Dark Secret - Avelyn Paige Page 0,7

baby girl. I can’t let her slip through the cracks like so many other kids I’ve seen on missing posters.

Is it possible the child is with her father?

The question had been like a shock to my system—a wake-up call. There’s no way in hell that Hayden could have connected somehow with Wyatt. And even if they had, Wyatt would never have taken her from me. The man I left in the dust years ago may not even be the same person now. That club changes men in ways I’ll never be able to understand, including Wyatt.

But maybe he needs to connect with her. Maybe it’s time. I’ve spent a lot of years trying to keep Wyatt Hayden’s face from my thoughts, but having his living, breathing, carbon copy sleeping in the sparkly pink bedroom down the hall for all of these years has made that nearly impossible. Every time she glares at me, it’s like he’s staring at me through her eyes.

My baby is gone. Our baby is gone. And as much as I hate to admit it, he may be the only one who can find her before it’s too late.

Hashtag

It’s nights like this that make me appreciate not being tied down like some of these fuckers. Just watching them parade around with big ass grins on their faces is enough to make me uneasy. I tried the whole relationship thing once, and it fucking broke me. Nobody’s gonna get the chance to put me through that shit again. Settling down? Not happening. I’d rather be alone than go through the hell I’ve been through. No bitch is worth that much bullshit.

Priest plops down next to me at the bar, ordering a drink from one of the club girls bartending for tonight’s festivities. Popping the lid, she slides the bottle over to him.

“Great party,” he declares, taking a pull from his beer. “She’s good for him—for all of us.”

I can only nod in response. Yeah, it worked out for him. Blair’s good people. I like her. But sitting here watching the two of them celebrate their love isn’t going so well for me tonight. It’s not Blair or GP. It’s not the other people crowding the clubhouse, having a good time. It’s the date—our date. Thirteen years ago today, I was a newly patched member with a future full of plans: college, a wife—a family. Only one of those actually got checked off my list, while the other two disappeared that same night without so much as a Dear Wyatt letter to explain why I wasn’t enough for her. And the ring I bought her? The one I couldn’t force myself to hock all these years later? It stays in my dresser drawer, mocking me each and every morning. A reminder not to trust, but a memento of what it really feels like to love.

“What’s up your ass?”

“Nothing,” I growl. “Just trying to drink my beer without you ladies spoiling it for me.”

Priest glances over at me and shakes his head. “You’re not happy for them, are you?”

“Didn’t say I wasn’t.”

Priest takes another swig before slamming down the bottle onto the bar, tossing up his fingers to order another one, while Layla, a long-time club girl, saunters over to me with her tits spilling out of her top. She presses them up against me, and I shove her off.

“Not in the mood, sweetheart.”

Her painted face saddens at my dismissal, and even that annoys me.

“Layla, when are you gonna get a clue? The guys around here are gonna keep fuckin’ ya, but none of them will ever claim you.”

Hurt and anger crease her face, and I can tell instantly that I struck a nerve. “Fuck you, Hashtag. I’d rather fuck a dead Billy goat than be claimed by a stuck-up prick like you.”

I grab my dick through my jeans. “Bitch, you’ve been trying to get in my pants for years. Haven’t you figured out yet that I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last slut on earth? Go fuck a prospect or something.”

Growling, she throws up her middle finger before stomping away in a huff.

Priest shakes his head. “I don’t get you, man. All these women around here, and I haven’t seen you touch a single one of them. You have something against free pussy?”

Fucking asshole. “Hey, I got a question for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Does this barstool look like a fucking confessional, prospect?”

Without another word, Priest stalks off, the reminder of his rank like a kick in the nuts. Mission