Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jack
How was one woman so fucking hard to find? Carrie hadn’t gone back to the house. So where was she staying?
We needed to find her, and soon. Sammy was right. We couldn’t keep Charlie locked up at the clubhouse.
“Here you go, Jack.”
I lifted the beer the prospect dropped off and took a long drink. The clubhouse doors opened up and Charlie came running in.
“Daddy, look at my books,” she cried.
“Wow. Uncle Ryder spoiled you, didn’t he?” I asked, taking the books from her so I could take a closer look. “I thought she was only getting three?” I asked Sammy when she finally made it to where I was sitting at the bar.
“That was the plan.” Sammy sighed. “Just add Ryder to the list of men in this town who can’t tell your daughter no.”
I smiled at Sammy. Setting the books down, I pulled her into my arms.
“I can’t seem to tell you no, either,” I crooned, kissing her neck.
“You didn’t have a problem telling me no this morning,” she snarked.
I raised my head and looked at her.
“You went, didn’t you?”
“Only because King wouldn’t back you up.” Sammy laughed.
“Keep laughing, baby.”
Before I could say more, my phone rang. It was the prospect at the gate. Sammy walked over to the couch while I answered the call .
“Hello?”
Turning on my stool, I saw Nav walk into the room with his laptop. He didn’t look happy.
“Hey, Jack. I got a guy out here that’s asking for your Sam.”
Nav showed his computer to Sammy, and her face paled.
“Who is it?” I asked.
Based on Sammy’s expression, I knew exactly who it was. Nav looked up at me and nodded. He pulled his phone from his pocket and made a call. I imagined he was calling King.
“He, um, says he’s her, uh… husband.”
I heard footsteps in the hall, moments before King and Cash entered the room.
“Where’s Blade? Who else is here?” King asked.
“Hang on, Prospect.” I pulled the phone from my ear. “Tank and Mimic came in with Sammy.”
Cash pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a text. A moment later, Tank, Mimic, and Blade entered the common area. Mimic went to Sammy, sitting on the couch beside her. Tank pulled Charlie into his lap and turned on the TV. Blade sat by me at the bar.
Cash motioned to himself and then the door. I relayed that information to the prospect.
“Cash is coming out to the gate.” I cut the call. “Sammy, take Charlie to her room.”
“No, Jack.” I turned to look at King as he explained, “She needs to be here. She needs to face him.”
“King’s right. He can’t hurt me with you all here.” Sammy stood and walked over to me. Mimic a step behind her.
“You don’t leave her side,” I instructed, pointing at Mimic.
“Didn’t plan on it,” he replied.
The door opened, and Cash walked in, followed by a man that looked a lot like me. He wasn’t quite as tall, or as muscular. But just looking him over, we could have been brothers.
We all stood there. No one said a word. Sammy took a deep breath beside me.
“So, you must be the asshole fucking my wife?” Derek said, looking right at me.
“I am,” I replied, standing to full height, which was at least four inches taller than him.
Derek looked around the room, his gaze landing on Charlie.
“Is that the brat?” he asked.
I took a step forward, and Blade grabbed my arm.
“That is my daughter,” I growled.
He turned to look at me with a smirk. “You sure about that?”
Blade moved faster than I did, blocking my path.
“Derek, why are you here?” Sammy asked.
Derek looked over at Sammy and took a few steps closer to her. Mimic immediately stepped in front of her, blocking her from him. Derek looked Mimic over from head to toe.
“You think you can keep me from my wife?” he asked.
“Nope,” Mimic said. “I know I can.” He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
Mimic might be thin, but he was not a guy you wanted to underestimate. Whatever he shared with Sammy had bonded them together. I knew Derek had no chance of getting past him.
Sammy looked around Mimic. “Why are you here, Derek? Just sign the divorce papers.”
“Well, see, the thing is, I don’t want a divorce. Not to mention you want me to give up my claim on my daughter.” Derek shrugged.
I struggled against Blade. I was going to rip this asshole apart.
“JACK!” King bellowed, getting my attention.
“In fact, I would very much like to meet my daughter.” Derek turned toward Charlie.
He only made it three steps before Tank set Charlie on the couch and stood. Derek’s steps faltered visibly. I took great joy in that. There was no way he was getting near my daughter.
“She is not your fucking daughter,” Tank explained.
“Well, now see, I’m married to Sammy—”
“Don’t fucking call her that!” I barked.
Derek chuckled at my outburst. I wanted to knock him on his ass, and I would, once I got away from Blade. He had both arms holding me in place.
“Jack, don’t let him get to you,” Sammy whispered.
She had moved closer to me and placed her hand on my chest. All the tension in my body escaped the minute she touched me. Blade must have felt it because he released me so I could pull Sammy into my arms.
“As I was saying. Sammy is my wife, and according to Charlotte’s birth certificate, I am her father,” he informed, crossing his arms over his chest.
