The sweetest aroma wafted from the kitchen. Cinnamon, vanilla, and pure sugar interwove with the sound of humming. Brenda placed another piece of French toast on the tall stack, while she hummed an old hymn.

Wulf leaned his shoulder against the wall, legs locked about the ankle, as he took a sip of freshly brewed coffee. His demeanor was detached, though he did his best to be appreciative. He had lots to be content about, such as Bree’s smile as she and her brothers took turns licking the batter for the cinnamon buns.

“Big brother,” Shelly said from behind him. She came up beside him, placing her arm around his waist. “Don’t come over to my house with such an ugly mug for a face.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Better?”

“He is so nonchalant about everything,” Brenda said. “Well, I’m going to feed you breakfast and send you on your way.”

Today, Wulf planned to visit the Portman home. When he’d mentioned it to Brenda the other day, she’d told him to come by for breakfast with the family first. Wulf slid into the breakfast nook with the first family he had ever known.

Elena stood at the screen door of her house. Today, she looked Wulf in the eye. “Good morning, Mr. Wulf.” She offered the faintest smile as she unlatched the lock. “Please come in.”

“Thank you.” He stepped inside, feeling self-conscious for towering over her in such small confines.

“Mom, who is at that door?” a familiar feminine voice called out from down the hall. After a few seconds of light footsteps, Wulf stood face-to-face with one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. Megan Portman was just as gorgeous as his Mary Jane, yet her eyes didn’t light up.

“Oh, Dylan. You’re here,” she said.

Wulf wasn’t able to discern her feelings because Mary Jane’s father stood in the hallway.

“Wulf, step into the kitchen with me,” Vincent commanded. The thinning of the back of his head became Wulf’s instant line of vision, prompting him to follow.

Down the hall Wulf went. The white walls were all covered with family photos. He stopped in front of a photo of Mary Jane at a chess tournament. She wore a denim button-up, like one would in the nineties. Two long, thick pigtails lay over her shoulders, and her eyes made Wulf fall in love with her all over again. Confident, twinkling dark brown eyes.

Feeling Vincent’s stare, Wulf turned to walk again. They stood in the kitchen. The door to the backyard was open, and bright light streamed in through it and the windows.

Vincent gestured for him to have a seat. Vincent didn’t sit. Wulf didn’t sit.

While Vincent posted against the dining table, Wulf leaned against the counter in front of the dishwasher.

Vincent rubbed a hand over his mouth before meeting Wulf eye-to-eye. He folded his arms to stifle some of the emotion he was feeling, and then spoke. “I misjudged you. You’re all right in my book.”

“Thank you,” Wulf said, knowing full well that they’d gotten as close as compliments would go as far as Vincent was concerned.

“Now, what are your intentions?”

Laughter blossomed from the back door, washing away the sound of Vincent’s interrogating demeanor. The sun beaming inside the windows and door added an effervescent glow to the kitchen. Magnetized by the sound, Wulf stepped toward the door. His breath caught as he watched Mary Jane. She stood in soot-covered overalls that almost masked her voluptuous curves in front of the open hood of a ‘67 Mustang. A smudge of dirt coated the slender angle of her jaw.

Wulf’s gaze narrowed as he saw Keegan lean against the side of the car. His smile mirrored hers. They were so happy together.

Setting aside his broken heart, Wulf turned to Vincent and said, “Looks like MJ is doing well here.”

“Mallory,” Vincent corrected.

“Yes. Mallory. I have a few of her things in my trunk. Anyway, here’s a letter from a friend of hers in Arizona.”

“And that’s all?” Vincent asked.

He gave a curt nod before turning on the heel of his boots and stalking toward the front door.

He couldn’t hate Keegan Little as the memory of Mary Jane and Bree coming out of the warehouse dashed before his face. A lone sniper had finally infiltrated the air shaft and taken the final shot that murdered Jakob Woods. All in all, Mary Jane was the hero. Who didn’t love a hero?

That night Agent Juarez allowed Mary Jane to leave her sight with a damn near blood oath that she’d stay in the general vicinity. Mary Jane had asked Wulf to take her home. There were no words exchanged regarding what she meant by home, and the timeframe of how long she meant to be home. Well, the sight he just saw confirmed that this was where she planned to stay. He’d been a pussy, just bringing the letter from Glenn into the house, hoping on a whim that she still loved him.

