by Harley Stone
“Tina, I also want to check your purse for tracking devices, if that’s all right.” He removed some sort of electronic contraption from his bag.
Elenore squeezed my hand. “You don’t have to do this, T. You and Dylan can stay here, and we can call the cops if Matt shows up.”
My sister meant well, but she didn’t know how shady Matt could be. “Until he jumps me in our parking garage and finishes what he started outside of work?” I said flatly.
Elenore’s expression fell. “I wish I would have been with you that day.”
I didn’t. Who knew what other tricks Matt had up his sleeve? I couldn’t live with myself if he hurt my sister to get to me. “You’ve done enough, El. You’re amazing, and I don’t know what I would have done without you for the past seven months. Tap here seems like he knows what he’s doing, and I trust Kaos.” Which was odd considering I’d never felt safe with Matt. Living with him had been like walking on eggshells. One wrong step, and he’d grow quiet and withdrawn, milking the codependent guilt he elicited. Or he’d become passive aggressive, his nasty barbs and tones making me feel like a horrible wife. I’d spent so much time tying myself in knots to keep him happy and maintain the peace. And for what? So I could end up here, relying on the kindness of strangers to keep me safe?
“T?” Elenore asked, squeezing my hand again to draw me from my thoughts.
Frustration made me want to scream. This was the bed I’d made. I’d laid in it when I decided to stay with him and make things work for Dylan’s sake. Now, the bed was burning, and the firemen had arrived. I could either trust them to get me out of danger, or watch my world turn to ash.
And most likely take Elenore and Dylan down with me.
Handing my car keys off to Tap, I slid the strap of my purse down my arm and set it on the table, opening it wide. “Do your worst.”
Tap took a deep breath and his shoulders relaxed. Relief flooded his eyes, and he gave me a wide, genuine smile. Like Kaos, this man obviously cared what happened to me and my son, and was being considerate and careful of not only my physical safety but also my emotional comfort. The realization stung my eyes and formed a lump in my throat. They might look a little scary, being big, tatted bikers and all, but these were the good guys, and I’d somehow been lucky enough to find them.
After thoroughly scanning my purse and pocketing my keys, Tap gave Elenore a reassuring smile. “I promise you we will protect them. And you. Now, let’s talk about your security.”
Tap and Elenore were deep in negotiations about alarm systems and cameras when the guys returned. My sister stood and hugged me and Dylan goodbye as Rabbit sat in my abandoned seat at the table. I didn’t miss the way he checked Elenore out as she returned her attention to Tap. My strait-laced sister had an inked-up biker admirer. Now that was interesting.
“You ready to go?” Kaos asked, leaning against the doorframe.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
Dylan surprised me by sliding his hand into mine and tugging me past Kaos and toward the door. “It’s gonna be okay, Mom.”
Tears flooded my eyes. Hoping he was right, I blinked them back and let myself be led into our new reality.
Kaos lived in Northeast Seattle, at the end of a private road, positioned on a hill and surrounded by evergreens. It was almost fully dark by the time we arrived, but bright interior lights illuminated giant windows. The modern, boxy, black and grey exterior was elegant and unique. Stunning. I’d never seen anything like it.
“Whoa, you live here?” Dylan asked, his face pressed against the window and his eyes wide as we idled on the stone driveway.
“Yep.” Kaos tugged a set of keys out of his pocket, and the garage door opened, revealing enough space for two cars beside a shiny black Escalade.
I had started out the drive feeling like a nervous wreck, but Kaos had kept me and Dylan talking, slowly draining the tension from our situation with his easy-going nature and incredible sense of humor. We hadn’t really chatted about anything important—just the city, its attractions, and our favorite foods—but the conversation was nice. Relaxing. Despite his massive size, striking good looks, and history as an NHL player, he was a modest, easy-to-talk-to, down-to-earth guy.
“It looks like someone stacked a bunch of giant boxes on top of each other and added windows,” Dylan said, still eyeballing the house as we rolled into the garage and parked. “But in a good way. This is a cool house.”
