Chapter 13
HADLEY
As sunlight filtered through the edges of the blinds, I woke slowly, cocooned in heat and the steady rhythm of Thayer’s breathing against the back of my neck.
His big body was curled around mine, one heavy arm locked possessively over my waist, his palm spread across my stomach like he needed to feel me even in sleep.
My back was pressed flush to his chest, and every inch of skin that touched his felt branded in the best possible way.
The memory of last night still hummed through my body. I shifted a little, savoring the delicious ache between my thighs. And the way his hold tightened instinctively, pulling me closer as if he didn’t need to be awake to refuse to let me go.
A contented sigh escaped me. This was becoming my favorite way to wake up—wrapped in Thayer like I belonged here. I couldn’t stop myself from pressing a soft kiss to the tattooed forearm draped over me.
He made a low, sleepy sound in response, the vibration rumbling straight through me. His hand slid higher, his fingers splaying just beneath my breast, his thumb brushing lazy circles that made my nipples tighten against the sheet. Even half-asleep, the man was utterly addictive. And I loved it.
I lay there, letting myself enjoy the quiet luxury of no expectations.
It was easy to imagine every morning like this, knowing I was exactly where I was meant to be.
The thought made my breath catch in my chest. I’d spent years learning how to shrink myself to fit someone else’s perfect picture. But Thayer made room for all of me.
His muscles bunched as he pulled me tighter to nuzzle into my hair. “Morning, baby.”
“Good morning,” I whispered back, smiling against his arm. I turned just enough to press a kiss to his jaw, letting my fingers trace the ink on his forearm.
I was enjoying this quiet moment with him when the doorbell echoed through the house.
Thayer’s body tensed behind me. The relaxed, sleepy man vanished in an instant, replaced by the alert biker I’d first met at the track.
I sat up slowly, the sheet pooling around my waist..
“Who could that be this early?” I asked, reaching for the nearest shirt. One of his, of course.
Thayer was already rolling out of bed, pulling on sweatpants with efficient movements. “Not expecting anyone.”
The bell rang again, and something in my stomach twisted with uneasy anticipation.
Thayer pulled on a black T-shirt and pajama pants then moved toward the hallway as I scrambled out of bed, tugging his oversized shirt over my hand and down my thighs. Before I followed, I dug through my steadily growing stash of clothes for a pair of leggings and pulled them on.
Thayer opened the door before I could reach him.
My parents stood on the front step, perfectly composed in the morning light. Their expressions were polite, but their eyes were calculating, scanning the interior of Thayer’s house with barely concealed distaste.
“Hadley.” My father spotted me behind Thayer. “It’s time to come home.”
My mother’s gaze flicked over Thayer’s broad shoulders and the leather vest hanging on the back of a kitchen stool.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “We had to piece together your location through a rather unpleasant conversation with one of your racing acquaintances, who told us about the accident. Pack your things. We’ll wait. ”
I stood frozen in the hallway, the happy warmth from minutes ago draining away.
I fought the need to smooth things over, my fingers twisting in the hem of Thayer’s shirt as I stepped forward.
“I’m fine. Really. It was just a small accident at the track, and Thayer—Dr. Duvall—made sure I was taken care of. ”
My mother’s eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of his title, as if even that professional credential couldn’t outweigh the motorcycle club patch she’d clearly noticed.
“Optics matter, Hadley. You’ve been gone for days.
People are starting to ask questions after you missed an important function a few nights ago.
Your father has a donor dinner next week, and we cannot afford any complications. ”
“Complications?” Thayer echoed, his tone carrying an unmistakable edge as he remained planted in the doorway, not inviting them inside.
My father lifted his chin. “We appreciate whatever medical assistance you provided, but our daughter belongs with her family. Our family’s reputation cannot be tied to motorcycle clubs and underground racing. It’s unseemly.”
I knew that tone. They weren’t afraid I’d been hurt but of how it looked. The perfect politician’s daughter shacking up with a biker doctor was a headline they needed to bury.
My mother’s voice sharpened with practiced patience. “Hadley. Now.”
I felt myself wavering, the ingrained pull toward obedience tugging hard at my chest. But before I could force a single word past the knot in my throat, Thayer shifted his stance, placing his body more fully between my parents and me without making it look like a deliberate barrier.
The movement was subtle but somehow changed the entire power dynamic in the entryway. My father’s shoulders stiffened, and my mother’s perfectly manicured fingers tightened on her handbag strap.
Then Thayer murmured, “She’s not going anywhere.”
My father’s brows drew together. “Excuse me? This is a family matter.”
“It stopped being a family matter the moment you showed up at my door demanding she leave with you. Not because you care about her well-being, but about how it looks.” There was steel in Thayer’s tone. “Hadley is safe here. She’s staying.”
