Page 32 of Hammer

Amelia studied me for a moment, those brown eyes seeing more than I wanted her to.“I doubt it was that simple.”

It hadn’t been.Nothing about saving a traumatized sixteen-year-old girl from human traffickers was simple.Nothing about helping her heal, watching her nightmares, teaching her to trust again had been easy.But I wasn’t about to say all that with her kids within earshot.

“Seven o’clock,” I repeated instead, touching the brim of an invisible hat before turning to leave.

As I walked out to the truck, I heard Aura’s laughter floating through the open windows of the duplex.The sound always hit me square in the chest, a reminder of how close we’d come to never hearing it at all.Some people were worth saving, worth protecting.Aura was one.Amelia and her boys were too.

* * *

My living room had never felt small until I watched Amelia and her boys file in behind Aura.Suddenly, the space I’d occupied alone for years, and later with Aura, seemed cramped, the worn leather furniture and scattered motorcycle memorabilia marking it as unmistakably mine.I’d shoved some laundry into my bedroom and cleared beer bottles from the coffee table but hadn’t thought to do much else.It wasn’t like I’d been planning a dinner party when I’d woken up yesterday.Now I had two teenagers, their mother, and my daughter crowding around while Aura carried in pizza boxes, her voice filling the silence with cheerful chatter that bounced off the walls.

“Plates are in the kitchen,” I said, gesturing vaguely toward the adjoining room.“Drinks in the fridge.”

Chase stood awkwardly by the door.Levi had already gravitated toward my bookshelf, fingers trailing over spines with reverent curiosity.

“You can look at them,” I told him, noting his surprise.“Books are meant to be read.”

Levi pulled one out -- an old motorcycle repair manual.“Thanks,” he said quietly.

Amelia hovered between the kitchen and living room, as if unsure where to plant herself.She wore jeans and a simple shirt, her brown hair loose around her shoulders instead of in the ponytail she’d worn earlier.The casual look suited her, softened her edges in a way that made my chest tighten unexpectedly.

“I ordered five different pies,” Aura announced, setting the stack of boxes on the coffee table.“Because I have no idea what anyone likes except Dad, and he’ll eat anything that doesn’t eat him first.Well, and of course, Chase’s aversion to pineapple.”

“Not true,” I grunted, moving to help her.“I draw the line at that anchovy disaster you brought home last month.”

“Philistine,” she teased, bumping her hip against mine as she passed.

The sudden rumble of a motorcycle outside made everyone tense except Aura and me.I recognized the engine -- my son’s Harley, customized with the same pipes I’d had on my first bike.The heavy tread of boots on my porch was followed by the door swinging open without a knock.Sam strode in, his massive frame filling the doorway, dark eyes sweeping the assembled group with surprise.

“The fuck is this, Dad?Intervention?”He grinned to soften the blunt words, but his gaze lingered on Amelia and her boys with undisguised curiosity.His cut bore the same Dixie Reapers patch as mine, though his was newer, the leather not yet weathered by decades of sun and rain.He’d patched in not too long ago and now went by Ghost.

“Pizza night,” I said, as if I regularly invited strangers over for dinner.“Amelia and her sons, Chase and Levi.They’re staying in one of the duplexes.”I gestured to my son.“This is Sam, but outside the walls, he goes by Ghost.”

Understanding flickered across Sam’s face.He and Aura exchanged a look I couldn’t quite interpret before he stepped fully into the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, his voice deliberately casual as he grabbed a slice directly from the box.“Heard we might have visitors.Didn’t expect dinner with Dad.”He took a massive bite, cheese stretching from the pizza to his mouth.

Aura rolled her eyes.“Use a plate, you animal.”

“What for?Just means more dishes,” Sam replied through his mouthful.

“And this is why you’re still single,” Aura shot back, handing plates to Amelia and the boys.

The easy banter between them broke some of the tension.Chase accepted his plate with a mumbled thanks, selecting a slice of meat-lovers pizza.Levi chose plain cheese, perching on the edge of the couch like he might need to bolt at any moment.Amelia took supreme, her movements graceful as she navigated the unfamiliar space.

“What are we watching?”Sam asked, dropping onto the floor and leaning back against the couch.

“Something with explosions,” I suggested.“Die Hard?”

“The boys probably want something more current,” Amelia said, looking to Chase and Levi.

“Die Hard’s classic,” Chase replied with a shrug.“I’m good with that.”

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by his taste.Maybe the kid wasn’t so bad after all.

We arranged ourselves in the living room as I found the DVD -- one of the few physical copies I still kept around.Aura curled into one end of the couch, Sam sprawled on the floor beside her, while Amelia perched at the opposite end of the couch, maintaining a careful distance from everyone.The boys settled on the floor with their plates, Chase positioned so he could see both the TV and his mother, ever vigilant.I took my recliner, the worn leather creaking a familiar welcome beneath my weight.

The movie provided a buffer against conversation, filling the silence with gunfire and one-liners that had Chase smirking occasionally.I found myself watching the others more than the screen -- Aura mouthing along to her favorite lines, Sam absently spinning his rings as he watched, Levi’s analytical expression as he dissected the plot, Amelia’s occasional sideways glances in my direction when she thought I wasn’t looking.

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