yet?” he asks, his attention on Jasmine as she walks to her mother who is playing dolls with Daisy.
“No, but she tells Daisy this story every night about a Princess Caroline and a troll,” I respond, exhaling an annoyed breath, wanting to know the full story.
“She does?” he asks, and for some reason, I get the feeling that makes him extremely happy.
“Yeah, Daisy eats that shit up. You going to tell me what it’s about?” I question, watching him closely. “Does it have to do with me?”
“No, not technically. It’s a family story. Ask her to tell you tonight. She will,” he says, his eyes going thoughtful. “I think I owe you a debt of gratitude Luke. That’s not easy for a man like me to admit to.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, taking a swig of my beer, while I watch Daisy, Carrie and Jasmine laugh and play.
“You brought my little girl back to me. I haven’t seen that smile, that sparkle in her eyes in so long that I almost forgot it existed.”
I clear my throat. “She’s special.” I’m completely understating everything that she is, but right now that’s the best I can do.
“That she is. That’s why I have an important question to ask you.
“What’s that?”
“The report about Lagger’s death. I didn’t think too much about it, until I recognized the last names of the two other men. I thought I might just be overreacting. So, I did some digging and found that Lagger’s mother had a maiden name I did recognize.”
“Dancer, man—”
“I’m asking you man to man if my past hurt my daughter. If I was the reason that the light went out of her eyes, Grunt.”
I take a deep breath, instinctively knowing I’m treading thin ice here, just from what Jasmine had shared with me.
“Not the way you’re thinking. I don’t know your story, but I know enough that I figure you carry a large enough burden. Don’t take this on. Lagger was a poison that needed ending and that’s exactly what happened. The others, I have no idea about, but I wanted to make sure I covered my bases.”
“So, it was you,” he says.
I shrug. “Me and my club.”
“I should talk to Jasmine…”
“No, you need to let it go. I’m going to tell you that Lagger did not hurt Jasmine physically until he hit her that day beside the road. That’s what got him killed. He was a twisted fuck, yeah, but Red, she can handle herself. She was fine. What she would not be fine with, would be having her father take on a guilt that he had no reason to feel. And personally, I think that’s giving that fucker too much credit. The circle is closed now, you heard the news. Those fuckers died by their own vices and hands. There’s no blowback. It’s done. The past is dead and rotting. Dancer, I can’t know what happened or what’s going on in your head, but I think we both need to let it rot and concentrate on everything we have.”
Dancer doesn’t reply right away. He continues to drink his beer, watching Jasmine spin Daisy around.
“We have a lot,” he says, and I nod, even though he’s not looking at me.
“That we do.”
“She’s going to be trouble,” he says, and I jerk my gaze to watch Gina walk up to Daisy and grab her by the arm, trying to forcefully pull her away from Jasmine.
“Fuck,” I hiss, getting ready to go over there. That’s when Dancer puts his hand on my shoulder and holds me back.
“Jasmine might be a girl, but she’s more mine than her brother. She’s got this,” he says. I think he might be insane. I’m set to ignore him and walk over there, when I start laughing.
Jasmine grabs Gina by the arm, she twists it in a way that looks completely unnatural and really painful. Then, she brings her knee up and plants it in Gina’s stomach.
“Get this straight bitch, this is my daughter. If you ever come around her and put your hands on her again, I will end you and I will bury you so deep you can kiss the devil’s ass,” Jasmine bitches.
The boys all go quiet and Gina looks around at everyone. She’s had the run of the club for a while now, being the only old lady and there’s been no one in the running to worry about replacing her, since apparently Ford has sworn off women in general. It looks like Jasmine may