​Of course, I wanted to be a mom—someday.

I just wasn’t expecting to suddenly find myself on the phone with Valle Perdido, Texas, Child Protective Services, telling me that my twenty-year-old sister, Maya, was killed in a car accident and that I was named guardian of my two-month-old nephew, Elias—a nephew I didn’t even know about until five minutes ago.

“I'm sorry for delivering news like this over the phone, Ms. Williams.” The woman on the phone had identified herself as Maria Chen. “I know this can be hard.”

Hard? That word sounded like it should go with walking up a steep hill, making sourdough bread, or speed dating, not taking guardianship of a baby when I was twenty-four. No, I’m still young, but I expected nine months of prep and pep talks.

“You said he’s in foster care at the moment?” I asked the question and mouthed thank you to the woman handing me a hot dog. Had I known I was going to be a mom by the time I got lunch, I wouldn’t have gotten in line at the hot dog cart in the first place. I couldn’t even think about food at the moment.

As I passed a homeless guy, I motioned with it and he nodded. I handed it to him and continued my way back to the Wicker Park office building where I worked.

“Yes, he’s currently with a foster family.”

“What about his father, Colter Briggs?” No way would he just let me have Maya’s baby, especially if he was the father. Based on her level of dependency, I was certain on that.

I couldn’t keep the snarl off my lips. That pig of a man had isolated my baby sister, convinced her that he was the only man who could ever love her, and then he’d slowly suffocated her light.

The last fight Maya and I had. More than a year and a half ago, she’d shown up in Chicago to “visit me.” Which translated into escaping Colter because he was being violent. That fight was the worst one we’d had. The one where I told her I couldn’t enable her anymore…

She’d been sitting on my couch, holding a mug with chipped edges, rocking her knee the way she did when she was anxious. “He loves me, Cora,” she’d said quietly. “He just… needs help.”

I remembered the way her eyes darted away from mine. How her voice cracked. I should’ve pushed harder. Or maybe softer. Maybe if I’d just said I loved her instead of listing all the reasons I couldn’t watch her self-destruct, things would have been different.

The woman sighed. “He wasn’t listed on the birth certificate. According to county records, your sister married him after Elias was born.”

The relief that flooded me. Yeah, I’d be taking Elias far, far away from the psycho biker guy. There was no way I could fail my baby sister again.

“I should warn you. He’s already identified the body and made funeral arrangements.” Ms. Chen paused. “She was cremated this morning.”

My heart sank. Of course, he had. One last way to control her.

One minute I had a sister, and the next, she was just gone… A mix of shock and grief settled into my bones.

I reached the office and stepped inside, shaking off the early-March snow that had accumulated on my wool coat. “What do I need to do to gain custody of Elias?"

“We’ll need you to come here. There will be a court hearing, an interview, all the normal steps that would come with adopting a child.”

“But she named me guardian, right?”

“Yes, but there are legal steps that will need to be taken. You’ll need to plan to be here a while.”

The elevator door slid shut, and suddenly I felt claustrophobic. Be there a while? I had a job. A life. Jason Georgiou, my boss. He needed me. I ignored the little voice in the back of my mind that whispered I needed him too. He was my boss. Just my boss.

Even if things weren’t complicated now, suddenly becoming a mom would certainly put me in that category. Why would Jason want me once I took on the responsibility of an infant?

And why was I even thinking about that?

“Right. Um, when is the court hearing?”

“We’ve made the judge aware of your need to make arrangements to get here, so it’ll be the day after tomorrow. Nine in the morning.”

I raked my hand through my hair, my mind racing. I couldn’t even think of any questions. All I could do was say, “All right. I’ll see you Thursday.”

“I know this is a lot to take in, Ms. Williams. But you’re not alone in this. If you have any questions before Thursday, don’t hesitate to call me directly. I’ll email you everything you’ll need to bring. We’ll see you at the courthouse at nine.”

