I wonder if I suddenly developed stupidity or if I’ve had it all along and it just now manifested. Why did I tell Sako I needed to talk to him about something? The rest of the evening, he bugged me about it until I hid out in the stockroom.

He got the hint. On the way home, he didn’t push once. I didn’t think he forgot; he’s too smart for that. I did hope that he would let it go since I wasn’t willing to talk about it.

“You can talk to me about anything, Carlo,” he says, shutting the front door. Now that we’re home and no one can overhear, maybe that’s a good thing.

“I know.” I flop onto the sofa and kick my legs out straight. “It’s…complicated.”

He sits heavily next to me and pulls on me to get his arm around my shoulders. “No offense, man, but there’s nothing about this entire situation that isn’t complicated in some way. It’s the new normal around here. So don’t sweat how it complicates things.”

“This is pretty complicated.” I know I should tell him. It’s not right to keep this from him, I get that. If I could just screw up the courage. I’m not even sure what I’m afraid of? Rejection?

Yeah, rejection is a big one.

He doesn’t push me anymore on it. I appreciate that. He doesn’t get up or let me go, either. Like he’s waiting.

I scrub at my face. Fine. My hands drop to my lap. “I really should leave.”

“What? No.” Sako twists to look at me. “Why? I’m totally okay with you being here.”

“It’s not that. Or not just you. I’m putting everyone in danger by being around.”

“So? It’s not like we can’t take care of ourselves, Carlo. We can handle anything that comes our way.”

My head falls back in frustration. “It’s not just that. I’m putting you guys in the cross-hairs. People are coming around looking for me now. We don’t know who they are or why and what if they start upping the stakes?”

He pulls me in and kisses my forehead. “You’re tired and probably hungry. I noticed you didn’t eat lunch today. The guys agree with me. Whatever happens, we’re standing and fighting. That means we defend you, too. So shut up and stop trying to be noble. You’ll only put yourself in more danger. There’s safety in numbers. Stay with us. With…me.”

With him. There’s a softness around his eyes as he watches me. I won’t deny that I really didn’t want to leave him. I don’t know how painful it is to lose a fated mate but I really wasn’t looking forward to finding out.

Talk about the epitome of selfishness.

“There’s something else.”

Sako’s attention is fully riveted on me. It’s like the air is sucked out of the room when he looks at me like that. It’s intense and just a bit sexy.

Okay, a lot sexy.

“Wow…this is hard. I’m um…pregnant.”

I worry that I’ve broken his brain or something. He’s just sitting there, blinking. I guess he’s processing what I just dumped in his lap.

Maybe I’ll be leaving after all when he throws me out.

In a sudden motion, Sako’s on his feet, dragging me with him. His arms wrap around me in a fierce hug, lifting me from the ground. He realizes what he’s done and puts me down, his hand immediately going over my stomach. “Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t squish him, did I?”

I swallow a few times before I find my voice. “Um no. No, you didn’t. I’m not that far along. Are you okay with this?” I hold my arms out to the side.

“Okay? I’m more than okay! This is great! I mean, sure, I wasn’t thinking about having kids and shit before meeting you but…yeah.” He’s grins widely and drags me in for another hug. “I’m totally fine with this. I’m great with this. I have to call and tell the guys.” He pulls his phone out, then throws it on the coffee table. “No, I’m not. I’ll call later. I’m going to be a father! That’s amazingly cool!”

He spins me around in a circle and kisses me. I’m startled by his excitement. Expecting to be thrown out and getting this response, it takes me a minute to adjust.

“Baby names. We need to come up with a list of baby names. Austin and Nyve took forever to choose theirs. We all were taking bets if Senvaz was going to be born nameless.”

“I was thinking about that, actually.” I pull a crumpled list out of my back pocket.

Sako smooths it out on the coffee table as he sits. “Good names. Very gender neutral.”

“Until we know, I figured it was just the safest way.” I sit next to him and tap on one name. “This one really resonates…”

The feelings of deja vu, or sudden familiarity, swamp me again and I sit back. I have an image of a computer and I’m typing in a password. That name is actually part of a password.

“Carlo,” Sako asks cautiously. “What’s up? Another memory?”

I grab the list and place my thumb under the name.

Haven.

“I think this is a password I use.”

Sako looks from me to the paper. He takes it from me and grabs his phone. When he holds it to his ear, “Varos? I think we have something.”

* * *

After Sako gave the information to Varos, phone calls flew fast and furious as I worked with Ronnie to try to narrow things down.

The next day, Taran decides we will meet after the shop closes, inviting Annika and her crew over as well. Ronnie has something to report but we can’t meet until after hours.

The entire day at work, I’m on pins and needles.

“I think we made a really big leap forward,” Sako tells me over lunch. After I missed it yesterday, he went out to get us something and we sit in the store room to eat. “And it looks like your memory is starting to return.”

It would seem that way. “I’m glad that the memory emerged without me having to work so hard for it.” It’s a good sign, at least.

The rest of the day flies by. I’m excited for the development. One step closer to figuring this out. If I can give the guys one more piece of the puzzle, I’ll be over the moon.

At closing, I turn the neon sign off. A handful of minutes later, Annika, her assistant Goldie, and Goldie’s sister trail in.

The sister seems familiar to me. I know it’s in my memory but nothing comes. Just that deep sense of familiarity. She certainly remembers me. The look she gives me is a clear warning that I need to steer clear.

It makes sense considering what Sako tells me about how everyone knows me.

Annika’s assistant gives me a guarded smile and walks a wide berth around me as she follows Annika.

Ronnie ducks in not long after that. The shop is filled with people. All the guys are there with their mates and Annika’s two people. With twelve total, it’s a little overwhelming that I’ve affected this many people with my bad choices.

Sako smooths a hand along my back and nods with reassurance. “In this together. Remember that.”

It’s what keeps me from panic.

He motions for us to follow to Taran’s office where he sets up his laptop. Everyone crowds into that tiny space.

“Why are we crammed in here?” Nyve frowns and elbows Bronaz, who gives him a sour look back as they figure out how to get comfortable with so many.

“After two visitations,” Annika pushes her way to the front as one of the shorter of the group. Goldie and Rayne squeeze in to stand at the corner of the desk with her. “Do we want to take the chance that someone is surveilling the place and sees us in a pow wow?”

Varos steps out of her way and wedges in next to Austin just inside the door. “They would have seen you guys race across the road.”

Annika gives Varos a withering look.

“Sit down, Carlo,” he says, motioning to the office chair. “I was able to dig out a couple of email addresses for you. Remind me when this is all done to show you how to create strong, unhackable passwords.”

I smile sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“In this case, it works to our advantage. But…’net security, dude, it’s a thing.” He types over my shoulder and opens up three email addresses. “I did some skimming and the only one that holds any real information is this one. Being on a private server and not a free email app gave it away. However, none of the stuff talked about in the emails makes sense, so if I had to hazard a guess, it’s some code.”

I give Ronnie a bewildered look. “And I’m supposed to break it?”

“I’m hoping that reading it will shake lose some more of your memories. I was able to uncover some shit that you guys need to hear. Two huge developments.”

Ronnie steps back so I can read and skim the emails, looking for something that will trigger more memories.

“First,” Ronnie sits on the corner of Taran’s desk, “whoever these guys are, they are connected. Highly connected. They have big money behind them and more than a few politicians in their back pockets. This won’t be about taking down some shade-tree side-of-the-road business. Second…Austin, your dad was involved deeply with these guys. Deeply. And it has to do with your mother’s death.”

I’m afraid to ask if this could get any worse. I don’t want to jinx my already bad luck.