My mother let out an incredulous laugh that didn’t reach her eyes. “Safe? With a man who runs with a motorcycle club? Doctor or not, the associations alone are toxic. We have a reputation to protect, and so does our daughter. She has obligations. A future that does not include…whatever this is.”
Thayer’s gaze didn’t waver. “You’re worried about reputation? Interesting. Because I know things about Hadley’s past that might make your carefully built image look a lot more fragile than a few pictures of her with me.”
I blinked, confusion cutting through the anxiety churning in my stomach. I had no idea what he could be talking about.
My father’s chest puffed out. “I don’t know what you think you know, but you’re overstepping.”
“Am I?” Thayer tilted his head slightly, still perfectly composed. “Shell company payments. A surgeon who lost his license for unethical work. Ring any bells?”
My mother’s complexion paled beneath her flawless makeup. My father’s jaw clenched so tightly I could see the muscle jump. For the first time in my life, I watched both of them falter.
They exchanged a lightning-fast glance, the kind they used during tense campaign strategy sessions when something threatened to derail the narrative.
My mother recovered first. “This conversation is inappropriate and none of your concern. Hadley, we’ll discuss this at home.”
“She’s not leaving,” Thayer repeated. “And if you push this, I’ll make sure every detail I’ve uncovered sees the light of day. Optics, right? You understand how that works.”
The silence that followed was deafening. My father’s shoulders dropped a fraction, and my mother’s fingers loosened on her bag. They were backing down. Not because they suddenly cared about my happiness, but because Thayer had just shown them he held something over their heads.
I was the only one out of the loop on whatever they were talking about.
“We’ll give you time to think, Hadley. But this isn’t over.” My father looked at Thayer, cold calculation in his eyes. “You have no idea what you’re involving yourself in.”
Thayer didn’t flinch. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”
My parents turned and walked back to their sleek black car without another word. I stared at the empty doorway, confusion and unease swirling through my head.
“Thayer.” My voice came out small. “What was that?”
After shutting the door behind them, he turned to face me, his calm mask slipping just enough for me to see the fierce protectiveness burning underneath.
“You’re staying with me. Permanently.”
I stared up at him, my heart still hammering from the confrontation with my parents. “Why? If this is just about keeping me safe from some vague danger, then tell me what’s going on. I deserve to know.”
Thayer watched me for a long beat, then exhaled slowly. “You’re right.”
He took my hand and led me into the living room without another word. Then he sat on the big leather couch and pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling his thighs, my hands resting on his chest. The position felt intimate, like he needed me close while he delivered whatever blow was coming.
His palms settled on my hips, his thumbs stroking slow circles through the thin fabric of my leggings. “I was going to tell you last night at dinner, but…”
My cheeks heated at the memory of what had distracted him, but I nodded for him to go on.
“Jax has been digging. Your medical records don’t add up. The scar on your temple wasn’t from a childhood accident. It was a botched surgery meant to hide something—an identifying mark. The surgeon who worked on you lost his license years ago for unethical cuts.”
“I don’t understand.” I touched the scar with trembling fingers. “Why wouldn’t my parents get me proper medical care?”
Thayer’s hands tightened on me. “Your mother’s pregnancy records are fake. There are payments traced to a shell company tied to people who traffic in babies. We think you were taken as an infant and sold on the black market to your parents so they could have the perfect political family prop.”
I shook my head, his explanation making no sense. My entire life was built on a lie so my parents could look like the ideal family?
“They bought me?” My voice cracked.
Thayer’s hold on me was the only thing keeping me upright. “Yeah. And they went to a lot of trouble to bury it. That’s why I don’t trust them with your safety. I don’t know how far they’d go to keep the secret quiet. I’m not risking you.”
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. “I kept telling myself they loved me in their own way. That the conditional stuff was just how they showed it. But if they bought me for optics…” My throat closed. “I don’t know who I am anymore. Everything I thought was real was built on lies.”
Thayer’s hand came up to cup my cheek, forcing me to meet his eyes.
“Your past shapes you, Hadley, but it sure as hell doesn’t define who you are.
The woman sitting on my lap right now—the one who laughs too easily, talks too much when she’s nervous, and sneaks off to underground races because she’s got fire in her—that’s you.
Not some carefully manufactured politician’s daughter.
No one and nothing else gets to decide who you are except you. ”
The fierce conviction in his words was exactly what I needed. I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to his. “I don’t want to go back to them. Not after this. But it still hurts.”
“I know.” His arms slid around me, pulling me flush against his chest. “But you’re not alone in this.”
The last of the tension drained out of me as I melted into him. His hands stroked up and down my back, grounding me when everything else felt like it was spinning.
Thayer tilted my chin up. “You’re staying, baby. With me. Where you belong.”
I didn’t argue this time. I just kissed him and let the rest of the world fade away as I lost myself in the only thing that made sense to me right now—him.