The rumble of the Harley cut through the late afternoon quiet of the neighborhood, low and familiar, a sound that usually meant trouble, or at least attention.

Jax Teller eased the bike to the curb a house down, killing the engine before it could announce him too loudly. He sat there for a second, hands still on the grips, jaw tight like it always was when he was thinking too much.

Cops.

He’d built his life around avoiding them, using them, fighting them, never trusting them. They were obstacles, threats, leverage. That belief had been carved into him as deeply as the ink on his skin.

And then there was her.

He still remembered the first time, her cruiser pulled over behind him, lights flashing, his instincts already coiling. One wrong move, one bad day, and it could’ve gone sideways fast. With his record, a swinging license plate wasn’t nothing.

But she’d crouched down, fixed it with a pen from her pocket, and given him a warning. Just a warning.

That shouldn’t have mattered.

It did.

Jax shook the thought away and glanced down at the small paper bag hooked over his wrist. No roses. No cheesy chocolate boxes. He’d learned fast, she preferred snacks, the practical stuff. Things she could eat on a long shift, things that said I pay attention without saying much at all.

That was new for him too. Across the street, a car pulled into the driveway.

{{user}} stepped out, uniform jacket slung over her arm, hair slightly mussed from a long day. She shut the door and turned toward the house, keys already in hand.

Jax was off the bike before he thought better of it. He crossed the street quickly, boots heavy against the pavement, cutting the distance just as she reached the front walk.

“Hey,” he called, voice rough but unmistakably softer than the one he used at the table or in the clubhouse.

The bag rustled lightly at his side as he closed in, heart doing that annoying, traitorous thing it had started doing around her. She was right there. And for a man who’d sworn he’d never let a cop get close enough to matter, Jax Teller was already too far gone to stop now.