Page 72 of Jax & Knox

"What's up, little man?" I wince when he gives my beard another tug. "Yeah, that's mine."

Ainsley laughs, and the sound stops me for a second. Not because I haven't heard her laugh before, but because she's standing on the porch of her cottage with club brothers crawling all over the property, her son trying to rip out my facial hair, and for once she's not looking over her shoulder.

She's just here.

Knox comes up behind her and rests his hand against the small of her back. "Come inside. I want to show you something."

Her suspicion returns immediately. "What else did you do?"

"Ainsley."

"That isn't an answer."

I follow them inside with Owen, who's still fascinated with my beard. Tank is crouched beside the television messing with a small black box, and when he sees us, he stands and hands Knox a tablet.

"All yours."

Knox passes it to Ainsley, and she looks down at the screen. Six camera feeds fill it. The front porch, back door, side yard, driveway, the path toward the clubhouse, and the tree line behind the cottage are all visible at once. Her thumb moves across the screen as she studies each one.

"You'll be able to see everything from here," Knox explains. "Or your phone once Riot sets it up."

"And these?" She points to small icons along the bottom.

"Window and door sensors," Tank says. "Green means secure. If anything opens, you'll know exactly where."

Ainsley looks at Knox. "You thought of all of this?"

"Most of it."

"Riot thought of the rest," I add, because Knox looks entirely too pleased with himself.

He shoots me a look.

"What? Give the man some credit."

Ainsley shakes her head, but she's smiling again when Knox walks her down the hallway. He stops outside Owen's room and points to a small button mounted high enough that Owen can't reach it but low enough that Ainsley can.

"This is the panic button."

Her smile disappears as she looks at it.

"If you hit it," Knox continues, "the clubhouse gets an alert immediately. So do Jax and me."

She stares at the button, and I move closer because I know exactly where her mind is going. This isn't a camera or a better lock. It's something she'd use when she's afraid, and she knows better than most people what it means to need help and wonder if anyone is coming.

"You don't have to get to your phone," I tell her. "You don't have to call anybody. You hit that, and we're coming."

Her throat works. "What if I hit it by accident?"

"Then we're coming," Knox says.

A watery laugh escapes her. "You're ridiculous."

"Probably."

She turns toward him, and the humor fades into something softer. "But thank you."

Knox cups the back of her neck and kisses her forehead. "You never have to thank us for keeping you safe."