Did he think that made him look tough?
Standing in front of me, Sammy addressed the douchebag.
“Derek, you know as well as I do that you are not her father. You have made no attempt to see me or her in the five years since I left. So just sign the papers for the divorce and agree to the change in her birth certificate.”
“I am afraid I’m gonna need a DNA test before I can do that. Now, if we discover she is indeed someone else’s child. Well then, I would have grounds for the divorce,” Derek said, holding his palms up on each side of his body.
He pulled a packet of papers out of his back pocket and laid them on the table.
“Not a problem,” King said. “Cash, call Patch in. We can get the swabs done right now.”
“See, that doesn’t work for me. How do I know you won’t create a false report? No, I think we need to do them at the hospital,” the smug bastard said.
“Let’s go then,” King offered. “We can head over there right now.”
“Unfortunately, now doesn’t work for me, either,” the bastard stated, making a show to look at his watch. “I have another engagement I need to get to. I’ll be in touch about when I can make time to get over there.” With that, he turned and walked out the front door.
“Mimic, follow him,” King ordered.
Nodding, Mimic walked out the clubhouse doors.
I turned to Sammy. She had moved to where Charlie was sitting as soon as Derek left. I kneeled in front of her.
“Are you ok, baby?”
Sammy sat there, holding Charlie to her chest. She didn’t answer me or look at me. She just sat there, staring at nothing. A tear rolled down her face, and I moved to the couch next to her. I pulled them both into my arms and held her.
“Why is he doing this, Jack? He knows she isn’t his. Why is he doing this?”
“It’s all he has left. He knows once the DNA test confirms what we already know, he will lose any chance he had of holding on to you.”
“That’s just it, Jack. He doesn’t want me. He has done nothing to find me. The only reason he is here now is because we sent the papers. He couldn’t bother to track me down until the information was laid in his lap,” Sammy cried.
“We will get this fixed, Sammy. I promise you.”
“Have you heard from Mimic?” I asked King.
“No.”
“He’s been gone for hours. He has to know something,” I pressed.
“When he has something, he’ll tell us,” King replied.
Before I could say more, Mimic walked into the clubhouse. He looked angry.
“What did you find?” I asked him.
“Nothing.” He fumed.
“What do you mean, nothing?” I questioned. “How could you find nothing? Didn’t you follow him? Where the fuck did he go?”
“To the motel,” Mimic said.
“And?” King asked.
“And nothing. He went to the motel and never fucking left,” Mimic explained. “He’s playing with her.”
“What is his endgame? He has to know this won’t end the way he wants it to. Even if Charlie was his daughter, Sammy would never go back to him. So what does he think this will accomplish?” I wondered out loud.
“He doesn’t have an endgame. He just wants to torment her,” Blade added.
“Fuck that,” I spat.
I got up from my seat, grabbed the papers he left behind, and headed outside. I heard King tell someone to follow me. Most likely Blade. I strode to my bike, swung my leg over, and fired it up.
I didn’t know who followed me out. I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was finding Derek and getting his DNA.
I rode through town. Blade pulled up beside me and nodded. I figured it would be him. Then Mimic pulled up on my other side. I looked over at him. He nodded the same way Blade did. I knew they both had my back.
Mimic took the lead. He knew where the bastard was staying. Blade and I followed behind him. I hit a button on my phone and called Patch.
“Hey, Jack, what’s up?”
“What do you need to do a DNA test?” I asked.
“Well, if you all come in, I can do a swab and send it in.”
“Bringing someone in willingly is not an option. So what do you need?” I asked again.
“Spit, blood, or hair. The hair needs to have the root attached. Are you with the person?” he inquired carefully.
“Not yet, headed there now.”
“Ok, if you find the person is not available, a toothbrush or hairbrush will suffice. Or a tissue with a good amount of blood on it. Take it back to the clubhouse. Don’t come here,” he clarified.
“You got it.” I cut the call as we pulled into the motel parking lot.
We each climbed off our bikes, and Mimic led the way to Derek’s room.
“I don’t see his car,” Mimic said, looking around the lot. “ Looks like he took off. We might not have much time.”
“Should have brought Billy,” I remarked.
“He’s still watching the bitch’s house. But he taught me a few things,” Mimic said, pulling a small case from his saddlebag.
He didn’t get the door open as quickly as Billy would, but it was quicker than Blade or I could have done.
Within a few minutes, Mimic had the door open. I wasn’t opposed to kicking the door down, but this worked better to prevent Derek from knowing we’d been here.
We looked around the room. “Patch said spit, blood, or hair. Tissues, toothbrush, or hairbrush.”
I moved into the bathroom and found both the toothbrush and a comb. I grabbed them both and wrapped them in a towel.
Walking back to the main room, I told the guys, “Got it. Let’s go.”