Kaos turned toward me, his eyes wide with mock wonder and his smile infectious. “Did I really just get a compliment from the ruthlessly blunt Dylan Parker?”
Having worked my butt off for one of those elusive compliments myself, I fully understood Kaos’s sarcastic wonder. Unable to help myself, I laughed. “It is a beautiful home, but his compliments are a little terrifying, am I right?”
“Feels like winning the lottery but knowing it’s gonna change your tax bracket and you’ll have to pay back more than you won.”
He was so funny, direct, and dead-on correct. “Yes. That’s it exactly.”
“Are you guys talking about me?” Dylan asked.
I shook my head no, but Kaos answered truthfully, “Of course. Who else would we be talking about?”
Dylan seemed too distracted to care. He hurried out of the car, stopping to gape at the Escalade we’d parked beside. “Nice ride! Why do you even have this ugly old car? You should have picked us up in that one.”
“Dylan!” I snapped, embarrassed by his rudeness.
Kaos chuckled. “Annnd he’s back.” He closed his door and patted the roof of the ugly old car in question. “This is a loaner from the club. My Escalade was here, and I couldn’t very well fit you and your mom on the back of my Harley.”
Dylan’s eyes widened as he spun around in circles, searching. “You have a Harley? Where is it?”
“At the club. I’ll pick it up tomorrow when I drop off the Jetta.”
“Will you take me for a ride?”
My heart leapt out of my chest as images of motorcycle crashes flashed through my mind, “No,” I said firmly.
“Come on, Mom,” Dylan whined.
Kaos popped the Jetta’s trunk. “Don’t give your mom a hard time. She makes the rules. Help me take the luggage in so I can show you your room.”
Surprisingly enough, Dylan let the matter drop and joined Kaos. I flashed the man a grateful smile, and he nodded back. I rounded the car to help them with the luggage, but Kaos waved me off, insisting they had it under control. I followed him inside with Dylan behind me.
Kaos stopped to disengage the security system, and I stepped into the entryway to get my first glimpse of our temporary home. Pristine white walls and gorgeous pale wooden floors drew my attention. I could feel Kaos’s gaze on me as I took in the high ceilings and open floor plan of the living room. Kaos dropped his keys in a bowl on the ebony entry table and gestured me around the corner. Floor to ceiling windows covered most of the walls, and I could see nothing but darkness outside.
I tensed, suddenly worried about what could be out there looking at me. “Whoa. Don’t you feel exposed?” There wasn’t a single curtain in sight.
Kaos shook his head. “Nope. All that’s out there is my backyard, and then a cliff. The yard’s fenced and surrounded by evergreens, so nobody can see in.”
The only portion of the wall not broken up by windows held a metal sheet that stretched from the floor to the ceiling with a gas fireplace insert.
“That’s unique.” I slid closer to get a better look. “And gorgeous.” I spun around. “This whole room is incredible.”
“Thanks,” Kaos said, sounding strangely nervous. “I wanted something… different, and the moment I saw this place, I knew it was perfect. Plenty of space, lots of daylight, low maintenance yard. I’ll have to show you that tomorrow when it’s light outside.”
Overstuffed light grey sofas covered in throw pillows were situated around the fireplace, and before I realized what he was doing, Dylan d
ropped his luggage and jumped on the nearest sofa. Pillows flew everywhere as he bounced.
Horrified by his behavior, I yelled at him to stop. He turned to give me his best innocent face. “What? I wanted to see how comfortable it is.”
“We don’t jump on furniture,” I admonished. “Apologize to Kaos.”
“Sorry, Kaos.” Dylan dropped his gaze with a pout.
“He doesn’t get out much,” I said by way of explanation. Truthfully, neither of us did, and we’d never been anywhere as nice as this house. The pale floors were unnerving, and I couldn’t stop imagining Dylan’s muddy footprints all over them.
Kaos patted my back. “Don’t worry. All the furniture’s made of damn sturdy material. Has to be, or my nieces and nephews would have destroyed it all months ago.”
