Chapter 13
HANNAH
Griffin had seemed tense every once in a while, but the past few days had been quiet in the best possible way. I had never enjoyed vacation days more, and we hadn’t even gone anywhere.
Tonight was no different. Griffin was on the living room floor with Isa propped against his bent knees. She was wide awake, alert, and perfectly content. Her tiny fingers were wrapped around one of his much larger ones while he talked to her in a soft tone that made my stomach flutter.
“You gonna be a little troublemaker?” he murmured, gently bouncing her. “Keep us on our toes because you’re too damn pretty for my own good?”
Isa’s answer was to coo and kick her legs while gripping his finger tighter. Griffin’s eyes crinkled at the corners with a smile that was becoming less rare as the days went by.
I sat on the couch watching them, my heart so full it almost hurt. This big, tattooed biker who could easily terrify most men cradled Isa like she was the most precious thing in his world.
“If she gets into trouble with you, all she’ll need to do is blink those blue eyes of hers to be forgiven.
” I slid off the couch to kneel beside them, adjusting the blanket that had slipped off her shoulders.
My hand brushed Griffin’s and felt a spark of connection zip through my arm.
“She’s already got you wrapped around her finger. ”
Griffin looked up at me and smirked. “Guilty. Both my girls do.”
I melted into a puddle of goo every time he called Isa and me his, and she seemed just as happy even though she didn’t understand the weight beneath that phrase.
She made a gurgling sound and reached for my hair.
I laughed softly and let her grab a strand, her grip surprisingly strong for such a tiny thing.
The three of us stayed like that for a long minute while Griffin talked nonsense to her, and I’d never been happier.
We eventually got Isa settled into her crib. She fussed for only a few minutes before drifting off. Griffin took my hand as we left the nursery, threading our fingers together like he wanted to keep me close. Something he often did.
When we got to the kitchen, he grabbed a beer for himself and poured me a glass of wine. We’d barely sat down on the couch in the living room and taken our first sips when a knock sounded at the front door.
Griffin’s demeanor shifted in an instant, the softness leaving his face. “Stay put, sweetheart.”
My pulse leaped when he crossed to the small closet by the door, opened the hidden safe, and pulled out a gun. He kept the weapon down at his side as he opened the door just enough to see who was there.
The breath I was holding puffed past my lips when I saw it was the club’s lawyer, who I’d met earlier in the week.
Ash’s brows arched at the sight of the gun. “Easy, brother. If I wanted to cause trouble, I’d have brought better snacks.”
Griffin didn’t smile, but he relaxed a fraction and put the gun away. “Get in here.”
He locked the door behind Ash, then crossed straight to me on the couch. Without another word, he sat and pulled me into his lap, one strong arm banding around my waist, the other resting possessively on my thigh. I liked how he kept us connected, eliminating every inch of distance.
Ash dropped onto the chair across from us. “You remember Rea had a brother?”
I nodded, my stomach already tightening. “Yeah. She was terrified of him getting anywhere near Isa.”
Ash gave Griffin a meaningful look I didn’t understand before continuing. “Isa’s uncle is the sergeant at arms for an Atlanta chapter of the Division Nine MC.”
Griffin’s body tensed beneath me. It was subtle, but I noticed because I knew him so well now.
Ash leaned forward. “These guys are nothing like the Hounds, Hannah. They don’t have a code and are into a lot of heavy shit.”
I swallowed down the sudden lump in my throat.
“No wonder Rea called CPS and made sure we knew she didn’t want Isa with her brother.
She very specifically mentioned the name on the birth certificate so we’d have to look for Griffin.
Family courts heavily favor biological parents over extended family members. ”
Ash nodded. “Exactly. Problem is, the uncle filed for custody. Pushed it through someone dirty in the system that his club has in their pocket.”
I gasped, horror flooding through me. “He what?”
“I handled it,” Ash quickly assured us. “Got the case transferred to a local judge here in Riverstone who can’t be pressured. DNA test is in, so everything’s on track. The uncle can’t win. I’m drawing up the last of the paperwork now. We should have a court date to finalize the adoption soon.”
