have you ‘thought’ Ian was Kyle’s son? Does Harley think that he’s Kyle’s too?” Harley had red hair and green eyes. The baby was born with strawberry blond hair and green eyes like his mother, so even though the Bradys also all had dark green eyes. Dax hadn’t even considered that the baby wasn’t Cody’s, until now.

“He’s my son.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

“I’ve known he might be Kyle’s since before he was born. Harley told me that she thought the baby was his.”

“And neither you or Harley said anything?”

“I wanted to…we wanted to,” Dax had seen Cody go through a lot of shit, but he’d never seen pain in the younger man’s eyes like he did now. “It was just that the closer it got to time for him to be here, the less Kyle was around and the closer Harley and I got. By the time he was born and we held him in our arms it just felt like talking to Kyle was going to invite drama into all our lives. Then after Harley started working at that law firm, that asshole quits his job with the police department, a job that he claimed to love, and suddenly he’s working at the same place. I think he wants her back, and I think he wants to use the baby to try and get her. I’m not worried about Harley. I trust her, but I don’t trust Brady not to break her heart by taking Ian away from us. I love that kid, Dax. I love him more than I’ve ever loved anything or anyone in my life. I can’t just step down and hand the dad torch off to the likes of Kyle Brady. That arrogant son of a bitch…”

“Is my brother-in-law.”

Cody sighed. “Right. But, you don’t like him anymore than I do.”

Dax suppressed a chuckle at the truth of Cody’s statement. “That’s not the point. If Kyle’s making noise about this, it’s not going to take long to get to my old lady. When he decides to file a court order to compel you to do this whether you want to or not, my wife will be the one he looks to for legal help. You’re putting me in the middle of this, Cody, and the bottom line is that you’ll end up having to do this anyways. You want my advice, here it is – man up and do what you have to do. If the paternity test says that Kyle is Ian’s father, then you deal with it. He’s still Harley’s baby. You can still be a part of his life.”

Dax had known Cody his entire life. The kid had been to hell and back before he was even old enough to legally drink. Never once had Dax seen him shed a tear, not even when he was a little kid. But the idea of losing Ian had him so wound up that his eyes were swimming with tears, and it was killing Dax. Cody was one of his favorite people and he wanted to fix this for him. It was why Cody came to him – he expected him to fix it. But Dax knew that getting involved would only make things worse. He wasn’t Kyle’s favorite person, brother-in-law or not, and Dax tried to steer clear of him as much as possible just to keep the peace.

Cody said, “As much as it would suck to share custody with Brady, that’s not what I’m worried about. You know what he thinks of us, our lifestyle. He knows everything about my past and he wouldn’t hesitate to use it against me, against us. What if he’s the father and he uses that to take Ian away from us completely? It would kill Harley…and me.”

“I get it…I do,” Dax said. He couldn’t speak from the perspective of being a father, but he knew Cody and he knew how much it meant to him to be a father and have a chance to do something right, something that Dax had no point of reference on. Cody’s father had been an incredible piece of shit. Dax had thought that he made sure the scum couldn’t hurt Cody or his brother ever again, but even dead the bastard had reached out beyond the grave to take his brother Keller’s life and cause Cody to spend many of his formative years behind bars. If Dax ever felt fatherly, it was toward Cody, so if he could make it so Ian was a part of him, he would, but as much as he wanted to fix this, there was no way that he could. “Cody, you know you have to do this, and you know that whatever happens, I’ll have your back.” Cody didn’t say anything. He was staring at a spot on the wall. He’d had impulse control problems most of his life, but since getting out of prison and hooking up with Harley, he’d had them in check. Dax worried that this might just set him off again and he would do something stupid. “Cody?”

“Yeah, I hear you, Dax.”

“And?”

“And…I guess I don’t have a fucking choice, barring Kyle Brady going missing or something.”

“Cody.”

Cody rolled his eyes and sighed. “Wishful thinking. I’m not going to do anything to him, no matter how much I’d like to.”

“Good. That’s what I want to hear.” Dax’s attention was drawn to the front door. Zack Leoni had just walked in and conversation around the room had almost completely ceased. The women were openly gaping and the men were looking at him suspiciously, or staring at Dax to gauge his reaction. Dax had spoken to Zack on the phone the day before. He was expecting him. He was about to stand up when he heard his newly found brother, Gunner, who was working behind the bar, say:

“Fuck me.”

Zack looked over at him and the smile on his face spread as he strolled toward him. “Not that I don’t think you’re pretty, kid, but I keep telling you, you’re just not my type. You do look awfully hot in that kutte with your prospect patch, though.”

