A son. Jo had a son.

Was he Brett’s?

“What the Hell?” I breathed as I raked my fingers through my hair. I had so many questions, and she’d bolted out the door before I even had a chance to give voice to any of them. The way she’d looked at me when I asked who Sam was reminded me of a deer in the headlights. Big eyes, parted lips, panic.

Ryan was pouring beers and mixing drinks behind the bar with ease, and every few minutes, his eyes shot over to me. His expression was grim, and I could tell he was far past pissed.

When he finally came to stand in front of me, he tossed a towel over his shoulder and leaned forward, resting on his elbows. “I’m sure she was going to tell you. I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t my news to share.”

“Yeah, I get it,” I said. “It’s all good, man.”

Ryan ran his hand over his mouth and scratched his jaw. “Sam is a good kid. I’m sure you’d like him if you ever get a chance to meet him. Really smart, kind of a dork.” Ryan chuckled. “He loves science stuff. Makes me feel like an idiot sometimes.”

“How old is he?”

“He’ll be five in a few months.”

Five?

I tried to conceal my shock by finishing the rest of the water in my glass. What were the odds that the kid just happened to be shy of five? Jo and I had hooked up five years ago, plus a couple of months. The timing was too close to overlook.

Ryan sighed. “I hate that it had to come to this. Jo deserves better. So does Sam. Brett is such a piece of shit.”

“What did he do?” I asked. I had only heard snippets of their conversation. Jo and Ryan had talked in hushed tones to avoid being overheard by the customers—and that included me. “If it’s too personal, I don’t need to know. Just curious, is all.”

“Nah. It’s fine. I take Sam on Thursday nights, and he sleeps over. Brett or Jo always picks him up in the afternoon. Brett showed up at my place drunk as a skunk and tried to take Sam in the truck with him. I didn’t let that happen.”

“Has he pulled shit like that before?”

“Not that I’m aware of, but it’s Jo’s relationship. The way she reacted makes me think this is the worst it’s ever gotten. I find it hard to believe she’d put up with his shit if he’d done this kind of thing before. There’s nothing more precious to her than Sam. She’s had a hard go of things with him, and everything is finally calming down.”

“What do you mean?”

Ryan shrugged. “The kid has had some issues. Allergic reactions, asthma, panic attacks, that sort of thing. It’s taken Jo some time to get him to a place where the two of them can deal with his episodes when they occur. He’s getting better. The asthma leads into panic attacks, though, and sometimes that’s hard for a mom to handle, you know? Scares her, I think.”

“I can imagine,” I said.

“And Brett isn’t the best with that kind of thing. He thinks Sam is a weakling. He’s said it on more than one occasion.”

“He’s a real piece of shit, huh?”

Ryan nodded. “I’m hoping this is the end of it. I haven’t seen Jo that pissed in a long time. I think she’ll kick him out. At least, I hope she will. It’s been hard holding my tongue about the whole thing. Rosie’s been having a hard time keeping her mouth shut, too. We both want Jo to get away from him.”

“Why has she bothered staying?”

“Beats me,” Ryan said. “She says he’s not the same when it’s just the two of them. She says he’s good with Sam. And he is. I’ve seen it. But it’s not good enough to justify being miserable. She doesn’t love him, and he doesn’t love her. He just likes to have power over someone.” Ryan tipped his head to the side. “I have to fill these orders. You want anything while I’m at it?”

“No, I’m all right.”

Ryan went off down the bar to work, leaving me stewing in angry thoughts about Jo confronting the drunken bastard who had attempted to put her son’s life at risk.

I couldn’t understand how a fierce girl like her could let a waste of space like Brett consume her life. The woman I danced with—the one who stood her ground and practically told Ghoul to go fuck himself after he wouldn’t take no for an answer—would have made short work of Brett once he showed his true colors.

But she hadn’t. She’d let him stay.

I rubbed my forehead, confused and overwhelmed. Not only was I confounded by the situation with Brett, but I was caught off guard with the news about her having a son. A son who might very well be mine.

Or not.

I tried to tell myself how ridiculous it was to jump to such extreme conclusions. If Jo knew the kid was yours, she would have told you. And how egotistical do you have to be to think you were the only one she’d been with in that timeframe?

I raked my fingers through my hair and blew out an exasperated breath. She had probably been with other guys around the same time that she and I hooked up. I’d been with other women. Sam was probably some other guy’s kid. Someone Jo apparently didn’t want involved in the kid’s life.

Or she didn’t want me involved. That was a sobering thought. Had our night really meant nothing to her?

No, I thought sharply. The kiss in the storage room had been just as passionate as the time we shared in that scummy hotel. Sure, she regretted it after, but that was because she didn’t like that she had betrayed Brett. It didn’t have anything to do with me.

