Beast (Reckless Kings MC 1) - Harley Wylde Page 0,28
old enough to have a life of my own now. I love you, and the rest of the family, but I can’t live with you forever. I’d thought you understood that when I left for college.” I curled my fingers against my palms so I wouldn’t reach for him. “I never meant to hurt you by not telling you what was happening in my life.”
“It’s not that you’re starting your life he objects to,” my grandfather said. “It’s the man you picked.”
I let Beast hold his own ice pack so I could focus on my dad and grandfather. They objected to Beast in particular? I didn’t understand why. He’d been amazing, if a bit overbearing, but I’d known to expect that. I’d grown up surrounded by men just like him.
“There isn’t a single thing wrong with me picking Beast. He’s helped whenever other clubs have asked. Even though he doesn’t have anywhere near the manpower you do, he’s sent help whenever it’s been needed, including when you’ve requested assistance before. Maybe I wasn’t his first choice, but I wasn’t alive when he fell in love the first time. I can’t hold that against him, Daddy. And I didn’t know him when he was chasing after Charlotte.”
“But that doesn’t…”
I lifted a hand to stop my dad. “What about Mom?”
His brow furrowed. “What the hell does your mother have to do with any of this?”
“How many women were you with before her? Does that make her any less in your eyes? Is she somehow not as good as the others?” I asked. My grandfather’s eyebrows rose as he stared at my dad, obviously eager to hear his answer. When my dad didn’t say anything, I knew I had him. “You adore Mom. And everyone knows it. If she could reform you, why can’t I be enough for Beast? Besides, do you honestly think I’d stand by and do nothing if he slept around behind my back?”
My grandfather coughed to cover a laugh. Which reminded me…
“I told Ranger I was sorry, by the way,” I said, glancing up at Beast.
“What did you do to Ranger?” he asked.
“Um. Well… he won’t be too interested in the club whores for a bit, and I left him napping by the front door.”
My dad burst out laughing until he had to double over and brace his hands on his knees. So glad I could amuse him. Even Beast’s lips twitched as if he fought back a smile. My grandfather patted me on the head, but the twinkle in his eyes told me he was proud.
“You dropped Ranger?” Hawk asked, joining the conversation.
I hadn’t had much of a chance to interact with the VP of the Reckless Kings. He didn’t look impressed by what I’d done. If anything, he looked pissed.
“If Ranger was laid low by my little Tink, then he deserved what he got.” Beast tugged me against his side. “I kind of like knowing she can take care of herself. If anyone slips past us, she won’t be entirely defenseless.”
“My girl knows how to take a man down with her bare hands, and she can shoot as well, if not better, than any man in your club and mine,” my dad said. “And thanks to Wire and Lavender, she can wreak havoc with a computer. Maybe not on par with them or your Shield, but she knows enough to get revenge.”
My nose wrinkled. “Do we have to bring that up?”
Damn. They were going to spill all my secrets. I hadn’t been an angel, despite what my dad seemed to think. The thing was I knew he didn’t consider what I’d done bad. To him, it was great I could handle myself and had some skills. It wasn’t Farrah who had led me astray. I’d always wanted to be a rebel, but I’d known my dad would do far worse than lock me up and throw away the key.
“Bring what up?” Beast asked.
“In high school, some girl slipped a laxative in Lyssa’s food at lunch. My girl had Wire and Lavender help her hack into the school security system. They saw who did it and let her get even in her own way. Let’s just say the girl hadn’t been keeping her legs closed and some of the encounters had been recorded. Lyssa made sure the girl’s boyfriend got a copy of each video that had occurred after she’d started dating the guy.” My dad winked at me. “My girl doesn’t need a knight in shining armor.