It had taken us a long time to get here but really all of it was worth it in the end if this is what the destination looked like. Thank God I’d had Phil there to put both of us on the right track. I owed him more than my life and the way he had fostered the art in my soul. I owed him my future and everything that was tied up in this woman that I felt like I needed in order to keep living. Phil had taken care of me in the most significant ways possible just like Nash told me he was doing. Phil Donovan wanted his family safe and loved, and putting Salem squarely in my path was his last gift to me before he had passed on. Clever bastard.

WE SPENT THE REST of the day just hanging out together. I got the camp stove together and made real breakfast and instant coffee. We put all the things still lingering between us to rest. I told her that I would stop obsessing about her packing a bag and running off on me if she would stop trying to put me back in a place where she thought I was in love with her sister. I think we were both realistic enough to understand that nothing was perfect and we were bound to run into roadblocks in the future but being together was worth the work it was going to take.

She spent well over an hour after seeing me walk around for most of the day wearing nothing but jeans, boots, and that lucky cowboy hat trying to tell me that I should be on a calendar for the shop. She told me if I could get Nash and Rule to agree, as well as the other guys, Jet, Rome, and Asa, the thing would fly off the shelves. She told me she would call it The Marked Men and it would make so much money we could retire if we wanted. I just rolled my eyes at her and tried to change the subject but I could see the wheels turning in her head and Salem was nothing if not persistent.

Poppy had packed her a pair of flip-flops, so we walked around the lake and then took a nap early in the afternoon. I woke up with her mouth around my dick and her tongue doing delicious things. We learned the hard way that the air mattress wasn’t intended for that kind of extracurricular activity. After a pretty rough round of sex on the cabin floor, we made the executive decision that we had done enough damage to nature and it was time to head back to the city early. She had a bunch of stuff she wanted to take care of now that some stock had arrived for the store, so I packed up and agreed it would be nice to spend the night back in a comfortable bed. Plus I missed the dog and I think she really wanted to check in on her sister.

We were just getting into the city limits of Boulder when both of our phones suddenly got service again. Salem’s dinged with a few missed messages but mine blew the f**k up. Jet had called no less than twenty times and I had ten missed text messages from him. I frowned and called him back even though I didn’t like to be on the phone while I was on the interstate.

When he answered he sounded like he was in the middle of a crowd.

“Where the f**k have you been all day?”

I scowled and looked at Salem, who had obviously heard Jet’s raised voice.

“I was at Phil’s cabin with Salem. We had some stuff we needed to work out and needed some space to do it. What the hell is going on?”

“I’m trying to get on a plane out of Boston to get back to Denver, but there’s fog and nothing is getting off the f**king ground.” He growled something I couldn’t make out and told me, “I need you to take care of my girl for me. Asa got arrested last night and I know she’s about to lose it.”

“What!” I was so shocked the car swerved a little and Salem shouted my name. I apologized to her and pulled over onto the shoulder so I could focus on what Jet was telling me. “What happened?”

“I don’t know for sure. Ayden didn’t even find out from him. Royal called her.” He sighed and I could just picture him pacing and shoving his hands through his messy, black hair. “She’s the one that took him in.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I wish I was. All I know is my wife is there and I’m here and it’s a bunch of bullshit. I need you to make sure she’s okay.”

“Of course. We’ll be back in the city in just a few. She’ll be my first stop.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. For what it’s worth, I think Asa is a good dude. I really think he’s turned it around.”

Jet swore again. “I thought so, too, but I’m not surprised by anything that guy does anymore. I gotta go. I gotta figure out a way home. Thanks, man.”

I hung up and just stared at my phone for a second. I looked at Salem and shook my head. “Royal arrested Asa last night.”

She bit her lip. “For what?”

“Jet didn’t know. He’s worried Ayden is freaking out over it.”

She nodded. “I bet. Hold on a sec. I’m gonna text Saint. She and Royal are attached at the hip. She probably has the insider info.”

I lifted an eyebrow at her. “You don’t think Ayden would have tried that already.”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

I pulled back into traffic after sending Ayden a text saying I was headed her way. It was a solid ten minutes before Salem’s phone pinged and then pinged again.

“Assault. Some kids came into the police station and lodged a complaint against him. She says one was pretty busted up and claimed that he went back to the bar to apologize for some ruckus he and his buddies caused and Asa jumped him in the parking lot.” She frowned and looked up at me. “Aren’t there cameras at the Bar?”

“Not outside. Shit. I bet I know exactly who those kids are.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. There was this group of punks in the bar the other day while I was there and they were giving Asa a really hard time. He let it go but kicked them out and the one kid told him he would regret it. It wouldn’t be hard to find out Asa has a record and claiming something like assault means the cops would have to pick him up.” I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. “Son of a bitch.”

“You need to tell Royal.”

“We need to get him a lawyer.” I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. “His history is pretty nasty. It won’t look good in front of any judge.”

“Well, you were a witness and if there are cameras inside the bar you can prove this kid has some kind of vendetta and . . .” She paused and reached out to put her hand on my thigh. “If you need to get him a lawyer, I know someone we can ask to help with that.”

She was talking about Sayer. Good God, could the rest of this day get any more out of hand.