Granted, he’d left the boxes in the trunk in hopes that they’d take them to the home he desired to share with her. When Wulf had reached out to Tito about Glenn’s letter a few days ago, Tito said he’d have an older cousin drop off everything. Little did Wulf know, Tito had felt remorse about taking the knickknacks he and Mary Jane left at the villa since their purchases blended in with the rented furniture. If Tito hadn’t mentioned the letter in the first place, Wulf didn’t know how long it would’ve taken him to come by. Shelly had forced him to search for closure when he thought Mary Jane left with her sister and Keegan. Of course, he had questions. Well, just one question.

Was she really happy here?

All he had to do was see Mary Jane’s face to know. He stacked two of the three boxes and was prepared to grab the third one as Megan came to his side.

“Let me help you with those,” she said, pulling the third one into her arms.

“I’ve got it.”

“I see. Looks like you have one foot on the race line already.” Megan started toward the porch. “Mom makes the best chicken enchiladas in Southern California. You’re welcome to stay.”

They glanced toward the kitchen. From this distance, Wulf couldn’t hear the cheerful banter between Mary Jane and Keegan. “No, thanks.”

He made a quick trip into the house and when Megan dropped the box by the couch in the living room, he placed the other two there. Their ‘goodbye’ was awkward as he reached out a hand, and she gave him a quick hug. In seconds, Wulf was outside closing the trunk of his car.

“Wulf, you idiot!” Mary Jane shouted. Arms folded, she stood on the top of the patio.

“Me?” he asked bitterly.

“You just dropped off my shit—”

“Watch the language, young lady,” Vincent snapped. Wulf hadn’t noticed the tiny man had taken a seat on a chair at the furthest end of the porch, cigarette in hand.

“C’mon, Dad, like father like daughter. Close your ears if you need to.”

“I will not.” The sides of Vincent’s mouth creased a tad. He was secretly delighted in the quip.

Wulf cut in. “I’m an idiot because I didn’t make it into the building to save you and Bree?”

She bit her lip. “It’s…”

He rubbed a hand along his face in defeat. “I tried my best to make it to the two of you, and with the Feds holding the perimeter too—believe me, I tried.”

She scoffed.

He grabbed the door handle. “What happened? You saved yourself! Bravo, MJ.”

“Mallory,” Vincent interjected.

Mary Jane scoffed. “Fuck that, Wulf, fuck ‘bravo!’ And fuck the fact that you think you can be an asshole to me right now.”

“How am I being an asshole? My tone was congratulatory.” I’m being an asshole because you should be my Mary Jane, not Keegan’s Mallory.

“Hello! You just dropped off my shit, and then ran with your tail between your legs.”

His eyes widened. Jaw clenched, he regarded Mary Jane in the same manner as he once had. The thorn in his side. They were arguing across a lawn anyway. A flat effect marbled his face; his tone became emotionless. “I returned the rest of your things. Most women would say thank you!”

With an eyebrow raised, Mary Jane turned around and stalked back into the house.

Lava boiled through Wulf’s veins.

“That’s all?” Vincent sat high in his chair.

“Yes.” He turned away only to see Keegan at the end of the driveway, placing a few quarts of oil into the big dumpster.

Keegan nodded at him. “Mallory is about as stubborn as Vin. You are aware of that, right?”

“I am.” Wulf regarded him while searching his cargo pockets for his car keys.

“So you’re leaving? Drop of her stuff, adios, end of story?” Keegan slowly stepped toward him.

The sudden urge to punch the man’s face in took over. Wulf hadn’t been so angry since accusing Brenda of tricking him into taking her money when he was a teen.

“End of fucking story,” he said, opening the driver’s side door.

“Hmmm, that doesn’t sit right with me.” Keegan’s soft voice deepened. “I know Megan doesn’t want you around. Meg’s happy that you brought Mal home, and that’s all. Under any other circumstances, she’s truly the nicer of the two. Megan just sees you as a part of Mal’s nightmare. Though she is grateful. She wants all sorts of therapeutic services for Mal and for her to shed this part of her life. You included.”

