Hope returns with Grace, Alexa, and Chance. Instead of the normal leg-hug I’d normally get, he follows Hope over to the corner where she sits down with Grace and pats the space next to her for him to join her. Alexa sort of side-eyes him as if she’s not sure she likes the addition to the party.

“What did you think, ladies?” Jake asks us. “This is a class I want to do for our YouTube channel and maybe offer here. It’s a little more intense than some others.”

“It makes you think,” I answer.

He raises an eyebrow. “That’s good. I want you to always be aware and thinking through different scenarios.”

“So, Jake, either the guys really trust you, or you’re incredibly brave to train a bunch of bikers’ old ladies,” Charlotte says. “Which is it?”

He huffs a laugh and runs his palm over his stubbly cheek. “Both, I hope. Wrath and I have been business partners for years.”

“Wrath’s trained me before,” Trinity adds. “But he’s…very demanding.”

Jake chuckles. “Yeah, it’s hard to train your girlfriend or partner, you know? Either you’re too hard on them because you want them to do well or you’re too soft because you can’t stand hurting them.”

“Wrath’s definitely the first one.” Trinity laughs.

“You don’t say,” Jake deadpans. A little more seriously, he adds, “But also, if your partner has any kind of abuse or trauma history, the last thing you want to do is play attacker.”

“Ah, I see your point.”

“Any real man knows it’s not about some guy touching ‘his woman.’ It’s about the person he cares about learning some skills to defend herself.”

That puts the whole afternoon into perspective.

“That explains why none of the guys showed up,” Charlotte says.

Jake laughs, “Yeah, pretty much.”

When he moves away to answer some questions from Mara, I turn to Charlotte. “I’m starting to feel like the guys all got together and set this up.”

“I’m sure they did,” Charlotte agrees.

Heidi raises her hand. “Oh, I can confirm they did.”

Trinity faces me with a much more serious attitude. “They both grew up around MCs. So did I. We understand the life.”

I’ve never pried into Trinity’s past before. I’ve just always been drawn to her nice-but-no-bullshit attitude. Her realness. Now I’m curious, but afraid to probe too much.

“You and Hope didn’t. This life can be rough on women.” She glances over at Hope and the kids. “I can safely say our men would kill to protect us, no matter what.”

Such a powerful statement said in such an easy manner. I’ve never had anyone I trusted with my life the way I trust Z. Or believed anyone cared about me with that kind of intensity.