Nicole worked all morning with a smile on her face. She was exhausted. She’d hardly gotten any sleep, and Hashtag had barely managed to get her home in time to change and get to work. But none of that mattered, since she had the memories of her night with Zack to keep her warm and happy. “You’re smiling like a cat that just swallowed a big, fat bird,” Armand said as he walked into the kitchen to get a fresh rack of bread.

“Am I?” she asked, trying to sound innocent.

“You are, and it makes my heart happy. It also makes me suspicious.”

She giggled. “Suspicious?”

“Yes. You’ve been miserable for a month and suddenly you’re looking like you slept with a clothes hanger in your mouth.”

Nicole laughed. “I just feel good today. Positive, you know? I feel like everything is going to be okay.”

Armand stopped what he was doing and went over to her. He put his arm around her and said, “I know everything will be okay…you know how I know that?”

“How?”

“Because you are an amazing person and an amazing mother, and the love you have for that baby and the goodness and motivation you have in your heart will get you through this.” Armand had made an offer to her when Spider first got visitation rights; Nicole hadn’t had the energy to think about changing her life in the past month, but now he said, “My offer still stands when you’re ready. My kids are both past the age where they are going to give me grandchildren. I don’t have a wife to spend my money. I’ve thought more than once about establishing a scholarship for young women like you to use to further their education. If you want to go to school, I will pay for it. You would make a fabulous chef, and the Memphis Culinary Academy has weekend classes. It might help you get through the weekends when Liam is gone too.”

“I’m overwhelmed by your kindness,” she said. “I promise to look into it, but if you did that, I’d only accept if you let me pay you back.”

He rolled his eyes and went back over to the bread cart. “You don’t pay back a scholarship. If you want to force me to offer it to someone else…”

She smiled. “Give me a few days to look into the school. It’s an amazing offer. It might just take me some time for it to sink in.”

He winked at her and said, “Don’t take too long, I might go crazy in my old age and start buying sports cars and running with wild women.”

Armand’s wife had passed away long before Nicole came to Memphis, but yet he still talked about her with love in his eyes and like he’d just seen her yesterday. A painting of her hung in the bakery, and Armand kissed his fingers and touched it to her face every day when he walked into work. Nicole had always wanted someone to love her like that. She thought about Zack again and a warm flush filled her veins. Smiling at Armand she said, “Doubtful.”

Once Armand went back out front, Nicole finished her baking and clean-up for the day. She looked at the clock and saw that it was almost two p.m. Excitement fluttered in her belly at the thought of seeing her baby in only an hour. The fact that she also had to see Spider, or his mother too, dampened things slightly. Armand had grudgingly agreed to drop the restraining order for the time being so that Spider could bring Liam to her at the bakery. She preferred that over his coming to her house and so far, it had been quick and virtually painless.

She washed her hands and went out front to help Armand until her shift was over at three. There was only one customer and Armand had everything out front clean and shiny. “What should I do?”

“You could sit down, have a donut, and put your feet up.”

She smiled. “Thanks, but I’d rather stay busy.”

He sighed. “You make everything so difficult. Fine, you can clean off the windows.”

Nicole took the glass cleaner and some clean towels and went out front. She started wiping down the big picture windows and when she finished wiping the first one, she stepped back to make sure she hadn’t missed any spots. That was when she saw Zack…or at least his reflection. She turned toward the diner across the street and sure enough, there he was, sitting in a window seat, looking right at her. She wanted to be happy that he cared so much about her but her good sense was screaming at her that if she could get a glimpse of him like that, so could Spider. What is he thinking?

She stuck her head in the door of the bakery and said, “Armand, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, honey, take your time.”

She turned and saw that Zack was getting up from his seat. He knew that she saw him and he was trying to make his escape. She jogged across the street but by the time she got to the front door of the diner, Zack was nowhere in sight. “Excuse me?” she said to the young waitress who was wiping the table where he’d just been sitting. “Did you see where the gentleman sitting here went?”

“He usually uses the back door,” she said.

“Usually? Does he come here a lot?”

“I only work on the weekends, but he’s been here every weekend for the last few weeks or so.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Thanks.” She followed the exit signs to the back door and when she pushed through it she saw Zack on his bike. The bike was running and he had just flipped up the kickstand. Nicole put her hands on her hips, and with a look on his face that said he knew he was caught, he turned off the bike, put the kickstand down, and slid off. He started toward her and before he had reached her she said, “What are you doing, Zack? You’re going to ruin everything.”