Relief crashed over me so hard my eyes stung. “Thank goodness you have strings to pull. Normally, this would drag on forever.”
Ash answered every question I threw at him with calm confidence, making me wish he represented the kids on my caseload. He was just that good.
When he finally stood to leave, I asked, “Do you think there’s any chance something could go wrong and we lose her?”
Ash met my gaze, not a hint of worry in his eyes. “Not a chance in hell. But if the impossible happened, we’ve got that covered too. The Hounds would make sure the three of you disappeared together. New names, new life. No trace left behind.”
Griffin sighed heavily.
Ash quirked a brow. “You haven’t told her?”
Griffin stood, gently setting me on my feet before he shoved Ash toward the door. “I’ll walk you out.”
They were outside for a few minutes. When Griffin came back in, he locked up and set the alarm, still looking like something heavy was weighing on him.
Worst-case scenarios flashed through my head. Dark things I’d only seen in movies, like Griffin being some kind of assassin.
“What did he mean about disappearing? Are you guys hit men or something?”
Griffin shook his head, a reluctant smile tugging at his mouth. “Get that look off your face, baby. We’re not killers for hire.”
A little giggle slipped out before I could stop it, and the tension in my shoulders eased a fraction.
He sat on the couch and tugged me down beside him, tucking me into his side. “I wasn’t hiding anything from you. It just hadn’t come up yet. We’ve been so focused on Isa and settling in as a family that we hadn’t talked much about the club or my part in it.”
I leaned into him, hope surging through me at how easily he called the three of us a family. This moment felt important, like he was about to share something that only people he truly trusted would hear. And I was one of them now.
“Before I patched with the Hounds, I had a highly successful custom shop in Atlanta. I built a reputation as one of the best at rebuilding engines, fabricating parts, redesigning entire systems, and stripping vehicles down to the frame to rebuild them from scratch. Collectors, racers, and wealthy clients all came to me.” He shook his head with a sigh, his thumb stroking against my side.
“Some didn’t want questions asked about their cars.
I never crossed a line that violated my code, but I didn’t ask unnecessary questions either.
That gave me a reputation in the right circles for discretion…
and for knowing exactly how to erase a vehicle’s identity when needed. ”
I knew he was good at what he did, but I hadn’t considered the potential for a dark side to his business.
“King first came to me through a contact who needed a vehicle rebuilt, modified, and made untraceable. But not illegal on paper. I handled it flawlessly and kept my mouth shut. He kept sending work my way, watching how I operated. Eventually, he saw I had what he wanted in a Hound—a code and loyalty, but I wasn’t greedy and didn’t panic under pressure. That’s when he asked me to prospect.”
“And found brothers who have your back instead of trying to plunge a knife in it,” I whispered.
“Exactly.” Griffin’s hand stroked up and down my arm as he continued. “The Hounds run several legitimate businesses, but our main source of income is giving people completely new, untraceable identities so they can disappear and start over when they’re in real trouble.”
“Wow,” I breathed, my eyes going wide.
“I saw what the club truly was—a brotherhood built on loyalty and a code I respected,” he explained.
“They weren’t criminals for the sake of it.
They protected their own and used controlled violence against the right people.
It spoke to something in me. So I sold my shop, left Atlanta, and patched in. Found a purpose and a family.”
I nodded, getting where he was coming from with all I’d seen from his club since I’d been in Riverstone. “And a place where your skills matter beyond profit.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, his blue eyes searching mine. “Outside the club, my name still carries weight in the custom automotive world and in quieter circles where discretion matters. But the full extent of what I’m capable of isn’t widely known. The ones who’re aware don’t talk about it.”
Griffin was so much more than I’d realized—talented, dangerous in the best way, and fiercely protective. It turned me on more than I wanted to admit.
“You’re kind of a badass,” I whispered, a smile tugging at my lips. “And it’s ridiculously hot.”
Griffin’s eyes darkened with heat as I leaned in to kiss him, the rest of the world fading away while we lost ourselves in each other.