After Burn (Lost Kings MC 10)

“Heidi got lamb loin chops,” he says, striding into the kitchen.

“That sounds amazing. I swear, lately all I want to eat is meat with a side of meat.”

He chuckles as he pulls ingredients out and sets them on the counter.

“Let me go change and I’ll help.”

“Nah, why don’t you go take a nap and I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”

I hesitate.

“Come on, you know you want to be bright-eyed when your man gets home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hope, I think it’s the least I can do for you after you’ve let Heidi, Alexa, and me live in your house for so long.”

“You’re sure?”

He waves me off instead of answering, and I trudge my way upstairs.

I slip off my blazer and drape it over a chair by the door. My boots get kicked in the direction of my closet. I only mean to sit on my bed for a second to roll my stockings off, but I end up falling back and drifting off to sleep.

The area in front of the clubhouse is lit up from both the floodlights and the open garages doors when I ride up.

I back into my usual spot and stop in the garage before heading home.

“What’s up?” I lift my chin at Z and Wrath.

Z taps the wrench in his hand against the front tire of his bike. “Noticed a puff of black smoke earlier. Replacing the air filter.”

“I think that shitty little gas station down the hill already switched to winter blend,” Wrath adds.

Z shakes his head. “I never stop there.”

“Where’s Murphy?” I ask, since normally he’d be helping Z out here.

“He was helping me earlier,” Wrath says. “But your girl drove up and he ditched me to walk her home.” He points at Z. “Plus, he was being totally inappropriate telling Hope how big his dick is and everything.”

I glare at Z, who throws a crumpled rag at Wrath’s head. “Shut up. She knew I was messing around.”

“You two are assholes,” I growl. “You gonna pull the plugs tomorrow if the air filter doesn’t solve it?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe you can use your dick to swab the chamber and check for oil,” Wrath suggests.

I roll my eyes and blow out a long breath. “Catch you two later.”

Other than a few faint sounds from the garage and the wildlife, the woods are quiet as I walk the path home.

After being confined to the garage all day, I take my time absorbing the space and open air around me.

All the lights are on downstairs. I circle around to the back and into the basement laundry area to leave my boots and change out of my grungy work clothes before heading upstairs.

The sounds and smells of dinner meet me when I step into the living room.

“Hey, Prez,” Murphy calls out.

A quick sweeping glance of the open downstairs shows Murphy’s alone. “What’re you up to?”

“What’s it look like?” He sets a stack of plates on the counter. “Will you go wake Hope? Dinner’s almost ready.

“She okay?”

“Yeah, she looked really tired when she came home, so I told her to go take a nap while I made dinner.”

I swallow hard and nod before thanking him. “Where’s Heidi at?”

“Had a play date with a girl from one of her classes. She’s got a daughter around Alexa’s age.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah, nice girl. Single mom. Lives with her parents. She’s been helping Heidi out with her Chem class and Heidi’s been helping her with Anatomy.”

“Probably good for her to hang out with another mom her age.”

He shrugs. “I think so. We’ll see.”

“You meet her?” Murphy’s protective streak runs as wide as mine. I don’t doubt he’s checked out someone spending so much time around his girls. Even if she is a young single mother.

“Couple times when I picked Heidi up from school. Kinda shy. Heidi keeps trying to talk Carter into a blind date.”

I snort. “How’s that working out?”

“Dunno. Don’t wanna know.” He glances at his phone on the counter next to him. “She should be home soon.”

“You need help here?”

“Nah.”

“Hey.” I wait for him to look up. “Thanks for doing this.”

“No problem, Prez.”

I jog up the stairs, eager to see my girl. The small lamp by the bed throws a weak circle of light over Hope’s half-dressed body.

Almost looks like she fell asleep as she was changing.

“Hope,” I whisper, hating like hell to wake her up.

The angle she’s at looks awkward as fuck, so I lift her legs onto the bed and finish taking off her stockings.

“Mmmm.”

