Cara

 

I was careful to keep an eye on my rearview mirror for motorcycle headlights, and not seeing any, I broke about every traffic law to get home as quickly as I could. I pulled into my driveway, barely managing to throw the car in park before I scrambled out of it and ran up to my front door. My heart racing faster than my car had been, I jammed my key into the lock and threw the door open.

 

And then stopped dead in my tracks.

 

Austin was sitting on the couch, cuddled up next to Damian who was reading his favorite book to him. They both looked up when I burst through the door – Austin smiling wide and Damian instantly looking concerned.

 

He looked down at Austin and smiled. “Hey, buddy, let's go greet your mom, okay?”

 

Austin jumped off the couch and ran over to her, throwing his small arms around my waist. “Hi, Mama!”

 

“Hi, baby,” I said, fighting to keep the tremors out of my voice.

 

I stroked his hair as relief flooded my body, instant and powerful. It was almost so overwhelming, I felt my knees buckle, but managed to stay upright. Damian looked at me, his expression of concern deepening as he stepped toward the door behind me. I kept hugging my little boy but watched from the corner of my eye as Damian looked at the street outside, before closing and locking the door.

 

“Hey, buddy,” Damian said, putting his hand on Austin's head, “why don't you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed?”

 

He looked up at Damian. “Finish my story?”

 

Damian gave him a gentle, warm smile. “Of course,” he said. “I'll be in to finish reading to you just as soon as you brush your teeth and get ready for bed. Deal?”

 

Austin giggled. “Deal!”

 

My little boy put his hand up in the air and looked at Damian expectantly. For his part, Damian looked at me sheepishly but slapped Austin's hand with a high five, which sent him running down the hallway in a fit of giggles.

 

Damian gave me a lopsided grin. “I guess I taught him how to high five today,” he said. “He also wanted to wait up for you to get home. Hope that's okay?”

 

I nodded, feeling numb. Like I was walking through a dream. “Yeah. That's fine.”

 

My smile was small and felt false, even to me. Everything was okay. Everything seemed so… normal. And after the evening I'd just had, that made it seem all the more surreal. Damian reached out and put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. He looked at me, that look of concern back on his face.

 

“You okay? What happened?” he asked.

 

I let out a long, loud breath and related everything that had happened at the hospital, his expression growing from concern to outright anger. When I was finished, he looked like he was ready to punch a hole through the wall.

 

“Those sons of bitches,” he growled, keeping his voice low.

 

“They know my name, Damian,” I said, not able to keep the tears from falling. “They know who I am. For all I know, they might know about Austin and where I live.”

 

He pulled me into a tight embrace, and I let him. Being pressed against his body, wrapped up in his large arms made me feel safe. Secure. I melted against his body and let the tears flow. My body was heaving with sobs, but I buried my face in his chest and tried to choke them back, not wanting my precious little boy to hear me. I didn't want to worry or scare him – I wanted to keep all of this as far away from him as possible.

 

“Done, Damian,” Austin's little voice echoed up the hallway. “Finish my story!”

 

“Go ahead and get into bed, buddy,” he said, his deep voice making his chest rumble against my face. “Be right there.”

 

Damian took me gently by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. My head was still spinning, and I was trying to come down off the adrenaline high that was still rushing through my body.

 

“Why don't you take a minute,” he said. “Go wash up and collect yourself. We'll talk more about it after I put Austin to bed.”

 

I nodded, apparently still not able to form a coherent sentence. He gave me a gentle smile and then turned and walked down the hallway toward Austin's room. I walked down the hall and into my room, stepping into the bathroom and turning on the shower. The room quickly filled with steam and my senses slowly started coming back to me.

 

I got out of my clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water wash down over me. I stood underneath a stream of water so warm, it was almost scalding. The heat of the water stung my skin – it was slightly painful but felt good at the same time. If nothing else, it was clearing my head.

 

By the time I stepped out of the shower and toweled off, my skin was bright red. But at least I was thinking straight again. I threw on some old scrubs and tied my hair back into a ponytail before heading down the hallway.

 

Damian's voice drifted down the hallway of my quiet little home. I stopped in the doorway, folded my arms over my chest and leaned against the frame, a small smile touching my lips. He was sitting up in bed with Austin snuggled up next to him. Damian's large body absolutely dwarfed my son's and made him look even smaller than he was. But he read to Austin with enthusiasm, using different voices for the different characters – something I didn't even do.

 

And Austin looked positively thrilled. He looked happy. Not that he wasn't happy with me, of course. But I also knew that he lacked a strong male presence – a role model – in his life. And while I wouldn't really consider Damian to be a good role model, considering what he did and who he ran with, he was a strong presence. And Austin looked really attached to him.

 

Which was a good thing – and a bad thing.