“Okay, thank you,” I replied and ended the call.

The rest of the ride to the top floor passed in a blur of tangled emotions.

My sister was gone. What would a Colter-planned funeral for her look like? How long would I need to stay there?

Would Elias even like me? Would or could I be a good mom? I was single, living in an apartment. It wasn’t a shoebox, but was it enough room for a baby? Babies had a lot of stuff. Diaper bags, cribs, highchairs, and toys. Jason paid well, but could I afford daycare?

Daycare… dollar signs floated in front of my eyes.

I exhaled as the elevator doors parted, then walked to my desk, shrugged off my coat, and set my purse on the corner of my desk while I stared blankly at the inbox I’d just cleared that morning. A half-full cup of coffee sat next to my keyboard, cold now. Everything looked the same, but nothing was. I ran my fingers along the edge of my mousepad, stalling when I didn’t have time to do that.

What was I even supposed to say?

“Hey, boss, I need some time off—turns out I’m a surprise mom now. Oh, and the baby’s father is a violent biker who might show up at the courthouse with a lawyer and murder on his mind.”

Nope. Definitely not leading with that.

I inhaled deeply, straightened my spine, and smoothed my blouse with trembling fingers. Jason had trusted me with a dozen complicated construction deals, sensitive investor meetings, and even his sister’s wedding RSVP list. I handled all of that without flinching. But this?

Elias was a living, breathing human being. Could I trust myself to be all the things he needed me to be? This was more than some item that needed to be checked off a list.

I crossed the few feet to his door and knocked softly.

Less than an hour ago, I was daydreaming about how gorgeous he was and wishing things were different between us. That he wasn’t my boss and totally off limits. That I could sink my fingers into his thick dark hair, pull his luscious lips down to mine, and kiss him long enough to forget my name.

“Come in!” he called a little louder than necessary. He’d likely argued with someone in City Hall while I was gone.

I slowly opened the door and stuck my head in. “Hey.”

He looked up from his mahogany desk, scattered with construction permits, and flashed that crooked smile that made my knees weak. “Sorry… I’m…” The sentence slowly died. He tilted his head. “Is everything okay?”

Only recently had I stopped asking him that. It’d been about six months since his father had nearly beaten him to death. In the past week, he’d stopped wearing the sling that had become a fashion staple while he went through physical therapy for a torn muscle.

Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I could still see him lying on the floor, terrified that he was dead. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d woken up in a cold sweat because that nightmare of a day happened.

Based on the dark circles around his eyes, I wasn’t the only one who was dealing with sleepless nights.

I crossed the large corner office, taking in the growing snowstorm showcased in the floor-to-ceiling windows that framed him. “Uh…” I said and slowly eased myself into the chair across from him.

How did I even start this conversation?

“Hey… whatever it is, it’ll be okay.” He set down his pen and all his attention zeroed in on me.

My mouth opened, and the next words just tumbled out. “My sister died in a car accident four days ago.”

His mouth dropped open. “Cora, I’m so, so sorry…”

My mouth continued on autopilot. “She named me the guardian of her two-month-old son. His name’s Elias.”

He blinked, looking as stunned as I felt. “Oh. Wow.”

For a moment, he didn’t say anything else. He just stared at me like his brain was trying to reorder the world. Then his eyes sharpened, like something inside him had clicked into place.

His fingers curled slightly against the edge of the desk—the good one, not the shoulder that had taken the brunt of his father’s rage. That hand flexed once, then slowly flattened, like he was forcing himself to stay calm.

I saw it then—the shift. Not just surprise. Focus. Resolve. The same look he’d had when he told a city inspector that if they wanted to shut down his site, they’d have to take it up with his lawyers. Except this time, it was for me.

And maybe for Elias.

“I need to take a leave of absence. There’s a court hearing the day after tomorrow in Valle Perdido, Texas. Maya’s… husband is trying to get custody, but he’s the last person who should be near a child.”

