Chapter 10
I am just finishing up at the store after gathering supplies for Chief’s tonight.
It’s his birthday, and I’m determined to celebrate with him and the club.
Travis is going to meet me there after work, and Reagan will follow along later with Harley.
I’m standing on the sidewalk, just opening my trunk to put everything away when a dark sedan glides up beside me.
I look up, expecting a cab, and find a familiar face in the driver’s seat.
Demon.
It has been a while, but I know that face.
“Well, hello, Mischief.”
He opens the door, getting out of the car and causing me to take a hesitant step back.
The last time this man had his hands on me, he choked me nearly to death.
Then he tried to kill my mother. There isn’t a single thing I trust about him, especially in a mostly empty parking lot.
I try to move backward, but he’s suddenly at my side.
His fingers curl around my wrist, digging in. I wince.
“Let go,” I say, forcing my voice steady.
He pushes me against my car, pressing something cold to my side that I know right away is a gun. “I only want to talk,” he says, grinning. “Tell me, Mischief—how’s daddy?”
I swallow. “Let me go.”
He laughs under his breath. “You know, Jasmine told me you’d be here today.
” His words hit like a punch. “My darling Jasmine.” He is still grinning, like he knows he has already won.
“I thought when you left, it was the best thing that could ever happen to him, cut his damned heart right out. Maybe, he would know how it felt. But no, that motherfucker keeps on rolling, now with my daughter by his side, too.”
“She isn’t your daughter. Maybe if you were more of a man, you could have produced one.”
My words are fire and before I know it, he has his hand curled around my throat, squeezing just enough to make my pulse pound in my skull. I let my eyes frantically move around the parking lot, but there is nobody to be seen.
“Daughter or not, she gives me what I need. Did your daddy tell you I nearly killed him a year ago? Oh, wait, you ran off and left him, so I guess not.”
I want to scream, kick, punch, but instead I can do nothing but glare at him while trying to catch my breath.
He releases me, stepping back and dusting off his hands like I am the filthy one. Then, casually, he tells me, “Say hi to him for me, won’t you?”
Then, just like that, he walks away.
Fucking psychopath.
Shaken, I manage to get myself into my car and get the hell out of there, knowing I need to tell Chief what I just found out.
By the time I arrive, music and laughter spill into the street.
I get out of the car, scanning the crowd—only to see Jasmine perched at the table beside Chief, laughing like nothing’s wrong.
Fucking bitch.
I stride up and slam my hands on the table, leaning in close and growling. “Why did you tell him where I’d be?”
She startles, eyes wide.
Chief looks between the two of us, confused. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Ask her,” I seethe. “Tell him, Jasmine. Tell him what just happened to me.”
Chief’s eyes move to Jasmine, and hers dart down to her hands.
“Demon found me,” I say. “And he told me that she was the one who gave him my location.”
Chief turns slowly, calm but firm. “Violet, take a step back.” Then he addresses Jasmine. “Is that true?”
Her voice trembles. “Daddy, I—I didn’t know what else to do. He had men everywhere. He scares me. He won’t take no for an answer, I had no other choice.”
"Liar," I say. Simple. Flat. Her eyes flick up, flashing. “Don’t sit here and act innocent, because we both know you’re not. You haven’t wanted me back in since the second I returned, and I would just bet you’re willing to do what it takes to make sure I leave and you stay.”
Jasmine's face breaks and she snorts, loudly.
Gone are the emotional trembles in her voice.
“Can you blame me for not wanting you back?
" she says. "Even when you vanish for years, the second you walk in the room everyone starts acting like the queen has fucking returned. We were good without you, we were finally creating a relationship...”
“Jasmine,” Chief says, but I cut him off.
“Think what you want," I snap. “But I had my reasons for leaving, and I’m not the only person to blame. Don’t put this on me, when we both know you would rather I turn and never look back so you can have ‘daddy’ all to yourself.”
I'm shaking too, but I force myself to meet her eyes.
“You think you get to take all this back? You think you can just fuck off for two years, break hearts and come back and throw your weight around like you own the place?”
