Cruz (Dark and Dirty Sinners' MC #5) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,75
be creepy enough as it was if she'd been with a Sinner, but at least they were family. Not that family was much protection sometimes, but everyone knew to fear Storm.
I mean, he came across as one of the most mild-mannered brothers, the admin asshole who could rule over a kingdom he pushed pens so hard, but that didn't mean he wasn't deadly with a knife. I wouldn't want to get in his face over scratching his goddamn bike, never mind laying a hand, be it in violence or sexually, against his baby girl.
And shit, she was a baby too.
A little older than me when I’d been targeted, but still so fucking young nonetheless.
I watched as they stopped, her tugging on his hand in a way that was playful as she stood outside the ice cream parlor.
Her lack of fear indicated so much, but that didn't make any of it right.
Who the fuck was he?
Far as I remembered from Storm's wedding ceremony, Keira had been an only child, and her parents hadn't shown up because they were prudish pricks who were against the marriage. There'd been no family there that day, none save for Sinners, so that meant he was a stranger.
Well, to me, not to Cyan though, evidently.
I didn't even bother tugging on pants or a sweater, just grabbed some panties then shoved my feet into my Converse, and on the way out of the door, dragged on a coat from the closet that was way too hot for the season, but I didn't give a damn. It just needed to cover my ass.
As I dashed out, I hurried down the stairs, almost falling as I did so. Grumbling to myself, I struggled with the lock next, then managed to burst through the front door. Leaving it open, uncaring what the fuck happened to my shop, I ran down the block to the ice cream parlor, terrified that, by now, they'd have left already.
But fortune was on my side.
They were there, sitting in the window, looking almost like father and child with the way he was staring down at her with an adoration that couldn't be feigned, and the way she looked up at him with stars in her eyes.
There was so much wrong with the tableau that, for a second, I wondered if Keira had brought another man into her life. Was this guy a boyfriend? But, surely not. She was staying at the clubhouse, so why would a man who loved Keira's daughter so much let her live on a bikers’ compound? I doubted it.
With a million things running through my mind, I started to dash inside. A second before I did, I smoothed a hand over my hair, and tried to calm myself down.
There had to be an explanation. It was only my past that was making me see shadows at high noon.
So, I sucked in a calming breath and then, as I walked through the door, Cyan's eyes collided with mine, they widened, then she ducked her head and quickly looked away.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Panic started to whirl out of control inside me, but I forced it down, forced myself to smile as I wandered over to them both.
"Cyan, is that you?"
Both the stranger and the little girl, because that was exactly what she fucking was, tensed up.
Bringing Cyan to the next town over was dumb, but if he was grooming her, it'd make sense. What better way than shopping and ice cream to get a child on your side?
Especially one who was messed up over her mom and dad's break up, and the fact that her father had just moved hundreds of miles away—she was perfect prey for a predator.
And when I looked at the guy, whose face was as soft as David's, who looked as goddamn mild-mannered as he had last night, I saw, deep in his eyes, the truth.
Just like I'd seen in Kevin's goddamn eyes.
Struggling to hide my disgust, I murmured, "Cyan, baby, what the heck are you doing out of school?"
“Indy, oh, nothing. I just have a doctor's appointment."
"You do, huh? Where's your momma? Is she parking the car?"
Cyan licked her lips as her shoulders started to bunch up around her ears. "She's working at the diner. Her shift doesn't finish until nine tonight."
I heard the resentment there, but I ignored it, and instead, turned to the man. While it creeped me the hell out to hold out my hand, I had to play nice.