Chapter 6
Cleo POV?
I still couldn’t believe it. Tommy was asleep. Not in a bed, not curled up beside me, not sprawled out on a couch.
In Chains’ lap.
The giant biker sat completely still, as though he was afraid moving might wake him. The sight should have been ridiculous.
Instead, it did something unfamiliar in my chest.
Tommy didn’t do this, not with strangers, not anymore. After Wade died, he became quieter, more cautious, and more attached to Skylar and me.
Yet somehow, after only a few hours, he’d climbed into Chains’ lap and fallen asleep like he’d known him forever.
I looked at my son.
Then, the man holding him.
Dark hair. Dark eyes. Broad shoulders. Tattooed arms.
Everything about him was intimidating. Everything about him should have made me nervous.
Instead, I felt safe.
The realization startled me. My gaze lingered a second too long, taking in Tommy resting against his chest, the careful way Chains held him, and the softness beneath all that muscle and ink.
A flutter started low in my stomach. I pushed it away immediately.
No. Absolutely not.
Wade had only been gone four months. Just four months. Guilt hit me right away.
Sharp. Unwelcome.
I loved my husband. Always would. We’d grown up together and built a life together, had children together. Whatever this strange awareness of Chains was, it didn’t matter.
It couldn’t.
Thankfully, Rage broke the moment.
“I’ll put Lola to bed.”
“I should take Tommy.”
Chains glanced down at Tommy. Tommy burrowed closer. Traitor.
Rage grinned. “I think you’ve been replaced.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not helping.”
“I’ve got him,” Chains said quietly, and before I could argue, he stood. Tommy didn’t even stir.
My heart squeezed. The way Tommy trusted him, and how Chains cared for him, stayed with me. For a moment, I watched, then, I followed them into the clubhouse.
Upstairs, the noise faded. The hallway felt surprisingly normal, filled with family photos, children’s drawings, and a warmth I never expected in a biker clubhouse.
Families lived here.
Rage tucked Lola into her bed. Chains carried Tommy into the room next door, I followed.
The room was simple and comfortable, clearly meant for kids who stayed over. Chains lowered Tommy onto the bed with a gentleness that didn’t fit his size.
Tommy sighed, Chains tucked the blanket around him. The way he did it was so natural, it made my chest ache.
Rage appeared in the doorway, switching on a baby monitor. He handed another to Chains.
“Lola likes knowing we’re nearby.”
That thoughtfulness hit me harder than I expected.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Rage shrugged, pleased. “No problem.”
I looked at the sleeping children one last time, safe, happy, content and for the first time since Wade died, I felt like I could finally breathe again.
Maybe moving to Creek Wood had been the right decision.
----
The bathroom was empty when I slipped inside. I splashed cool water on my face and stared at my reflection. I looked tired, not as tired as last week, but still tired.
The grief was still there. It always would be, but something else had started to grow next to it: hope.
The realization almost made me cry. Instead, I took a breath and stepped back into the hallway, laughter drifted up from downstairs. Music, voices, I smiled, then froze.
Voices drifted from a nearby room. The office door wasn’t fully closed, I wasn’t trying to listen.
Then I heard Stella.
“Tell her,” she said. “You have to tell her.”
My body went still. Completely still, a cold rush swept through me.
Then Graves’ voice, rougher than usual.
“I don’t want to lose her again.”
Again?
My pulse kicked hard.
“I just found her.”
The words hit me hard. Found me? What did that mean?
“Graves” Stella said low and soft.
“No.” He said sharply, the word cracked through the room. Hard. Determined. “I’ve waited too long already.”
Silence. Then Rage spoke, low and firm. “It’ll be worse the longer you leave it.”
My heart pounded, a strange sick feeling crept in, unease, confusion, fear. If they were talking about me, then whatever they were hiding was about my life, my past, and maybe everything I thought I knew.
“She’s going to be hurt,” Rage continued. “She’ll think you lied to her.”
The silence that followed was heavy. Suffocating. Then another voice joined them.
Chains.
“You need to tell her.”
