After Us (Next Generation #6) - J.M. Walker Page 0,38

It was like rotten milk. Or worse. It was disgusting and there was no way I would feed that shit to her again. I found another brand in the kitchen cupboard that tasted a bit better at least, so we made sure to feed that to Brynn instead.

Piper wasn’t aware but I had arranged for my dad to set up automatic deposits to her bank account. Every time I got paid from the club, it went to her and our daughter. It started as soon as I found out she was pregnant. My dad told me that she had thanked both him and my mom for the money. He never told her that it was me who was sending the money because he felt I should have been the one to tell her.

She spent some of it on groceries, but it made me wonder what else she spent it on. If it were me, I would pay the bills and set aside the rest as a college fund for Brynlee. That was probably what Piper did. I wouldn’t have minded if she spent some of it on herself either. That had been why I sent the money to her in the first place. Since I couldn’t be there for her, making sure she was financially taken care of was the least I could do.

When I reached the store, I leaned forward, peering at the large building. I remembered coming here as a child when my parents would need to grab some things on the way home from Uncle Coby and Aunt Brogan’s place. It was bigger than before but not by much.

Putting the car in park, I took a breath and left the vehicle. It had been a long time since I was around people I didn’t know. Even being in jail, you got to know everyone. Especially when you made a name for yourself. Word about who I was got around rather quickly. Whether I liked it or not.

Grabbing a cart from the rack, I wheeled it into the store when someone stepped out of the large building. They stopped in front of me, followed by two men dressed in black suits.

My chest tightened; my hands white-knuckling the bar of the cart. “Price.”

Price Davies grinned, running two fingers along his mouth. He looked different than the last time I saw him, which would have been before I went to jail. He had lost quite a bit of weight and appeared as if he had taken up working out. His dark hair held some silver in it. Even the scruff on his jaw had some gray in it. While he may have changed his appearance, his eyes hadn’t changed. They held so much damn hate for me, a tremor of unease rippled down my spine.

“You look well, Jaron.” He cocked his head to the side. “It’s been a while. How’s that pretty little thing of yours? She still pining after you or did she smarten the fuck up and finally get herself a real man?”

I twisted my head to the side, looking around me. Two black SUVs sat at the outer edge of the parking lot, meaning the mayor had more security detail with him than the two men standing on either side of him.

“What do you want?” I asked instead, knowing full well he was trying to get a reaction from me. But I refused. It would come. In time. But not now and especially not when I was alone.

“I want to chat.” Price jutted his chin. The two men behind him, stepped forward.

“We’re in public,” I bit out. “Don’t be stupid.”

Price grinned. He smoothed his hands down the front of his gray suit jacket. The weight he was sporting around the middle the last time I saw him, no longer there. I had never been attracted to men but even I noticed how better looking he had become. I wondered why. Price Davies had a reason for everything he did. He might have even been a half-decent human being in another life, but not in this one. No. He liked little girls and that didn’t sit well with me, but it was something I had never been able to prove.

“What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have people that do this for you?” I leaned my arms on the bar of the cart, scratching my jaw.

“If you’re referring to grocery shopping, yes.” Price nodded. “I do. But I much prefer to do this part on my own.