Hardly listening, Wulf slipped into the seat, noticing his keys in the cup holder. He scoffed at himself, having never made this mistake and snatched them up.

He had another problem now. Keegan continued to chat, while standing behind the car. “Mal never gets what she wants. She’s too much like Vincent. Too stubborn to speak from the—”

Wulf leaned out of the window. “Move.”

“Nah, I’m not moving.”

Wulf got out of the car. He walked around to the back of the car and glared down at him. “I will move you.”

Keegan placed his palms up. “Look, Mal is my best friend. You can’t leave, not until you go inside. Talk to her, tell her you love her.”

“Yes, fucktard, tell her that you love her.” Vincent spoke up from his reclined position on the porch chair. “I do believe I was wrong about misjudging you. Because you’re still the dumbest motherfucker I’ve laid eyes on. Keegan no longer counts. I’ve known the little pansy too long.”

Keegan rolled his eyes at the snub, but glared up at Wulf.

“Why would I tell Mary Jane I love her?”

The neatly dressed man shook his head.

The back door of his car opened. Mary Jane placed a box into the back seat. “Keegan, he thinks he can get rid of me easily, well, he’s got another thing coming.” She turned around and stalked back toward the house with Wulf on her heels.

“What the hell do you mean, I intended to get rid of you!” He grabbed her arm.

“You just drop by, drop my shit off, and poof! You’re done with me?” Mary Jane argued through gritted teeth. He just stared at her like he did when she was at SCPD.

But Wulf was bitter about loving her. “You haven’t answered my calls in a week. You wanted to go home. Now you have Keegan back. Your entire family, MJ!”

Mary Jane rubbed the back of her neck and smiled. “Damn, I had such an enjoyable conversation with your mom a few days ago. Brenda told me how hard it was to get through your head that she loved you.”

Wulf’s eyebrows scrunched together. “You spoke with my mom?”

“I know your sister’s family lives with her. I called around at the police station. Quincy gave me her number and invited me to dinner, and she answered. It was the first of what I assumed would be many chats with her.”

He gripped her arms and felt like rattling her, instead spoke sincerely. “But why did you just shut me out after coming home?”

“Before Juarez allowed you to pick me up, she explained that the women who were brainwashed all chose locations. Live by the ocean. A small town. A big city. They chose places and were given money to start over. Juarez asked me where I’d like to ‘start over.’ Those words sounded so good. Start over. It’s the same thing I forced you into doing when leaving Santo Cruces. She showed me a bank account that many men would kill for, just as each other woman had received. I declined.”

His knuckles caressed her shoulder as he listened.

“The women are getting their memories back. The moment I said no, Ariel gave me another opportunity, even greater than the last. She said I could be an advocate for the women. There are so many of them, Wulf.” Mary Jane’s voice quivered. “Knowing that I’m capable of helping others, I decided that I cannot be afraid of reality.” She scoffed and added, “I have to keep in the loop too, since Linda Curbelo is out there somewhere living the good life.”

Wulf admired Mary Jane’s gumption and the slight pursing of her lips as she mentioned Linda Curbelo. He loved the life in her eyes when mentioning justice.

Mary Jane chewed on her bottom lip and added, “Juarez said the bitch dropped off the grid in Italy. What a better reason to be grounded in reality than hopefully being the first to know about Linda’s whereabouts and helping other women who suffered more than I have.”

“So in order for me to be the best version of myself for us and for the women that I plan on helping, I had to come home. I had to right my relationships with my parents, my sister, and Keegan. I learned that Peter gave me a pill to abort my baby with Keegan. It was hard to handle. Keegan is my best friend, so we’re pushing through that now. But you and I have gone through hell. Will you let us start fresh in the real world?” she begged. “Wulf, I had to do this by myself for a while, but it’s always been us, and I love us.”

He blinked, letting her story simmer in his brain. He saw a future with her.

“Dammit, Dylan,” she said through gritted teeth.

“You never call me Dylan,” he growled, pulling her waist toward him.

“I need your attention.” She locked her arms around his neck and rose to her tippy toes. “Wulf, I love you. Don’t make me find Peter’s brain scrambler, because I don’t want to change you into my robot. I love you as you are, but I refuse to let you go.”