glared at me, then when I narrowed my eyes at him, he took a step back.
Kid knew not to mess with crazy.
Wheels and Dorie had taught him something, at least.
“Can I go? I have homework?” Lawrence whined.
Dorie nodded, eyes narrowed, and watched him go.
“When did that happen?” I questioned, seeing the affection warring with impatience in the smile she tried to hide as he skulked off.
“Clubwhore dumped the kid on Wheels a few years back. He didn’t know he existed, Lawrence didn’t know Wheels existed either.” She cleared her throat. “I helped out.”
“Then helped yourself to an old man?” I teased, elbowing her in the side.
She giggled and covered her face. “Maybe,” she admitted sheepishly.
“You always did like the ones who stank of grease and motor oil.” My nose wrinkled in disgust. “Is he treating you right?”
“You think I’d let him treat me anything less than that?” Dorie demanded, her shoulders stiffening in mock outrage.
“Good.” As I laughed, I held out my hand and we bumped fists.
“Got two little girls with him now. He’s a good man, Lucie.”
“I’m glad.” And I meant that. I’d always liked Dorie, and she deserved an old man who was good to her. “Now I have a man of my own to wrangle.” I didn’t suck down air like I was drowning, even though I wanted to, but only because I’d never let anyone, not even Dorie, see a hint of weakness.
“Good luck.”
My smile was tight. “I figure I’ll be needing it.”
❖
Flame
“You scared the piss outta that kid.”
Lucie jolted at the statement, and then when she saw it was me, she grinned. “Doing what I do best, Flame. Scaring the piss out of anything with an X and a Y chromosome.”
Her laughter had me grinning at her. Fuck that. It wasn’t just a grin. I was beaming like a goddamn set of headlights, and did I give a fuck?
Nope.
No sirree.
This bitch?
She was mine.
If anyone was allowed to make me smile, it was her. She’d more than earned the goddamn right.
“Wolfe sent you after me?” she grilled, cocking a brow my way.
I shrugged. “Kind of. I came on my own accord. Wanted to see what you were about.”
“Wanted to make sure I didn’t try to steal the family jewels?”
Snickering at that, I shook my head. “No. I was curious about you. Always been curious about you and that fucked up head of yours.” I cupped her chin and saw, deep in her eyes, that she took no offense at my words. Why would she? I only spoke the truth and Lucie was many things, but she wasn’t a liar.
It was why I’d never believed her daddy and had always had faith in her.
She sighed as she settled into my palm, relaxing like she’d been born to be there—and hadn’t she?
Hadn’t she been born to be mine?
To be ours?
Fucking Wolfe and Bomber.
Back then, we’d all been prospects, had no power in the MC, and it was to my shame that I’d let her go. I’d die with that sin weighing me down, and that was no lie.
Though I expected her anger, she surprised me, because I watched as she stepped into me, stepped closer so she could curve her arms around my waist. When she did, it felt so fucking right, so perfect I wanted to scream at how long we’d missed out on this for, on how much we’d lost.
Wolfe didn’t know his baby girl, but neither did we, because we were all her daddies.
I knew that to many it was fucked up for Lucie to be with five men. We knew it too, but still, we were brothers in an outlaw MC. Who gave a shit about what was right and what was wrong?
But Bomber had.
I’d only found that out a few months before he died though. The fucker.
“I missed you,” I told her, sincere to the last. I’d never lied to Lucie. She was my equal. Lying to her would be as bad as lying in confession.
Well, if I gave a fuck about any of that shit.
“I missed you too,” she admitted on a sigh, as she burrowed her face into my throat. God, it was like the last time she’d done this was yesterday and not years before.
I was fucking ecstatic she was back, but she still needed warning. “You sure you’re doing the right thing?”
That had her tensing. “What do you mean?”
“Wolfe ain’t the same man he was, babe.” I shrugged. “None of us are. You going, it changed us.”