8. Chapter Eight
For thirty minutes I watched her stare into space. At first I thought the video feed had glitched. I didn’t want her to know I had eyes on her, but I couldn’t let those little fucks live rent free in her mind any longer. It looks like I’ll have to pay the whole basketball team a visit. I thought it was just Jason and Lexi who were picking on my girl, but it looks like there is a bigger bullying problem at that school than I thought.
Cass orders another round for our friends from Nevada before pulling his phone to his ear and stepping outside. I do the same, shooting a text to my friend, Liam.
Me: He’s making a call.
Liam: Already on it.
I want to ask him if he’s gotten any more information on Kelsie, but I don’t. Right now, we need to focus on our current mission. Petey’s little girl is in danger. Cass told the club yesterday he had arranged a meeting tonight with someone who could tell us who was behind the murder of Charlotte’s mother. Whoever it is, they are into some shady shit. We aren’t dealing with a little dog here.
The guys I’m working for have been looking for this guy for a long time. He’s the missing link. We know he has information on a ring of men who have been trafficking kids from here to the east coast. I don’t really know much about it other than that. This isn’t my real profession; I’m just helping them out. This isn’t the first job they’ve hired me for, but it has been the longest. I fit the role. They needed someone who knew how to ride, drink beer, and cuss. I can do all three of those things in my sleep. The hardest part of the job was earning the trust of the Skulls.
Somehow, I managed to get in, and soon enough, I found myself the VP of the NorCal Chapter. Before you go patting me on the back, getting the position wasn’t as hard as you might think. Nobody wanted it. I think it has something to do with the fact that everyone secretly hates our president. Cass is an arrogant, morally disgusting man.
Liam: It’s a setup.
My head falls. Fuck. This is it. I’m going to have to show my cards soon. I can’t let that sweet little girl get hurt.
“Isn’t my friend pretty?” Petey’s daughter asks, leaning across the table from me.
I’m not here to look at the ladies, but I can’t ignore the kid. She’s cute as a bug’s ear. I follow her tiny finger. I squint my eyes, and then I see her. A young woman, sitting in the shadow of a tree by herself, her nose buried in a book. I glance around. She looks so out of place here.
“She’s been sad,” Charlotte continues.
“Why’s that?” I hear myself ask as my gaze goes back to the blond-haired woman.
“I think it’s because people are being mean to her at school.”
“Well, that’s not cool,” I mutter, turning back to my food. She’s in school? No thank you.
“Yeah, Kelsie’s nineteen.”
This little turkey must read minds.
“Almost twenty,” she adds quickly, when she sees she has my interest again. “And she’s so nice. Before I got my new mommy, Kelsie used to take me for ice cream every day after school. She likes the mint kind. You know, the kind with little chocolate chippies in it?”
My gaze goes back to the young woman. She smiles at her book and jealousy stirs in my gut. That smile is too pretty to be awarded to a book. I’ve never been more envious of an inanimate object.
“Do you like ice cream?”
“Uh, yeah. I guess.”
“You know, I heard her daddy ask one of the guys if they could change the oil in her car for him tomorrow. You like to work on cars, don’t you?”
“Now how do you know that?” I ask the little girl, a mischievous grin pulling at her cheeks.
She leans across the table, tapping her eyelids. “Duh. I’ve got two eyes. You ask to look under the hood of every car that comes in the parking lot.”
I laugh loudly at this. “Oh, you are trouble, aren’t you?”
“I’m just saying. You could fix her car for her.”
“Why would I do that?”
“It would probably cheer her up, and maybe she’d be so happy she’d take you for ice cream. It’s real good.”
“Who’s her daddy?” I ask, glancing around the group of bikers.
“Big Dan.” She notices my reluctance the minute his name leaves her mouth. She quickly tries to ease my worries. “He’s really nice. Do you know they have new kitties in their barn?”
I push food around my plate, telling myself to let this one go.
“She could really use someone to look after her. I mean, with the bullies and all.”
My gaze goes back to the young woman. She glances up from the page, looking directly at me as if she can sense my eyes upon her. I don’t look away. She breaks away first, ducking behind her book to hide from me … it’s too late. She can’t hide. I continue to stare, yanking on the invisible string I just found. She curiously peeks over the top of the book, her blue eyes darting away when she sees I’m still watching her.
And I’m never going to stop …
The little girl next to me is observing me closely. I can’t decide if she’s just looking for someone to protect her friend or if she can see what runs between us.
I sigh, giving in. “How about you introduce me to her daddy?”
Her dark eyes bounce over me for a second, and she smiles wide. “I knew it,” she whispers, scrambling down and waving for me to follow her.
Goddammit! I told Petey this didn’t feel right. I need to warn him that we need to get back. The Nevada Chapter is tight. They aren’t going to take kindly to the fact I’ve been lying to them.
Before meeting Kelsie that wouldn’t have mattered to me. I would have completed my mission and headed back home. Lives would be saved, and all would be worth it.
But now there’s my little shadow to take into consideration …
After I give Petey a heads up, I wander back to my room, hoping to get a few hours of sleep before we ride in the morning.
As I lay my head on my pillow, the new app I installed on my phone sends me a message. I smile, knowing that Kelsie’s curiosity has gotten the best of her.
And for the first time in many years, my dick gets hard.