Chief's hand slams the table so hard I bite my tongue as I was about to scream a curse in her face. “Enough," he says. "Both of you.”
Jasmine shoots me a look so full of hate it makes my skin prickle, and then she storms off, knocking over a stack of red plastic cups as she goes.
Chief doesn't say anything for a while. Finally, his voice comes out careful. “You all right, kid?"
“I will be.” Anger still sizzles in me, but slowly, my heartbeat calms down.
He studies my face. “What did he say to you?”
“Just that Jasmine told him where I would be, and that he nearly killed you a year ago. Did he?”
Chief glances at his beer, at Bill, then jerks his chin. “Walk with me.”
We walk toward the back fence, where all the coolers are lined up full of beer.
“He got hold of me, yeah. Wasn’t in a good place. Beat me up real bad, bad enough that I spent a week in the hospital. He’s been out to get me since he found out about Jasmine, and he ain’t goin’ to stop until he gets it.”
I pause, turning to face him. “Then you need to do something. He’ll kill you...”
Chief reaches out, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I won’t let that happen, but you need to be careful. He might come after you to make a point, to make me hurt, because in the end, the fucker is hurtin’ and that’s why he’s doing this. Among other things.”
“Like?”
Chief takes a sip of beer. “Not for you to worry about, baby. But this thing between you and Jasmine, we gotta fix it. It ain’t healthy and it has to stop.”
I huff.
He drums his fingertips on the bottle, breaking eye contact.
“She acts tough, but she spends more time scared than you’d imagine.
And when you came back, you didn’t just walk in the door.
You walked in carrying every insecurity she’s felt since she came into my life.
” He lowers his voice, almost like he’s confessing something.
“She ain’t a bad kid, Vi. She just wants a family, and for the first time in her life, she almost had one. ”
I shake my head. “So she sells me out to a psychopath?”
His stare pins me. “It’s not always that simple, kid.
When you’re terrified, you lie and make dumb decisions because the alternative is even worse.
Demon’s not just an asshole—he’s a monster.
Jasmine grew up with that kind of hate simmering around her.
Sometimes I look at her and I see his mannerisms, even when I don’t want to.
She doesn’t have what you have. She never learned how to fight for herself.
So when she’s scared, she claws at the thing she wants to keep. ”
I kick a pebble into the grass. “That doesn’t make it better.”
“No,” he says, “but you have to find a way to deal with her. Not for me, for you. Otherwise, it’s gonna rot you both out from the inside.”
I huff again. “She’d probably shiv me if she thought she could get away with it.”
Chief actually laughs, a quiet huff that squeezes the gravel out of his voice. “I think you might be surprised if you gave her the chance. She probably just wants a sister.”
That one gets to me. “You’re not gonna ask her to apologize to me?”
He grins. “Yeah, baby. I’m goin’ to ask her, too.”
I pout.
He puts a hand on my chin, holding it just enough to keep my focus on him. “Do this for me, yeah?”
“Because it’s your birthday?”
“Because it’s my birthday. And maybe because she deserves a chance to get it right, even if she fucks it up the first hundred times.”
I exhale. But he’s right.
I have to at least give it a try.
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll try.”
He pulls me in for a hug. “That’s my girl.”
Well, this should be fun.
I find Jasmine out back, sitting with her legs crossed on a wooden bench with an almost-finished bottle of vodka in her hand.
She is staring at nothing and doesn’t even turn when I approach.
I sit down, waiting for her to tell me to fuck off, but she doesn’t say anything.
I can see the bottom of her shirt is wet, and I know right away it is from wiping tears. Now I feel bad.
“Why do you hate me so much?” I ask, breaking the ice with the only question that comes to mind.
She flinches but doesn’t tell me to leave.
“It isn’t you,” she mutters. “I was raised to be a bitch, to be unkind and awful. Not to mention, I’m fucking bitter.
Bitter that I found out about Chief when I did, and I thought I would hate him, truly I did.