Gunner flipped him off and Zack laughed. Gunner asked, “What the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you a little out of your territory?”

Zack kept the smile on his face as he said, “I’m a nomad, kid. I know you’re a newbie, but you’ll learn what that is sooner or later.”

“Fuck you,” Gunner said again. Zack just laughed. Cody had turned to watch the show now too and he asked Dax:

“Not that anyone who upsets Gunner isn’t a friend of mine, but what is Leoni doing here?”

Dax smiled. Cody and Gunner couldn’t seem to find any common ground. Dax didn’t understand it until Angel told him she thought that it was jealousy on Cody’s part. Cody knew how fond Dax was of him, but when Gunner showed up and Dax found out he was his brother, it seemed to make Cody nervous that he’d lose his spot. “He’s here to see me. I’m kind of enjoying watching those two bond, though.” Cody smiled. It was the first time Dax had seen him smile in days.

“Got anything good to drink back there, prospect?” Zack was asking Gunner as Dax stood up.

“Just let me find the arsenic…” Gunner dug under the counter and Zack threw his head back and laughed. Dax didn’t know Zack well, but he knew that if it weren’t for him, Gunner would probably be dead by now and Gunner’s old lady too. He also knew that Zack Leoni came from bad stock, but as he looked at Cody and thought about his own upbringing, he knew that wasn’t something he could hold against him.

“Zack Leoni.”

Zack turned toward Dax with the smile on his face still in place. Dax hadn’t spent that much time with him, but the times he had seen the other man, he always seemed to be smiling. Dax figured it was a coping mechanism but he also knew that there were lots worse ones he could have.

“Dax.” Zack stood up and took the hand that Dax offered him. “Thanks for agreeing to change the meeting date, I appreciate it.”

“No problem, why don’t you…” Dax’s eyes were always moving; it was a hazard of the job. They moved toward the door as Kyle Brady walked in and then over to Cody, who was standing a few feet away from him. Cody visibly tensed when he saw Kyle. “Hey, Zack, I’m sorry. There’s something I’m going to need to take care of first,” Dax said, without taking his eyes off his brother-in-law.

“Sure, no problem,” Zack said. “Gunner and I can catch up.”

Gunner looked like he’d rather get a root canal but Dax knew he wouldn’t say no to him. “Gunner, will you look after Zack, get him something to eat and set up one of the rooms for him to stay in?”

“Sure, it’ll make my life complete,” Gunner said. Dax had to suppress another smile as he heard Zack say:

“I’m not fucking you, no matter how badly you want it.” He didn’t hear Gunner’s reply, but he could imagine.

“Kyle, how’s it going?” Dax slid his arm across Kyle’s shoulders and turned him away from Cody’s glare.

“I need to talk to Miller.”

“Sure, but let’s you and I talk first.” Dax steered him toward the door. Kyle dug in his heels before they got there and said:

“You can’t coddle him forever.”

Dax dropped his arm and moved his neck back and forth to get the knot that was beginning to form there out before saying, “Cody doesn’t need me to coddle him, he’s a big boy. But the two of you need to handle your shit like adults, and not in the middle of my club.”

“Then tell your little yearling that. I’ve been calling him for weeks now and the little pissant hangs up on me every time.” Dax suppressed another smile. wasn’t a small man, but Cody towered over him and outweighed him by at least fifty pounds of solid muscle. It took balls for anyone to call him a “little pissant.” There was never any doubt in Dax’s mind that Kyle had balls. He was a smart guy too, but sometimes his arrogance got in the way of his thought processes.

“How about this: Angel is up at the house. Why don’t you go up and see her, and Cody and I will pick up Harley and we’ll all talk?”

“This isn’t about you and Angel.”

Dax chuckled and said, “Maybe you didn’t notice that guard shack you passed through out there, but you’re on my turf now, Kyle, and it’s all about me here.” Kyle tensed, but he didn’t say what was on his mind. Dax knew Kyle hated that his sister had hooked up with a biker and that there was nothing he could do about it. If not for the close relationship he had with Angel, he would have turned his back on her completely by now. Kyle saw the world in black and white. His sister’s new-found fondness for gray areas drove him crazy.

“Fuck, fine, let’s get this over with then. I’m sick of messing with your little minion.” Dax watched Kyle storm out and then he turned and motioned at Cody.

“We’re picking up Harley and we’re going to the house and deal with this now, okay?” Cody nodded. His jaw was set tight and his hands were fisted at his sides. “You gonna be cool?” He nodded again; it was the best Dax could hope for the time being.