A gasp escaped me before I could stop it. Silence, complete silence. They’d heard me.
The office door flew open, Graves stood there, and for a moment, neither of us moved, neither of us spoke. I saw it right away the guilt, the fear, and the realization that the secret he’d tried to protect had finally reached me.
“Shit.”
My voice barely worked. “What are you keeping from me?”
His hand scrubbed across his face. “Cleo”
“No.” My voice shook. “I’ve heard the whispers. I’ve seen the looks. I’ve felt it since I first walked into that diner.”
Behind him, Stella, Rage, and Chains stood frozen. Uncomfortable, guilty even but not surprised.
Everyone knew, everyone except me.
“What is it?”
Graves closed his eyes, then he nodded, a defeated, resigned nod.
“Come inside.” He moved aside for me to step into the office.
“Tell me.” I demanded.
His gaze met mine, and for the first time since I’d met him, I saw real fear, not afraid for himself. Fear of losing something or someone. Me.
----
The office felt too small, too quiet. I sat opposite Graves’ desk. Stella stood beside him, Rage leaned against the wall, and Chains stayed near the window, jaw tight.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Graves looked at me. Those familiar green eyes, the same ones I’d seen in the mirror my whole life.
“Cleo.” His voice cracked. He took a breath. “Before I tell you anything, I need you to let me finish.”
I folded my arms. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but I stayed. “Fine.”
His shoulders eased slightly. He looked down at his hands. “I knew your mother.”
My chest tightened.
“Her name was Maria.” He stated.
I nodded once. That was the only thing I’d ever known.
Maria. No surname, no photograph, no answers.
Graves swallowed. “I loved her.” Pain flickered across his face, old, deep, and permanent. “We were young.” His gaze lifted. “Maria got pregnant.”
My heartbeat stumbled, it felt slow, heavy, and loud.
“I knew about the baby,” he said quietly. “I wanted that child.”
The words hit me harder than they should have, because all my life I’d believed the opposite that I hadn’t been wanted.
“I was ready to be a father.” He opened a drawer and slid a photograph across the desk.
My fingers trembled as I picked it up, a young woman smiled back at me. She had honey-brown hair, my hair, my nose, and my smile. She looked like an older version of me.
“That’s Maria.”
After twenty-eight years of wondering, suddenly she was real.
“Maria loved you,” Graves said softly. “She loved you before you were even born.” His jaw tightened. “What happened after she left… I don’t know.”
The admission hurt him. “I wish I did.” His eyes met mine. “I’ve spent twenty-eight years wishing I did.”
Pain carved through his expression. “I don’t know why she ran. I don’t know where she went. I don’t know what happened to either of you.”
His voice broke. “That’s what made losing you so hard. I wasn’t given a choice.”
“One day, I was preparing to become a father. The next day, you were both gone.”
The room tilted, I gripped the edge of the chair, then Graves leaned forward.
“I believe you’re my daughter.” The words didn’t land all at once.
They hit me in pieces, sharp and impossible, and each one hurt.
“Everything points to it,” he said. “The timing. Maria and…”
His voice softened.
“Those eyes.”
Silence swallowed the room. I stared at him, the man who believed he was my father, the man whose eyes stared back at me from the mirror every morning.
Then I stood, the chair scraped loudly. Graves flinched.
“Cleo” He said.
“I’m not saying you’re lying.” My voice sounded distant and hollow. “I’m not saying I believe it either.”
Nobody moved.
“I’ll do a DNA test.” Those words felt like the only solid thing in the room. “I want proof.”
Graves nodded instantly. “Whatever you need.”. The desperation in his voice hurt almost as much as the hope did.
“I need time,” I whispered, then I turned and walked out. Nobody stopped me, not Stella, Rage, Chains or even Graves.
I found Tommy first, still asleep. Then I found Skylar, confused but trusting me enough not to ask questions yet. Within minutes, we were heading towards the car park.
I could feel them watching, all of them. Especially Graves but I didn’t look back.
Because if I did, I wasn’t sure if I’d run to him or away from him.