Page 75 of 12 Months of Mayhem

It didn’t.

Which was… weird.

There’d been plenty of times when the second a woman even mentioned she had a kid, I was already mentally packing up and moving on. Ghost mode. No hesitation.

But Maddie hadn’t made me feel that way.

She’d told me about her son, and instead of running, I’d found myself wanting to know more. Not just about him, but about her.

I shrugged. “Not really.”

Moose let out a low whistle, then shook his head and leaned back against the headboard. He laced his fingers behind it like he was watching a slow-motion train wreck. “Man, you are crazy.”

Maybe I was. But I didn’t care.

Something about Maddie just felt… right. I didn’t have some deep poetic reason for it.

And I knew I wouldn’t sleep worth a damn if I didn’t at least check in to see if she was working by herself again tonight.

I headed for the door. “Don’t wait up for me.”

Moose chuckled behind me. “Yeah, I won’t, man. Have fun.”

I gave him a quick nod and stepped out into the night.

The air was brisk, same as the night before. Not cold enough to see your breath, but enough to wake you up the second it hit your skin. My boots hit the pavement with a solid rhythm as I crossed the lot to where my bike was parked.

I turned the key and twisted the throttle. The engine cracked to life with a deep, satisfying growl that vibrated through my chest and into my bones. I let it idle for a second, then popped it into gear and rolled out.

The wind tugged at my jacket, but I leaned into it. There was something about riding at night that always settled me—like the dark stripped everything else away.

But tonight wasn’t about the ride.

Tonight was about Maddie.

Chapter Seven

Maddie

I heard him before I saw him.

The low, rough growl of his bike echoed down the road and got louder as it neared the station. It was like my body knew it was him before my eyes confirmed it—my stomach did a full flip, then another for good measure.

I had a feeling he’d come back tonight.

I’d told myself not to expect it. I’d told myself he was probably off doing whatever guys like him did when they weren’t busy playing my unlikely protector. But some stubborn little voice in the back of my mind had insisted he would be back.

And here he was.

Diamond had called around eleven-thirty to say she still wasn’t coming in tonight. She sounded worse than she had last night—raspy, exhausted, and I’m pretty sure she nodded off while we were mid-conversation. I told her not to worry about it. I didn’t want whatever it was she had.

It was half past twelve now.

Friday nights into Saturday mornings were strange out here. Slower in terms of traffic, sure, but busier when it came to… interesting characters. You got the pre-party crowd stopping for snacks, the post-bar zombies looking for greasy food and hydration, and the occasional sad soul who just didn’t want to go home yet.

It almost made me miss being young and out doing dumb stuff on the weekends. Almost.

But the truth was, even if I had the night off, I’d still be home with Tucker. After he was born, it didn’t take long for me to realize he was all I really needed. Him, my mom, and Diamond—they were my whole circle. And I was fine with that.

---