DIESEL RETURNED TO Peaceful Harbor a different man from the one who’d left. He felt in his bones a need to put down roots instead of a desire to flee at the thought of it. But the changes he was undergoing ran deeper than where he rested his head at night. He was no longer a lone wolf. He had Tracey to think about, and now he had family, too, all of which meant greater consequences for his actions. As he stood on Biggs and Red’s porch Tuesday evening, recognizing the four motorcycles out front as Bullet’s, Bones’s, Bear’s, and Dixie’s, guilt tightened like a noose around his neck for the way he’d taken off, leaving Biggs in the basement with a job half-done and Bullet to pick up the pieces and rearrange the schedule to cover his shifts. If he had any chance of building a life there, a life with Tracey, he needed to get that shit under control, regardless of knowing they would always have his back.

Red answered the door. “Welcome back, darlin’.”

“Thanks. Biggs asked me to stop by.”

She motioned for him to come inside. “You okay, honey?”

He nodded, but the knots in his stomach said otherwise as he followed her into the dining room. Bullet and Bones sat on one side of the table, Bear and Dixie on the other, and Biggs at the head. The room fell silent, five sets of serious eyes turning to Diesel. The men crossed their arms like he was the enemy, not part of the family. Suddenly he saw the situation from another side, and those knots in his gut tightened. Did they think he expected something from them because he’d found out he was family? Shit.

Biggs motioned for him to sit in the empty chair at the other end of the table. As Diesel sat down, Red slid into the seat to his right, beside Bear, and patted Diesel’s hand. Only then did he realize she hadn’t tried to hug him when he arrived.

Biggs sat back, but there was nothing relaxed about the stare he had fixed on Diesel. “Your flight okay?”

“Yes, sir. Listen, I know this is a crazy situation, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m not looking for handouts.”

“You’re wrong, son,” Biggs said sternly. “This changes everything, and if you think otherwise, I’m afraid we’re going to have a problem.”

There were unsettling nods from the others.

Diesel steeled himself against his mounting discomfort. “With all due respect—”