Jason’s jaw tightened. “Should I ask what kind of man we’re talking about?” I knew that look. The one that made my boss appear dangerous because he was… or could be, if someone crossed him.

I hesitated. “Colter Briggs, president of the Grave Sons motorcycle gang. He isolated, controlled, and abused her. I begged her to leave him. She tried numerous times. And now…” I trailed off, shaking my head. “She’s gone, and I’m supposed to fight him for custody of a baby I didn’t even know existed until today.”

“Okay, I’ll get the plane ready. We can be in the air in less than two hours.”

It took a second to register what Jason said. “Wait. What? We?”

He stood and braced his hands on his desk for a brief second before wincing. That shoulder was still bothering him even after all the physical therapy. “Yeah, we,” he said, and crossed his arms over his chest. “You think I’m letting you go to a Texas border town by yourself to face off with the president of a motorcycle gang who abused your sister?”

I came out of the chair. He was being sweet, but… “I can handle it.” Then it dawned on me. “How did you know Valle Perdido was a border town?”

He leveled his gaze at me. “I’ve heard of it before.”

Right. Construction company owner by day, Greek mafia boss by night. Only, I wasn’t supposed to know about the mafia part. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. She named me guardian.”

“And you have a court hearing, which means you need a lawyer too.”

“If I need a lawyer, I’ll get one. But until then, I’ll be fine. I just need maybe a week—” Once I got there, if I needed more time, I’d ask. 

He rounded the desk and stopped in front of me. “Cora, you are an incredibly strong woman. I have no doubt you can take care of this yourself. What I’m saying is that you don’t have to. Let me come with you.”

Shaking my head, I said, “No, Jason.” He thought he owed me. “I’m perfectly happy on a commercial flight.”

Anna, his sister, had told him that I’d saved his life. Things had been awkward ever since. This would make it even more so.

“You really want to get custody of your sister’s baby and then drag him through airports where he could get sick?”

My mouth dropped open. If nothing else, I had to give it to him that he was quick on his feet. I hadn’t even thought about that.

“I’m not wrong. Besides, custody and courts always equal complications. If nothing else, at least I can be there in case anything happens.”

I palmed his chest. “Jason, you don’t owe me. I—”

“I want to help you, Cora.”

“I know.” I sighed and dropped my hand from his chest. “But you have enough on your plate. You’re still healing. You run a company. I can’t ask you to drop everything for me.” A weak laugh escaped my lips. “Besides, I can’t exactly afford to drag the head of a construction empire into custody court with me. Judges don’t love drama, and Colter brings enough of that on his own.”

Something dark flickered in Jason’s eyes.

My arms wrapped around myself instinctively. “The last thing I want is to make things worse by pulling you into something messy. He’s dangerous.”

“Please let me do this.”

The words hung between us. Standing there, staring at this man who’d already survived more than most and was still offering to carry someone else’s burden, the answer seemed impossible.

“You aren’t going to take no for an answer, are you?” I might say it again anyway. Jason wants to fix my problems because I saved his life.

“Let me say this in a way you’ll understand. I’m going with you. Either by your side or following behind you. But you are not, and I repeat, not, going alone to a border town with your sister’s psycho husband to fight a custody battle.” He’d moved a little closer with each word and infused them with something more than determination.

Maybe saying no again would be smarter. Perhaps that’s what I’d end up doing if things did get too intense. He could follow behind me. Then he’d see everything was fine and realize he could return to Chicago without worrying about me.

But something deep inside refused to form the word.

The truth was brutal and simple: motherhood wasn’t something I felt ready for. Neither was facing Colter. Or dealing with a funeral. Or holding a baby who might look exactly like Maya.

Maybe I could handle all of it, all at once, if I weren’t alone.

I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

I didn’t know the whole of what was waiting for me in Valle Perdido. A courtroom. A funeral. A baby. All I knew was that Jason was coming with me—and for once, I wasn’t walking into the unknown alone.