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“I miss you.” It was all garbled as he chowed down a piece of watermelon. “I got food for you.”

He picked up a chubby handful worth and held it toward me.

My ribs ached. My heart pressing full.

I moved over to him, refusing the somberness that swelled, and I took his little fist and smacked it against my mouth. Making nom, nom, nom noises as I acted like I was eating up his hand.

A riot of giggles rolled. “No eat Kai’s hand, Wena! You eat wawermelon.”

“What? I thought your hand was watermelon?” It might as well have been with the juice that covered it.

Meems let go of an affectionate huff from where she stood at the counter over a mixing bowl.

The sight of her sent a wash of affection rushing my senses.

Her hair grayed and pinned up in a messy twist the way she always wore it. Shorter than even me. “You’d better get over here, young lady, and give your meems a hug.”

I danced into the kitchen and hugged her tight from behind.

She leaned into me, her voice a low rumble of support. “How are you, my sweet girl?”

“Good,” I said, not sure why I could feel tears mounting at the backs of my eyes.

With a question marked on her expression, she shifted to look back at me. Searching to ensure I wasn’t fibbing, as she’d always liked to call it.

“Worried, too,” I whispered. No surprise there.

Her nod was slow. “These nights are always rough. We just have to remember the why and not the what if.”

Brinley edged up to the other side of the counter. She was almost always wearing a dress, my sister-in-law probably one of the most provocative, sexy women I’d ever seen.

Far taller than me and exuding a confidence that she’d been pouring into me.

Though this evening, she had on cut-off shorts and a tank.

I could feel the worry she tried to keep suppressed. A thickness woven in the usual easiness.

Brinley glanced out the other window on that side, like she could see all the way to the clubhouse where the Crows met. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to it.”

Meems grunted as she hand-whipped the bowl of mashed potatoes. “It’s not natural to, honey. When you’ve got love like this, it’s gonna sit heavy on your heart, especially in light of what these boys chase after. But it’s worth it. Every minute, it’s worth it.”

I could barely nod through the devotion that filled the room.

The truth that the three of us were there.

Outsiders who were still completely invested.

Our reality so different, shorn outside the normal boundaries of society.

Perilous.

Criminal.

Required.

Because the Crows didn’t know anything else.

Their salvation was in the sacrifice they made.