Page 2 of Jaxon

“Nice to meet you, Mia,” he said, his voice steady but strained.“I hope I see you around.”

Harper gave him a tight smile, her hand resting protectively on Mia’s shoulder.“We should get going.It was good to see you, Jaxon.”

“Yeah,” he replied, his eyes locked on hers.“You too.”

As Harper led Mia away, Jaxon stood rooted to the spot, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

His heart pounded in his chest, his thoughts a chaotic swirl of confusion, anger, and something deeper—something he couldn’t quite name yet.

Mia.His daughter.It was like a punch to the gut.He had never imagined this moment would come, especially not like this.Jaxon had thrown himself fully into club affairs over the past few years, but if he knew about Mia, a child—his child—maybe he would have...

Jaxon shook his head, willing himself to stay calm.He couldn’t change the past.Jaxon flexed his fingers at his sides, the need to do something, anything, gnawing at him.

He couldn’t just let this moment pass.There were too many unanswered questions, too many things left unsaid.But the look on Harper’s face, the way she had avoided his gaze, told him this wasn’t a simple situation.

He turned on his heel, making his way toward his bike.He needed time to think, but time was the one thing he didn’t have.This wasn’t something he could just let slide.

Mia was his daughter, his flesh and blood.And Harper had kept this from him.Why?What had happened all those years ago that had led to this moment?

Jaxon’s mind raced as he threw his leg over his bike, the engine roaring to life beneath him.The sound of the motorcycle cut through the air, but it did nothing to silence the chaos in his head.

He didn’t know what he was going to do yet, but he knew one thing for sure: he wasn’t going to let Harper slip away from him again.Not this time.Not with a daughter involved.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, his mind kept drifting back to Mia and that soft smile she’d given him.The way she seemed so much like Harper, but also ...different.The way she looked at him with those big green eyes, so curious, so trusting.How could Harper have kept her from him all this time?

Jaxon gripped the handlebars harder, his knuckles whitening.He didn’t know what he expected, what he was hoping for when he left her all those years ago, but this wasn’t it.He wasn’t prepared for this.But he was prepared to fix it.

****

Later that evening, Jaxon couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that clung to him like a second skin.He had no idea how to approach Harper, or if she’d even let him close enough to ask the questions burning in his gut.

She had shut him out once before, and she’d done it again—this time with a child.A child he had every right to know.

His mind went back to the way she’d looked at him earlier.She was still the same Harper he remembered, beautiful and independent, but there was something else there now.A hardness in her eyes, a layer of protection around her heart.And Mia—God, Mia.Jaxon’s throat tightened as he remembered the way the little girl had whispered his name, as if she knew him, as if she’d always known him.That was the moment he realized how much he had missed.

Pulling into the Iron Sentinels clubhouse, Jaxon cut the engine and leaned back against the bike.He’d been here enough times to know what to expect, but tonight, everything felt different.The tension in his chest wouldn’t ease, and all he could think about was Harper and Mia.

He took a deep breath, trying to shake the storm of emotions that swirled inside him, and walked toward the clubhouse.He didn’t know what he was going to say when he saw Harper again.He didn’t even know if she was going to let him get close enough to speak.But he knew he had to try.For Mia.For them.

Inside the clubhouse, the usual noise and camaraderie surrounded him, but Jaxon barely registered it.His brothers called out greetings, but he only gave distracted nods, his mind still fixed on the woman and child who had just walked into his life in the most unexpected way.

He found his VP, Gunner, sitting at the bar with a few of the other guys.Gunner raised an eyebrow when he noticed Jaxon’s somber mood, but didn’t say anything right away.

“You okay, man?”Gunner asked, his voice low and knowing.

Jaxon let out a breath and took a seat next to Gunner.“Yeah, I’m good.Just got something to figure out.”

Gunner’s sharp eyes narrowed.“Something like what?”

Jaxon rubbed his face, trying to push down the wave of frustration that threatened to surface.

“Harper,” he finally said.“She’s got a kid.My kid.”

Gunner’s expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker of surprise in his eyes.“A kid?You’re sure?”

“Yeah,” Jaxon replied.“I saw her today.Mia ...that’s her name.She’s mine.”

Gunner leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest.“That’s a lot to take in, man.”

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