Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,19
about my birthday. Who was it?”
I narrow my eyes at Hashtag. Motherfucker.
He glowers back at me, and then finally throws his hands up in the air. “I had to enter your birthday when I did the paperwork for the kids. I thought it would be nice, okay? So drink your beer and enjoy the love, for fuck’s sake.”
I glare at him a moment longer. It’s not that I’m upset, exactly. I just don’t quite know what to do here. I’ve never had a surprise for anything. Hell, I’ve never had a birthday party. “Thanks, kid.”
Nodding, he clinks his bottle against mine.
Taking a seat, I stroke my beard. “Fifty fucking years old, GP,” I say. “That’s half a fucking century.”
Numbers had never bothered me before. But then, I’d never turned fifty years old before today, either. I motion for the waitress to bring another round before turning to watch the girls on the dance floor.
They’re all so fucking young. I could be their damn grandfather. That shit is truly depressing.
“Cheer up, old man,” Hashtag chuckles, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Your present will be here soon.”
I love my club, and they know I’ve been struggling. First with Natalie and Kevin, becoming an instant dad to two damaged teenagers. And second, that I’m almost old enough to collect a fucking pension—if I had one.
That’s why they’d suggested a new venue. They’d brought me to Sharkey’s. This bar is perfect for a guy like me, or so they’d said. It had been once, about fifteen years ago, but now I feel like I should walk around, handing out condoms and ten-dollar bills to the barely legal boys staring at their first pair of fake tits.
“Excuse me?”
I turn to see who’d spoken, and take in the tall, slender woman in front of me. Her hair is pulled into a tight little knot at the back of her head, and her glasses are resting on the tip of her nose. She’s wearing a business suit, the kind you see in movies with the sport coat and matching skirt. She looks like a librarian, but the girl is stacked, and that’s when I realize just what kind of librarian she is.
“Halle-fucking-lujah!” I roar, looking around at my boys. “I thought you guys had gotten me something stupid, like a new helmet or a saddlebag for my ride, but this….” I look the librarian up and down with insurmountable approval. “Fucking hell. Happy birthday to me!”
The woman’s eyes go wide as she takes a step back. “I beg your pardon?”
“Do you just do the show, or do you provide the after-party too?” I reach for her, wanting to feel her on my lap.
“Judge,” GP blurts out from behind me.
“I don’t provide any show, sir,” she snaps back, her face twisted in anger. “And I don’t like what you’re insinuating.”
Laughing, I take another swig of my beer. “I’m insinuating that I can’t wait for you to take off that shirt and show me them gorgeous titties.”
“Judge!” GP hollers, but it’s too late.
The librarian’s hand comes up and slaps the side of my face, hard enough to send my chair sideways.
“I will not be spoken to like that. My name is Grace Halfpenny, and I’m a caseworker for Child Protective Services. I’m looking for a man named Eugene Grant.”
Oh shit. I sit up straight in my seat and place the beer gently down on the table. “I’m Eugene.”
I ignore the snickers from the guys around the table as Ms. Halfpenny huffs and pulls a stack of papers out of her briefcase, plopping them onto the table in front of me. “Mr. Grant, it has come to my attention that you’ve been caring for a Kevin and Natalie Tucker without legal right to do so. Those children are wards of the state.”
Realization washes over me that this is the Grace that was at the school. I may have offended her, but I don’t like her tone when it comes to those kids. “Those kids are orphans who had nowhere to go. They’ve had a fucked-up few years, and the last thing they needed was to be separated and shoved into some goddamn foster home.”
“Mr. Grant, you don’t have the right to make that call.”
I stand and move closer, using my size to intimidate her. “I will make whatever call I see fit. Those kids are happy with me, and that’s how it’s gonna stay.”
Her nostrils flare, and I have to remind myself that she’s a total bitch, because the