The Single Dad Biker Next Door

Warning through the wall

Chapter 2

I barely slept.

Every creak of the old house made me sit upright in bed, heart pounding. Every passing car sounded like danger. Every shadow looked like him.

Marcus always said I’d never survive without him.

That no one would want a woman as broken as me.

That if I ever ran, he would find me.

I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders and stared at the pale morning light creeping through the curtains.

Then I heard laughter.

Small, bright, impossible laughter.

I frowned and climbed out of bed.

Peeking through the blinds, I saw the little girl next door drawing on the sidewalk with colorful chalk. Her glitter helmet was gone, replaced by two messy pigtails that looked like they’d lost a fight.

Ryder stood beside her in black jeans and a gray shirt, holding a coffee mug like it had personally offended him.

Even in daylight, he looked dangerous.

Tattooed forearms. Broad shoulders. Hard jaw. The kind of man who made people cross streets to avoid eye contact.

And yet…

He was letting a tiny girl paint his boots pink with chalk.

“Daddy, stop moving!”

“I’m breathing.”

“That’s moving.”

I pressed a hand over my mouth to hide a laugh.

Daisy suddenly looked up and spotted me in the window.

She waved both arms wildly.

“Princess! Come outside!”

I ducked so fast I nearly tripped over the rug.

A knock sounded at my door three minutes later.

I froze.

Then I heard the smaller voice.

“Princess? It’s me!”

Slowly, I opened the door.

Daisy beamed up at me, missing one front tooth.

Behind her stood Ryder, expression unreadable.

“She insisted,” he said.

Daisy shoved something into my hands.

A paper plate holding two badly shaped pancakes.

“I made breakfast.”

I blinked. “You made this?”

“Daddy burned the first ones.”

“I did not burn them,” Ryder said flatly.

She gasped. “You said lying is bad.”

I bit my lip.

Ryder’s eyes flicked to my face, catching the smile I couldn’t hide.

Something warm and unfamiliar moved through my chest.

“I’m Ava,” I said softly to Daisy.

“I know,” she replied proudly. “Daddy said your name in his sleep.”

Ryder choked on absolutely nothing.

“I did not.”

Daisy nodded seriously. “You did. You also said idiot.”

For the first time, I saw him look embarrassed.

It was strangely attractive.

“I’m going to school,” Daisy announced, grabbing Ryder’s hand. “Don’t be mean while I’m gone.”

“I’m never mean.”

She turned to me. “That was another lie.”

Then she skipped away toward a black truck parked in the driveway.

I stood in the doorway, holding the pancakes.

Ryder remained on the porch steps, hands in his pockets.

Silence stretched between us.

Then his gaze moved over my shoulder, into the house.

“You need better locks.”

My body tensed immediately.

“That’s none of your business either.”

“No,” he agreed. “But weak locks are everyone’s business when trouble comes looking.”

My stomach dropped.

“What makes you think trouble is looking for me?”

His eyes met mine.

“The same thing that makes me know fear when I see it.”

I said nothing.

He stepped closer—not enough to touch, but enough to make my pulse race.

“I don’t need your story, Ava.”

His voice was low, rough.

“But if someone comes here to drag you back to hell…”

His jaw tightened.

“They’ll meet me first.”

Then his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, expression turning cold.

“Yeah?”

A pause.

“No. Tell them if they touch my shipment again, I’ll bury them beside the highway.”

He ended the call and looked at me as if threatening murder was a normal interruption.

“Eat the pancakes,” he said.

Then he walked away.

I stared after him.

At the man who packed lunchboxes…

and casually promised roadside graves.

What kind of neighbor had I moved beside?