Chapter 12
The second I turned the lock and pulled the door open, the quiet sunlit morning vanished – replaced instantly by a whirlwind of bright blonde energy.
Rose didn’t even wait for it to swing fully wide. She swept into my hallway like a force of nature, blue eyes bright and brimming with tears. Before I could even say hello, her arms wrapped tight round my waist, and she pressed her face into my shoulder.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright!” she muffled against my jumper, squeezing so tight it felt like she was trying to make sure I was really there. “Leo told me what happened yesterday. I barely slept a wink. I just had to come see you for myself.”
I stood frozen for a heartbeat, hands hovering in mid-air.
Back in London, affection was always polite – air kisses, formal handshakes, nothing more.
No one had ever held me like they were terrified I might disappear.
Then I slowly wrapped my arms round her too, and something tight inside me finally softened.
“I’m fine, Rose,” I said gently, a small real smile tugging at my mouth. “They didn’t hurt me. The club stepped in before they could.”
“Good,” she sniffled, wiping her cheek quick, and in the blink of an eye shifted from tearful friend to authority. She marched past me into the room, fixing both prospects with a look that would’ve made grown men tremble. “You two.”
The air in the room shifted entirely. Tiny looked like he wanted to sink straight through the sofa and vanish into the skirting boards. Swift practically turned to stone where he perched by the window.
“Right, you two,” Rose repeated, arms folded, tiny frame suddenly commanding every inch of space.
“You’re making my guest uncomfortable, and you’re making her home feel like a cage.
Sit down properly, drink your drink, or so help me I’ll tell Leo exactly how useless you’re being. Swift – get off that windowsill. Now.”
Swift blinked behind his sunglasses, shifting uneasily. “But Miss Thorn, perimeter—”
“I don’t care about the perimeter right this second!” she cut him off, sharp as a whip. “You’re ignoring your host. You’re being rude. Move.”
It was a shut-down. Swift didn’t argue another word.
He scrambled off the sill, practically diving onto the empty spot beside Tiny.
The poor old sofa groaned so loud I had to bite my lip not to laugh.
They sat there like two scolded schoolboys, hands folded neatly in their laps, staring straight ahead.
From the doorway, Gears popped his head round, grinning like he’d just seen the best entertainment of his life. He tipped me a quick respectful nod, then looked straight to Rose.
“Alright then, Miss Thorn,” he said, clearly fighting back laughter. “Pres says I’m to head back to the club – they need me on bar duty and sorting stock. He says just radio if you need an escort back later.”
“Thanks Gears!” Rose beamed instantly, all that sternness melting away into sunshine. “Tell Leo I said thank you, and we won’t be long!”
Gears saluted, still chuckling, and vanished back out to the van.
And then there was Rage.
He stepped inside, and suddenly the hallway felt far too small.
That familiar warm scent of worn leather and rain wrapped round me, and my heart gave that silly little flip I still couldn’t control.
He looked down at me – oversized jumper, messy black hair and all – and gave that quiet knowing smirk.
“Morning, sweetheart,” he rumbled, voice low enough that only I could hear, vibrating soft right through the floorboards.
“Hi,” I breathed, cheeks heating up for no reason.
“C’mon Danika, let’s get these boys refilled,” Rose said brightly, already grabbing my hand and tugging me toward the kitchen.
For the next ten minutes, Rose did almost all the talking. She leaned on my counter, telling me about the club, about how happy she was we’d met, about all the little things she was already planning. I just listened, pouring drinks, and felt something I hadn’t felt in years: safe.
When everything was ready, we headed back through. Rose handed fresh mugs to Tiny and Swift, who accepted them like they were being handed treasure. Then I picked up the last one – a double espresso – and walked over to Rage leaning against the doorframe.
I held it out, and when his fingers brushed mine, a spark of heat shot straight up my arm. I knew this mug – the tiny chipped one I’d had since I first opened the shop.
Rage looked down at it resting in his palm, then lifted his gaze back to mine. That fierce look softened, something quiet and private passing between us, and I had to look away before I embarrassed myself completely.
Rose, watching like a hawk, let out a tiny, delighted gasp, then quickly covered it with a cough. She marched over, took my hand again, and started tugging me down the hall. “Right! You need a moment to yourself that you haven’t got today. You show me where your room is—”
“Wait – Rose, I don’t need—”
“No arguments!” she declared, marching me onward. “Move it!” She looked back over her shoulder at Rage and gave him a look that said he had no say in this.
Behind us, I heard the heavy thud of boots as Rage straightened up, his Enforcer instincts kicking right back in as he moved to follow.
Rose stopped dead in the narrow hallway. She spun round and looked up at him with such devastation it would’ve made a stone cry. Her lip trembled, voice cracking.
“Rage… do you not trust me? Do you think I’m going to let something happen to her in her own home? Are you really going to stand there and police me right now?”
The change in him was instant. That terrifying unshakeable Enforcer crumbled like ash. Shoulders dropped, jaw went slack, and pure panic flooded his face.
“Whoa, easy Little Bird, easy!” he stammered, holding both hands up like he was calming a spooked horse. “I trust you. I ain’t policing nothing. Just… you’re pregnant, alright. I just wanted to make sure you both safe. I’ll go back in the other room. Go on.”
He backed all the way into the living room, looking thoroughly defeated.
I stood frozen there for a second, completely stunned. This huge terrifying man – who’d stared down killers without blinking – had just been completely routed by one teary pregnant woman. It was easily the funniest and sweetest thing I’d ever seen.
The second Rage vanished round the corner, Rose’s tears cleared completely. She turned back to me with a triumphant little smirk. “Works every time,” she whispered, grinning wickedly. “Pregnancy hormones are a superpower, Danika. You’d be amazed what you can get away with.”
A real loud laugh burst out of me, all the last tight bits of tension finally dissolving. “You are something else, Rose,” I said, shaking my head as I followed her to the bedroom.
“I’m effective,” she corrected proudly, sitting on the edge of my bed while I grabbed things to change into.
I stepped into the bathroom and turned the shower on, letting the hot water wash away the last twenty-four hours. When I came out, I pulled on soft dark jeans and a warm cream knitted jumper, brushed my hair out and let it fall loose.
When I looked up, Rose was watching me with such a warm happy smile.
We’d only met once before, after all – I’d run all the way from London to escape a family who saw me as nothing but an asset.
Yet here I was, in my quiet little cottage, with a gentle giant prospect on my sofa, a hyper-vigilant prospect, a whirlwind blonde, and the scariest man I’d ever met terrified of making his pregnant friend cry…
and I realised I might have accidentally found something I’d never even dared hope for.
A family.