Or did it?

Ryan returned just in time to save me from the dark road my mind was wandering down. “What are you thinking about, man?”

“Do you think Jo is safe to be doing this alone?” I asked. No point in telling him everything I was thinking. He didn’t need to know my concerns about Sam right now. The priority was Jo and making sure she would be safe going after Brett on her own. I knew she was a fighter. She was strong and more than capable of fighting her own battles, but a man nearly twice her size with a bad temper is bad news. Especially if he’s drunk.

Ryan was quiet for a while. He studied me, wheels turning in his head. “I think if he tried something, Jo would straighten him out real quick.”

“And if that goes badly?”

Ryan glanced up when the hostess called his name. She was holding the phone in her hand. She pointed at it and then mouthed “for you.”

“Hang on,” Ryan said, stepping back to pluck the phone off the back wall. He lifted the receiver to his ear. “Hello? This is Ryan Hart.”

Whoever was speaking to him on the other end of the line said something that made his brow crease. Ryan cut them off. “Slow down, Rosie. What did you say?”

I was already on my feet and fishing my motorcycle keys out of my pocket.

“Yeah, no,” Ryan was saying. “It’s all right. Don’t worry.” He looked at me, and I waggled my keys. “Zach is on his way. Just get Sam out of there. Bring him here.” Rosie said something else. “Rosie, my dad owns the bar. I’m allowed to break the no minors rule for a situation like this. Don’t wait for Zach. Just get Sam in the car and come here. Okay?”

The phone call ended, and Ryan hung up.

“What’s happening?” I asked, worry spreading in my gut.

“Jo went in the house and brought Sam out. She’s confronting Brett, and Rosie says she has a bad feeling.”

“I’m on my way. I’ll call once it’s handled.”

“Hang on, Zach,” Ryan said, and he grabbed a napkin and pen from somewhere behind the bar. He scrawled an address on it and passed it to me. “If you get the chance to knock some of his teeth out, don’t hold back, all right? He deserves it.”

I chuckled and tucked the napkin in my back pocket. “You got it.”

The laughter died away as soon as I turned and headed out the front door. I rushed down the steps and hurried to my bike, where I pulled my helmet and then my gloves on.

I glanced at the address on the napkin. I knew the street, but I didn’t know how long of a drive it would be to get to Jo. I’d cut through traffic if I had to. There was no part of me that liked thinking about her alone with that asshole. If he were drunk, which I assumed he most likely was, he would lack restraint, and his pain sensitivity would be really low. He’d be slower, sure, but if she hit him, it would be hard for her to hurt him.

And if he hit her…

I forced myself not to think about that. I had to trust that Jo would be able to handle herself until I got there. Best case scenario, nothing would get physical. Maybe I would show up, and she would be in complete control of the situation, and he’d be leaving.

I’d spent plenty of time in the Air Force around guys like Brett. Ghoul was a perfect example. They thought everyone was beneath them, and they had no respect for women—or anyone else for that matter. They loved themselves more than anything else, and they prioritized their needs over those who loved them. They were classic manipulators, and when pushed too far, they almost always got violent.

“Fuck,” I growled as I swung my leg over the seat of my bike. I started it up, revved the throttle, and then tore out of the parking lot like a madman. I received plenty of dirty looks from people heading in and out of the pub and heard one person yell at me to slow down.

There was literally nothing that could make me stop. Even if a cop tried to pull me over, I’d keep going.

The wind tugged at the sleeves of my jacket and raced over my shoulders. I hunkered down low, pressing my chest to the gas tank to make myself more aerodynamic. I weaved in and out of cars and passed on the right—for which I received several middle fingers and more than a few honks.

It didn’t matter. Jo mattered.

It had been a while since I felt such adrenaline rushing through me. My senses were heightened, and my body was itching for a fight; for a release of some kind. I needed it.

I thought back to the other day when I saw Brett drop Jo off at the pub. I remembered the way he’d grabbed her and yanked her toward the truck. He’d scared her. He was big and powerful, and at that moment, she had submitted to him. Would he do the same shit to her today? Would she crumble when he pushed back, or stand her ground?

I feared she would stand her ground and make things worse.

In fact, I knew she would.

Her son had been threatened. She was a mama bear in full fight mode now. She would be standing her ground for the sake of her son, not herself, and a woman with that cause was immovable. And that had a potential to get really, really fucking messy.

I drove down the dotted line of the road, slipping between cars as they slowed for a yellow light. I opened the throttle and tore through the intersection. Brakes squealed to my right, and I didn’t bother looking over. I kept going, heart racing, jaw clenched, hoping for the best when I showed up at Jo’s place.