He looked hurt and she regretted her tone, but he had to know how important following the court’s instructions was. “I was having a bite to eat,” he said.

“Bullshit. You were watching and waiting for Spider to bring back Liam.”

“That too.”

“What if he saw you?”

“What if?” He shrugged. “It was still a free fucking country the last time I checked.”

“Zack, please…you know that if he saw you he would use it against you…and me. You have to stay away.”

“I’m not going to risk him showing up wasted and hurting you.”

“He hasn’t been using, at least not when he has Liam. His mother probably makes sure of it. He’s not going to hurt me while his rights to Liam are at stake. He hasn’t been using drugs and he’s been polite and agreeable. They’re taking good care of Liam. I don’t want to piss him off…”

“So, this isn’t even about the custody thing. See…I wondered about that. The judge never said you couldn’t see me. What he said, and what I assume those papers say, is that I can’t be around Liam. That was what his attorney asked for and you didn’t argue it. You just don’t want to piss him off. He still owns you.”

“Fuck that! Nobody owns me! I’m doing what I have to do for my son and whether you like it or not, that includes complying with the court order and at least trying to get along with his father.”

“You’re being naïve. Spider hasn’t changed. He’s pretending.”

“I’m not naïve. I never said he changed, but god damn it, Zack, he’s trying. If I don’t do the same then instead of looking at fifty-fifty custody with him, I’ll be the one begging for visitation.”

“So you’re going to be friends with this piece of shit who used you as a punching bag for how long?”

“I never said I’d be ‘friends’ with him. It’s just about getting along so that Liam doesn’t suffer in the process. You don’t have a child, so you can’t possibly understand…”

“Oh, I understand. I get it, finally. I’ll leave you the fuck alone.”

“Why are you being like this? Last night…” He’d already turned and headed for his bike. She wanted to tell him how beautiful last night had been and how it had given her to courage and the strength to continue moving forward. “Zack…” He didn’t stop and he didn’t look at her as he climbed on the bike and drove away. The smile that wouldn’t leave her face all day was gone and her chest hurt. She didn’t know how he couldn’t understand that she wasn’t trying to hurt him. She loved him, for Christ’s sake. How can he not see that I’m just being a mother, and no matter how much I love him that always has to come first?

* * *

Zack woke up the next morning to the sound of his alarm and a headache that pounded out in steady rhythm along with it. After the confrontation with Nicole, he’d gone to the bar and spent the next six hours steadily getting drunk. He checked his phone probably a hundred times, expecting at least a text from Nicole, telling him that she was sorry. She had overreacted to seeing him in the diner. He knew what he was doing. He’d been there every time that Spider brought Liam back so far and no one had seen him. He was protecting her and her baby. Why couldn’t she see that?

He threw back the covers that he’d only been underneath for a couple of hours and sat up on the side of the bed. He felt like an eighty-year-old man as he got to his feet. Everything hurt. As far as he remembered, he hadn’t gotten into any fights the night before, but he sure as hell felt like he had. He started toward the shower, craving the feel of the hot water on his aching muscles, when his phone rang. With another disgruntled sigh, he went back over next to the bed and picked it up. He didn’t recognize the number and then he answered it and heard:

“Mr. Leoni, this is Detective Samuels of the San Antonio Police Department.” He’d almost forgotten about all of that as well.

“Detective, good morning. Thanks for getting back to me.”

“Mr. Davis says there’s something you and I need to talk about.”

“Yes, sir. Unfortunately, I have court in an hour and a half.”

“I’ll meet you at the courthouse at 8:45.”

Zack raised an eyebrow. “It might take a little longer than fifteen minutes.”

“I’m sure it will. I have an injunction to delay the indictment…for now. We’ll talk and see if there is anything further we might want to do for each other.”

Zack felt a sense of relief wash over him. He knew he was far from being off the hook, but the detective’s flying to Tennessee overnight and delaying the hearing was a good start. “I look forward to it,” he told Detective Samuels before hanging up. He finished getting ready and then headed downstairs to handle the toughest part of this deal…he had to let Stone know what he intended to do. Although this had nothing to do with the Invaders, it was going to reflect on the ability of the club to trust Zack as a whole. It was even grounds for exile from the club per the bylaws. He held his breath when he reached Stone’s door and raised his hand to knock. No matter what he or the detective said, Zack’s life was about to change, probably drastically.