I tried really hard to listen to his words, but all my attention had homed in on the hand on my back. Warmth poured from the contact, sending all kinds of signals I wasn’t prepared for throughout my body. When was the last time a man had touched me? Matt and I hadn’t had sex in close to eight months, but there was no intimacy with him. He’d surely never made my stomach flutter like this.
“I want you to make yourselves comfortable here.” Kaos’s hand dropped possessively to my lower back as he turned me away from the fireplace. “Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the main floor.”
When we reached the kitchen, he dropped his hand, and I felt both relieved and disappointed by the loss of his touch. Trying not to overanalyze my reaction, I took in the dark wood cabinets, pale quartz countertops, and matching stainless-steel appliances. A massive fridge was tucked away near the side-by-side gas range, both of which were surrounded by more counter space than I’d ever seen in a kitchen. Five upholstered stools were tucked under the breakfast bar, and the dark wood table in the adjoining dining room sat twelve.
“You live alone?” I asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of my voice.
Kaos nodded. “I have a big family and we get together often. Sometimes I host.”
“Do you cook?”
“For myself. Occasionally. I mean, I try.” He looked away. “Okay, none of that is true. I’m on a first name basis with all the local Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, and restaurant delivery people. According to my mother, I am a menace in the kitchen.”
“But this kitchen! How can you own a kitchen like this and not want to cook?”
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the desire I lack, it’s the skill. I love my house. I don’t want to burn it down.”
After living with a man who believed himself to be perfect, there was something so endearing about Kaos’s self-deprecating humor, I couldn’t help but lean closer to him. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“Are you underestimating my ability to cause mass destruction?”
Was he flirting with me? It had been so long, I couldn’t tell. It felt good, though, and a smile tugged at my lips. “I would never. I mean your name is Kaos, after all.”
“Technically, my name is Darius.”
Pleased that he’d given me his real name, I held out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Darius.”
Both grinning, we shook.
“Did Kaos come from the military?” I asked.
“No.” He leaned against the bar. “My first coach gave me that. I told you I had some problems with my temper growing up. Whenever Coach heard I was acting out off the ice, he would bench me. I wanted to play, so I got really good at suppressing my anger. Then, as soon as the puck was in play, I’d let it all out. It felt like a balloon being popped. The pressure propelled me all over the place. Coach said it was like I was everywhere all at once, checkin,’ passin,’ scorin,’ causin’ chaos everywhere I went. One day, he started calling me Kaos and it stuck.”
My gaze drifted to Dylan who was pressed up against one of the floor-to-ceiling windows with his hands cupped around his face, trying to see outside. “Mom, you have to see the yard,” he shouted. “It looks so cool!”
“You think it’ll be like that for Dylan?” I asked.
Kaos shrugged. “Every kid’s different. But I can promise you that learning how to play with a team won’t hurt him. Now that you’re here, I can take him out on the ice and see what he thinks. A buddy of mine coaches at one of the local arenas. He’ll have some gear we can borrow.”
Before I could answer, Dylan came shooting into the room, skidding to a stop in front of me. “Mom! Kaos has a game room!”
I hadn’t even seen him leave the window. “A game room?”
The heat of Kaos’s hand returned to my lower back. “Yeah. Come on, I’ll show you.”
As we walked, he pointed out a bathroom and an office before rounding the corner and stepping down into a sunken great room. It was the size of his kitchen and living room combined, with more overstuffed sofas angled toward a large screen television, a dart board, pool table, foosball table, an air hockey table, and a bookshelf loaded with board games.
“This is the coolest room ever!” Dylan announced, bouncing as he hustled past me to check out the tables.
“Another compliment?” Kaos asked, sounding amused.
I bit back a smile. “Don’t get used to it. The newness will wear off soon. Let me guess, this room is for your nieces and nephews, too?”
“Nope.” Kaos stepped up to the foosball table and spun one of the rods attached to the little soccer players. “This is all for me, but I let them play with me occasionally.”
The sound of the spinning rod caught Dylan’s attention, and he leaped halfway across the room to join Kaos. “Can I play?”
“Ask your mom,” Kaos said, deferring to me.