 

“The end,” Damian said and closed the book softly.

 

Austin yawned and looked up at him with adoration. “Again?”

 

Damian laughed softly – and looked like he might just give in to my son's request. There was a gentleness – a sweetness – I saw in Damian when he was with Austin that I never would have expected. It was surprising, to say the least.

 

I cleared my throat and stepped into the room. “Maybe he'll read it for you again tomorrow, sweetheart,” I said. “But right now, it's time for you to go to sleep. It's late.”

 

Austin groaned but yawned again. His eyes were already half closed by the time he laid his head down on his pillow. Damian pulled the blanket up over him, and then surprised me again by leaning down and planting a soft kiss on his head.

 

“Sweet dreams, buddy,” he said quietly.

 

Damian made sure to turn on the nightlight before he followed me out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him. I was still trying to reconcile the image of this big, burly man – a man given to a life of violence – and the gentleness he'd displayed with my son. Not only that but the look of near worship Austin had on his face whenever he looked up at Damian.

 

It was two worlds I'd worked hard to keep from ever intersecting – and yet, here they were, colliding, despite my best efforts.

 

We walked into the kitchen, and he pulled a chair out for me at the table. I gave him a small smile and took my seat.

 

“The babysitter dropped Austin off early,” he said. “She thought you were going to be here. I wasn't sure what to tell her, so I just told her I was your cousin.”

 

I laughed and shook my head. With everything going on, I hadn't even considered the possibility that Mandy was going to run into Damian.

 

“My cousin, huh?”

 

He shrugged. “Best I could do at the time,” he said, giving me that lopsided grin. “Sorry. I hope I didn't screw the pooch too badly.”

 

I waved him off. “Least of my concerns at the moment. Mandy isn't going to be a problem. She was probably hoping—”

 

I almost finished that thought but managed to refrain. Like Julia, Mandy had been pushing me to find a man. At least for a night. So, seeing a good-looking man in my house had probably made her happy. I was going to need to correct her about the nature of my relationship with Damian though – and assure her that his presence here was a temporary thing. Very temporary.

 

“Good,” he said, choosing to not press me to finish my last sentence. “Anyway, I made Austin some dinner. Thought you'd be hungry too, so I kept a plate warm for you.”

 

I looked at him, stunned. “You made dinner?”

 

He looked at me and laughed. “What, you don't think I know my way around a kitchen?”

 

“I–I'm just surprised is all.”

 

He just smiled and shook his head as he opened the oven. The smell that drifted out – I had to admit – was pretty amazing. My mouth watered and my stomach growled so loud, it echoed around the kitchen.

 

“Skipped lunch today, huh?” he asked.

 

I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. “Yeah, I suppose I did.”

 

He set the plate down in front of me. “Careful, the plate is hot.”

 

I looked at the meal he'd prepared and was floored. Lasagna and fresh garlic bread topped with mozzarella. It looked amazing. Seriously amazing. Perhaps – too amazing.

 

I looked up at him and grinned. “Did you order take out from Giordino's?”

 

Damian looked at me and smirked. “I'm not sure whether to be offended by that or take it as a compliment. It's made from scratch.”

 

I looked at him closely, trying to determine whether or not he was telling me the truth. And he certainly looked like he was.

 

“Seriously?” I asked.

 

“Seriously. Did you want a salad?”

 

I shook my head. “No, this looks great.”

 

I took a bite of the lasagna and felt my eyes roll back into my head. It was as amazing as it looked. I couldn't believe it. I tore into the food like I hadn't eaten in weeks – I was that hungry, and the meal was that good. By the time I pushed my plate away, I was stuffed, and the plate was empty. I'd eaten every last crumb of it.

 

“So, I take it my cooking isn't half bad?” Damian asked.

 

“Yeah, it was okay,” I said and laughed. “Seriously, that was incredible. Where did you learn to cook like that?”

 

He shrugged. “You pick things up here and there, I guess.”

 

Damian reached over and took my plate. “No, don't worry, I can wash my own dishes.”

 

“You sit down and relax. I got it.”

 

I sat back as he took my dishes to the sink and washed them, carefully setting them on the rack to dry. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It seemed like such a contradiction. He was a big, rough around the edges biker. He was an outlaw. He looked like the kind of man who hurt people for fun.

 

And yet, seeing him with my son, seeing that warm, tender side to him, had thrown me for a loop. A loop that had been deepened by the fact that he'd not only cooked me an amazing meal but had done all of the dishes as well. I was seeing a completely different side to him.

 

It wasn't what I'd expected from somebody like Damian. Not even close.

 

When he was done, he grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and sat down at the table. He looked across the table at me as he took a drink.

 

“Thank you,” I said, my voice soft. “For everything.”

 

His smile was small and grim. “You're welcome. But we're gonna have to talk.”