..but I don’t, Violet. I love him. He is the dad I always wanted and this life you have.
..it is all I ever needed. But it feels like there is no place for me here.
He already has you, his Mischief. I guess sometimes I am just desperate for his attention and furious that you were first in his heart. ”
Well, fuck.
How can I argue with that?
She is being incredibly open and honest with me right now. I owe it to her to at least give that back.
“I was jealous of you too, you know. I was heartbroken when you showed up. But I didn’t hate you until you made me feel like I didn’t matter or that you didn’t even want to try and get to know me.”
She sighs and sets the bottle down. “Yeah, I get that.”
“So why don’t you try and just get to know me?” I ask.
She snorts. “I could ask you the same.”
“Fair. I guess I really don’t know anything about you, and maybe I should ask...now is a good time?”
She thrusts the bottle at me, glancing at me from the corner of her eye. “One question, one drink,” she says.
I take it. “Fair rule.” I lift the bottle to my lips and swallow the burning liquid down, before handing it back to her. “Do you miss your mom?”
She closes her eyes before she answers. “Every damned day. She was a mess, that woman, but she was still my mom, you know?” She takes her drink now. “Do you think Chief loved her?”
I hesitate, but she has been honest with me, so I owe it to her to be honest back. “No, I don’t think he did. That isn’t your fault, or anyone’s, I just think he did something to get back at Demon and he didn’t think there would be consequences.”
She stares at the ground. “Yeah, I figured.”
I take the bottle, another sip. “What about Demon? He raised you to be his child, surely it hurt knowing he isn’t your father?”
She snorts. “No. Not at all. There are only very few moments in my childhood I remember him being anything close to a father. He liked the control, liked that he owned something, but I don’t think he loved me.”
“Then why all the hate towards Chief?”
She shrugs. “I think it’s pride. It has nothing to do with me. He doesn’t care that I’m not in his life anymore, he just cares that Chief has the upper hand on something.”
That’s fucked. But it makes sense.
We both take another sip.
The bench creaks as she scoots a little closer. “Do you love Travis?”
I smile. “Yeah, I do. But it hasn’t been an easy road, believe me.”
“He loves you,” she says, turning to look at me. “I have watched him over the last two years, and since you have been back, there is a light in his eyes I haven’t seen before. I hope one day someone’s eyes light up like that for me.”
I nod, smiling at her. “I know there will be someone out there for you who will look at you just like that.”
We go silent for a moment, staring into the darkness.
“I’m sorry for everything,” she says, her voice low. “I’m a real bitch, I know it and I don’t think it will ever change but that doesn’t mean I don’t want this family. I do. I hope you’ll give me that chance.”
“I think we can make that work, if you’re willing to give me a chance, too?”
She nods. “Yeah, I think so.”
The crackling of boots has us both turning to see Chief walking toward us, bottle of beer in his hand, that half-lazy smirk on his face that makes all the women who meet him go crazy. I can’t help but smile, grateful that the universe picked him as my dad.
“I never thought I’d see the day my two beautiful girls would be just sittin’ together, talking,” he says, voice all gruff affection, like he’s both proud and scared.
Jasmine rolls her eyes dramatically, but I can see now, for the first time, just how much she loves him. “Don’t push your luck, old man.”
Chief comes over, lowering himself to the bench edge with a dramatic “oof.” He takes us in. “You two sorted it out, then?”
Jasmine just nods. “We did. You can stop worrying about us causing drama.”
He grunts. “I doubt you two will stop causing drama, but I’m grateful just the same.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You’re still the luckiest man alive, you know that?”
Chief grins. “Damn right. Now get your butts back to the party before it gets too crazy. We’re celebrating the fact I’m still here, and, against all odds, so is this family.”
Jasmine stands first, less wobbly than I expect. She offers me a hand. I take it, surprised by how easy it is. The three of us head in, Chief’s arms slung heavy over our shoulders, like he’s collecting us and never willing to let go.
For the first time, it doesn’t feel like something we have to fight over.
It’s really nice.