“One game, and then we need to find you a bathtub and a bed.”
“But I took a bath yesterday,” Dylan complained.
“Kaos is being nice and letting us stay at his house, so we need to take care of it. You don’t want to leave the bed stinking like your sweaty feet, do you?” I asked. Dylan had the worst smelling feet on the planet if he didn’t bathe daily. I was hoping that was something he’d grow out of eventually.
“Gross,” Kaos added.
Dylan sighed. “Fine. I’ll bathe.”
Kaos’s lips twitched, but he managed not to smile as he dropped a little white ball in the middle of the foosball table. The two of them started spinning rods and calling out challenges, and by the end of the game, Dylan was belly laughing. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen tears of joy leak from his eyes and my chest squeezed at the sight.
“Did you see that?” he asked me, pointing to the table. “Kaos accidentally kicked the ball into his own goal.”
I was pretty sure the last goal hadn’t been accidental, but there was no way I’d wipe the smiles off of either of their faces by saying as much. “Yeah. That was crazy. Come on now. Let’s go find you a bathtub.”
Dylan looked to Kaos for help.
Kaos stepped forward and mussed his hair. “We’ll have plenty of time to play tomorrow.”
“After school,” I amended.
Kaos smiled. “After school.”
The guys grabbed the bags and we headed upstairs. Dozens of framed photographs covered the wall of the stairwell. Dirty-faced kids throwing up peace signs and sneaking bunny ears behind each other. A giant group gathered in front of Disneyland. Smaller group family photos. Elderly looking grandparent types seated in front of a Christmas tree and surrounded by what had to be generations of kids and grandkids.
“Wow,” I said, taking it all in. “You said your family was big, but… This is all family, right? You didn’t just buy a bunch of frames and keep the stock photos that came with them, did you?”
Kaos chuckled. “Nope. I wish some of them were stock photos, but no. These are all related to me through blood or marriage. Bunch of crazies. To be honest, I joke, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.” His smile was proud as he pointed to a dark-haired couple. “These are my parents. I’m sure you’ll meet my mom soon. She likes to pop in from t
ime to time and make sure my fridge is stocked. My cousin shops and cleans for me—and Mom knows this—but I’ve learned life is a lot easier if I let my mom do what she wants.”
I elbowed Dylan, hoping he was paying attention. “You hear that? That’s wisdom right there.”
“Are your parents local?” Kaos asked, watching me.
I didn’t want to talk about such a sad subject. With a family this enormous, he probably had a hard time understanding that some people had no one. It probably seemed strange to him that my family hadn’t stepped in to deal with Matt, or to help me out. I wanted him to understand why. “No. My dad’s… he left shortly after Elenore was born and didn’t look back. Mom died in a car accident when I was fifteen. It’s been me and Elenore ever since. Well, until I got pregnant.”
Kaos frowned. “Did you go into the foster system?”
“No. Mom’s brother, Uncle Ralph, took us in. He wasn’t much of a kid person, but he and his wife made sure we were fed and educated. They moved to Arizona after Elenore graduated. Did their duty and split. We’re not really close.” I didn’t mean to air my family’s dirty laundry, but I was afraid he’d think I was a bad person who’d burned my bridges. My bridges were intact, they just didn’t lead to anyone.
Kaos frowned and took a step closer, his eyes full of compassion. “That sounds lonely.”
Dylan danced around at the top of the stairs, reminding me I needed to get him bathed and to bed. “I gotta get him wound down,” I said.
Kaos nodded. “There are four bedrooms on this floor. Check ’em out and pick one, Dylan.”
Dylan shot off like a shot.
“No running in the house!” I shouted after him.
Shuffling his feet, he slowed his pace and slipped through a doorway. Hoping he wasn’t getting into anything, I turned to face Kaos. “We shouldn’t leave him alone.”
“He’s fine,” Kaos said. “Nothing here will hurt him, and nothing’s irreplaceable.” He led me toward a door across the hall. “He’s going to choose the room next door to this one. It was a second master, but I had it made into a kid’s room. He’ll love it. You can stay here, so you’re close to him.”