Page 28 of Hammer

As Chase moved to their room, I sank onto my bed, the reality of what I’d just proposed to Hammer crashing over me like a wave.Become his old lady.Let a man claim me again, even if only in name.Trade one leather cut for another.

But it wasn’t the same.It couldn’t be.Hammer’s eyes held none of the cruel possessiveness that had always lurked in Piston’s.His hands, when they’d brushed mine at the diner, had been gentle.And he’d come when I called -- not to control, but to protect.

I checked the window one last time, catching only the briefest movement at the end of the alley -- a dark figure turning the corner, disappearing from sight.Another trick of my anxious mind, I was sure.

Gathering my courage, I picked up the duffel and moved to check on the boys.Ten minutes had nearly passed.Hammer would be waiting, his patience wearing thin.I had no idea where he planned to take us or what would happen once we arrived.All I knew was that I’d offered myself as payment for my children’s safety, and I didn’t regret it.Not if it meant Chase and Levi would never have to fear their father again.

“Ready?”I called to the boys, hefting my duffel over my shoulder.The familiar weight of it -- this bag that had carried our desperate hopes out of Florida -- felt like both a burden and a security blanket.

Chase emerged from their bedroom, his own backpack slung over one shoulder, Levi’s in his other hand.Levi trailed behind him, clutching his laptop to his chest like a shield.

“We can come back for the rest, right?”Levi asked, looking around our small apartment.In just a few weeks, we’d managed to make this place feel like home -- more than any place we’d had in Florida.

“Yes, baby.This is just temporary.”I hoped I wasn’t lying to him.

I opened the door to find Hammer exactly where I’d left him, leaning against the railing, scanning the street below.He straightened when he saw us, nodding once at the boys before taking my duffel.

“My truck’s downstairs,” he said, his voice a low rumble.“We’ll leave your car here for now.”

“Where are we going?”Chase asked, stepping protectively closer to Levi.

Hammer’s gaze shifted to my older son, assessing him with a look that wasn’t unkind but wasn’t particularly warm either.“Somewhere safe.”

“That’s not an answer,” Chase pressed, and I tensed, ready to step between them if needed.

But Hammer just nodded, something like respect flickering across his face.“The compound.You’ll have a duplex to yourselves.”

The Dixie Reapers’ compound.My stomach twisted with a mixture of relief and apprehension.We’d be surrounded by bikers again, but this time ones sworn to protect us rather than control us.At least, that’s what I needed to believe.

“Let’s go,” Hammer said, already moving toward the stairs.“Stay close.”

We followed him down to the street.It remained quiet, the only movement coming from a stray cat slinking along the curb.

Hammer’s truck was parked at the bottom of the stairs as he’d said -- a massive black pickup that looked like it could plow through a brick wall without slowing down.He opened the passenger door for me, his hand briefly touching the small of my back as I climbed in.The casual contact sent an unexpected shiver up my spine.

The boys piled into the back seat, Chase sitting directly behind me as if to guard my back.Hammer slid behind the wheel, his large frame making even this beast of a truck seem almost small.

“Seat belts,” he said, not starting the engine until he heard three clicks of compliance.

As we pulled away from the curb, I couldn’t help glancing back at our apartment above the diner.The windows were dark now, no trace of the life we’d just abandoned visible from the street.

Hammer drove in silence, constantly checking the mirrors as we wound through side streets instead of taking the main road.My pulse quickened each time we passed a parked motorcycle, but I didn’t see any bikers who bore the Devil’s Minions colors.In the back seat, Levi had opened his laptop, the blue glow illuminating his face as his fingers flew across the keyboard.

“What are you doing?”I asked, twisting to look at him.

“Checking traffic cameras,” he replied without looking up.“Making sure we’re not followed.”

Hammer’s gaze flicked to the rearview mirror.“You can do that?”

Levi shrugged.“It’s not that hard if you know what you’re doing.Just need a signal, and your truck has Wi-Fi.”

A ghost of a smile touched Hammer’s lips before vanishing.At least he was taking this in stride.Not that I’d ever had a car with Wi-Fi before, but I’d imagine Levi had needed a password.Of course, knowing my son, he’d figured it out on the first try.“I heard you were good with computers.Didn’t realize how good.”

Pride warmed my chest despite the circumstances.My quiet, thoughtful son had skills that even these hardened bikers respected.Chase leaned over, watching Levi’s screen with narrowed eyes, his protective instincts never switching off.

“See anything?”Chase asked.

“Nothing yet,” Levi murmured.

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