Chapter 12
LARK
T he leather couch swallowed me whole as I curled into the corner of it, bare toes tucked under the bottom of my leggings, coffee warm in my hands. The mug was almost too big for me, heavy and chipped at the rim, but it smelled strong enough to kick the lingering fog of sleep right out of my head.
Across from me, Savannah sat cross-legged on the rug with stacking blocks and pieces of a chunky puzzle scattered around her. Her toddler son was rolling a car in a circle around her feet.
Callie was on the other side of the couch from me, sipping a mug of herbal tea.
Voices carried from somewhere down the hall, the low rumble of men talking business I had no place in, but the common room felt like a little pocket of calm. The perfect place to start my day off while Jaxton was busy in his office.
“Thanks for making breakfast.” Callie flashed me a grateful smile before licking her lips. “Your French toast was exactly what I needed this morning.”
“You’re welcome.” I took a sip of my coffee before admitting, “I really enjoyed making it. I used my mom’s recipe, and I felt closer to her making it for more than just myself.”
The women weren’t aware of the specifics of my situation, but with the marshals showing up to talk to Kane and Jaxton, and the heightened security around here since I arrived, they knew enough to understand what I was saying.
“Missing your family is rough,” Savannah murmured.
Callie leaned forward and stretched out a hand to pat my leg. “If it helps at all, I’m more than happy to eat your mom’s French toast as often as you want to make it.”
Savannah sputtered out a laugh. “How generous of you.”
Callie shrugged. “What can I say? I’m barely pregnant, but if this is any indication of what’s coming, I have a feeling the cravings are going to be brutal.”
“They really are,” Savannah murmured.
My cheeks heated as I wondered if I’d be experiencing them soon. With all the times Jaxton had come inside me already, the odds were high. And I was stunned to find that I wasn’t as worried about the possibility as I should be.
“Don’t be surprised if Edge hunts you down to make it for her again and again,” Savannah warned, pulling me from my thoughts.
“The guys take their protectiveness to a whole new level when their woman is pregnant. If Callie is craving your French toast, he’s going to come looking for you, and Jax won’t be able to stop him. ”
Callie shook her head with a laugh. “I’m sure he won’t be that bad, unlike how his big brother was with you.”
“Yeah right. Your old man is too broody for his own good,” Savannah teased, lobbing a soft block at Callie. “I swear Edge has a permanent scowl except when you’re around.”
Callie rolled her eyes, but the fond smile tugging at her mouth gave her away. “Like Kane’s any better. Guess it runs in the family.”
“Fair point.” Savannah wiggled her toes with a laugh. “Hopefully, Kylan will keep smiling all the time when he grows up.”
Her son beamed a drooly grin at his mom, making us giggle.
“Same with this one, boy or girl.” Callie patted her flat belly.
Something warm tugged in my chest at the sight, an ache I didn’t dare name. Especially with how many times Jaxton had taken me without anything between us.
“I don’t think you need to worry too much,” I murmured, watching Kylan play.
Both of them turned their attention to me, now that I’d spoken up.
“So, Lark.” Callie tilted her head with curiosity. “You settling in okay? Clubhouse life isn’t too overwhelming?”
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and let out a nervous laugh. “Honestly? I thought it might be. But this”—I gestured around the room—“this is a lot homier than I expected.”
Savannah’s smile softened. “Good. We’ll make sure it stays that way.”
I believed her.
“And she definitely has the power to back up that promise since the prez is head over heels for her.” Her smile widened. “The way Tatum is with me.”
“Another thing the brothers have in common,” Savannah agreed.
Callie giggled. “Axle and Nitro aren’t any better.”
“True.”
Their laughter rolled around the room, light and warm. I couldn’t help but smile, the knot of nerves in my chest loosening.
Maybe it was hearing Callie use Edge’s real name, or the curiosity that had been gnawing at me since I first heard the men call Jaxton by that clipped version of his, but the question slipped out before I could stop myself.
“So Jax…is it just short for Jaxton? Or does it mean something else?”
Bootsteps echoing across the floor reached us before either of them could answer.
Kane headed straight for his wife, bending low to give her a quick kiss and ruffle their son’s hair.
The way the club president’s fierce expression softened when he looked at them made my chest ache with envy.
I wasn’t in a place where I could plan a future with Jaxton, but I was quickly realizing that was what I wanted—time to fall deeply in love with each other and build a family.
Savannah grinned like she’d been waiting for him. “Perfect timing. Lark wants to know how Jax got his name.”
Heat flared in my cheeks. “I was just curious?—”
Kane cut his gaze to me, one brow lifting, then sat on the floor next to his family like he had all the time in the world. “You want the short version or the real one?”
“The real one,” Savannah said before I could answer, eyes sparkling with mischief.
A faint smirk tugged at Kane’s mouth. “In the pits, a jax is what lifts the car, keeps it stable, lets the crew do their work. Without it, the machine doesn’t move.
” He paused, like he wanted the words to sink in.
“Same with him. Whenever the Redline Kings needed stability, eyes in the wires, someone who could lift the weight—Jax was that guy. The one with skills nobody else could touch.”
My breath caught, but Kane wasn’t finished.
“Difference is, unlike the pit gear, he isn’t just holding cars steady.
He is jacking entire systems—traffic grids, police scanners, bank accounts.
You name it. Whatever it takes to keep the club safe.
He’s the jax under the car and the jax in the code—the thing holding us up while breaking everyone else down.
And he’s the only one who can do it for us. ”
Silence stretched in the room, broken only by the lazy whir of the ceiling fan. Kane’s tone had been matter-of-fact, but underneath it, I heard something fiercer. Pride. And the unspoken truth that without Jax, the Redline Kings wouldn’t have been able to build what they had in Crossbend.
I sat frozen, my coffee cooling in my hands. Suddenly, the quiet intensity that always clung to Jaxton made sense. The shrewdness. How he always seemed to be ten steps ahead. He wasn’t just the man at a keyboard—he was the foundation they all leaned on.
Callie nudged me with her foot, grinning. “Makes sense now, doesn’t it?”
Savannah’s smile softened. “You picked one of the good ones, Lark. Scary as heck when he wants to be, but good.”
The knot in my chest tightened again. Pride curled through me, fierce and startling, but so did fear. Because if he was the piece holding everything up…what happened if he broke?
Kane slid his hands under Savannah’s butt and lifted her onto his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “Who’re you calling scary?”
“Not you, that’s for sure.” She rolled her eyes with a laugh. “You lost any chance of intimidating me when you rubbed my feet while I was pregnant.”
Kane leaned back and patted the officer patch on his cut. “I wouldn’t have this if I wasn’t a scary motherfucker.”
“To everyone else but Kylan and me, sure,” she quickly agreed.
He nuzzled his face in her neck with a growl that caught their son’s attention. Climbing onto Savannah’s lap with a giggle, he copied his daddy, growling and burying his face between his mom’s breasts.
“Hey, little man.” Kane lifted Kylan over their heads, earning himself another giggle. Those are mine now.”
Savannah rolled her eyes. “Only because your kid’s appetite was too much for me to keep up with.”
Callie nudged me with her foot again, smirking. “You’re in trouble, you know.”
“Why?” I blinked.
“Because a man like that?” She tipped her chin toward Kane. “He doesn’t let go once he’s claimed something. And from the look of it, Jax is the same.”
I hoped she was right because for the first time in years, I let myself lean into the warmth of it all and felt like I belonged here too.