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Zane had a hard time believing Ava felt safe with him. From his point of view, he was the one who introduced danger into her life. She should be terrified around him, even if she wasn’t afraid of him as a person.

“It’s because of my mother,” Zane told her. He froze, he hadn’t meant to say it. He didn’t talk about his mother, not even with Jax. This was the second time he had mentioned her to Ava.

“Because of how she died?” Ava asked. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t poke at old wounds,” she then said.

“It’s okay, angel,” he told her. He picked up her hand which was laying on his chest and kissed it. He found himself wanting to talk to her about his mother. “She was so different from everyone else in my life when I grew up. My mother was sweet and kind, and she would almost always laugh. She always had time for me and Jax when we were grooving up, and she would take us on picnics in the garden and treasure hunts,” he told Ava. Then he needed to pause as he was flooded by memorie