“Babe, dinner’s almost ready,” I try again.

She blinks a few times, then smiles at me. “You’re home.”

“I’m home. Missed you.” I cup her cheek with my hand and she closes her eyes. “Tired?”

“Yes.” She yawns and stretches. “But I feel a little better after my nap.”

“Murphy says dinner is almost done.”

“Aw, he’s such a sweetheart. Z was picking on me earlier and Murphy came to my rescue.”

“Z what?”

“Nothing.” She pushes away from me and stands.

“Damn, you look good in those.”

She shimmies her butt in my face a few times and I yank her closer, sinking my teeth into a cheek.

“Come on, let’s feed you and then I want to take you to bed early.”

“Really?” She bats her eyelashes at me. “And do what?”

“Worship the ever-living-fuck out of you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Now that we’re telling people about the baby, I figure I better let Adam know that I’ll slowly be dialing back my caseload in the coming months.

“What’s on your mind, Hope? You look stressed,” he says when I knock on his open office door Monday morning.

“Not stressed.” I perch my butt on one of his uncomfortable wood and leather chairs that always feels like it’s going to tip over. “Excited, actually.”

“About? Don’t tell me you’ve found another office space you’d rather rent out? I like having you here.”

“Not quite.” My hand settles over my stomach. “We’re having a baby. So, yes, I’ll probably be winding down my cases over the next few months.”

He sits back and stares at me for a few seconds. Not exactly the reaction I expected. Then again, he’s a guy. Mara had lost her marbles and actually wept when I told her.

“So you’re just going to quit practicing?” he finally asks.

Shocked by his tone, it takes me a second to formulate a response. “No. Well, I don’t think so. But I need to focus on my health and making sure this baby’s healthy.”

“Some women do both you know.”

“Well, that’s great for them.” My tone sharpens and I lift my chin. “But I’ve already lost two babies and I have no intention of losing this one.”

His eyes widen and he sits back, reminding me that Rock’s really the only one I’ve ever talked to about the miscarriage I had when I was married to Clay. Unfortunately, it’s been on my mind a lot lately. I’m terrified that any

thing wrong I do might—no. Don’t go there.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that. I’m just surprised. If you’re happy, I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you.”

He stands and comes to my side of the desk, holding out his arms. Willing to set aside my irritation because of our friendship, I stand and let him hug me.

“Congratulations. Is Rock happy about it?”

The corners of my mouth twitch. “Very much so.”

“That’s great. Good. If this is what you want, I’m happy for you.”

Not the most loving congratulations, but I can’t expect everyone to be as excited about this as I am. What’s a monumental, life-altering change in my life, is just another piece of news in everyone else’s.

Well, except the club. The guys surprised me with their excitement and interest. And the way they congratulated Rock as if he’d solved the mysteries of the universe rather than knocked me up.

“I have a meeting downtown,” Adam says. “Will you be okay here by yourself?” he asks. “I’ll lock up.”

“I’ll be fine. I won’t be here too long.”

“See you later.”

Unsettled, I wander into my closet-sized office. I won’t call Rock and tell him Adam sort of hurt my feelings with his lukewarm reaction. He’ll want to ride down here and kick Adam’s ass and that’s not exactly going to help our friendship.

I contemplate calling Mara instead. She’d been excited enough for ten people when I told her. She’ll definitely make me feel better.

“Hey, momma-to-be,” she answers right away.

“Are you busy?”

“Nope. What’s up? Everything okay?”

I relay my conversation with Adam to her and she sighs.

“He’s such a dude. Dudes don’t get it.”

“You think I’m terrible for wanting to take time off?”

“Um, no. Time off should be mandatory in every civilized society. Trust me. I still haven’t gone back to a full-time caseload and I have no guilt what-so-ever. Cora, my husband, and my sanity come first.”

“Well, your husband’s a billionaire.”

She chuckles softly. “Not quite. But I’m fairly confident Rock will support whatever you want to do and do everything possible to take care of you.”