Chapter Eighteen
Sunny
I can finally breathe without pain shooting through my body. I mean, sure, it still hurts. But I can actually yawn without crying. I can almost raise my arms above my head. Okay. I still can’t do that. But I did brush my own hair today.
Point for me.
“No,” Jack says flatly.
“What do you mean no ?” I glare at him. Something I’ve been doing a lot of this past week. “You can’t just tell me what to do, Jack. You’re not my father.”
Okay, so I sound like a petulant child. But the man just told me I couldn’t do something . I have rights.
“Trust me, baby,” he says with a low, dangerous smile. “What I feel for you is in no way fatherly.”
“Whatever. Either way, you can’t keep me here against my will. That’s illegal. And just freaking mean.”
“You’re not ready to go back to work, Sunny. It’s only been a week since I broke your fucking ribs.”
“I told you I wouldn’t stock anything,” I argue. “I’ll just walk around and supervise. Maybe wear a tiara and point at things with my wand that I want done.”
“No.”
“Well, I’m not asking,” I huff. “I’m calling Marv and telling him I’m ready to return.”
“No need to call, Sunny-girl,” a warm, familiar voice says from the front door. “I’m already here.”
I light up. “ Marv! Oh goodness, hi. I’ve missed you.”
“Careful,” Jack warns as Marv wraps me in a gentle hug.
“Don’t worry, son,” Marv laughs. “Not my first case of broken ribs. If I remember correctly, and we both know I do, there was a certain young lad who came home with several of his own after picking a fight with a kid twice his size.”
“Twice my size,” Jack grunts, “but very stupid.”
Huh?
“Maybe so,” Marv chuckles, then looks at me. “How are you feeling, Sunny-girl?”
“Right now? Confused,” I admit. “Do you and Jack… know each other?”
“You could say that,” Marv says, smiling like this is totally normal. “He’s my son. Raised the boy since he was fifteen.”
“I’m sorry… what? You’re related to my boss? Oh, no. No, no, no. This can’t happen. People are gonna think I slept with you to get a raise or something. We have to break up. Immediately.”
Marv laughs. Jack just shakes his head like he’s used to my dramatics.
“You had your job long before you met Jack,” Marv says kindly.
“And if anyone so much as looks at you sideways,” Jack growls, “I’ll skin them alive.”
I blink. “He means that Sunny-girl,” Marv confirms.
Wait. What?
“You skin people?” I ask, equal parts horrified and…okay… slightly intrigued.
“Only the ones who fuck with what’s mine,” he says without blinking. “Now, back to the topic at hand. You’re not going back to work.”
I sigh, crossing my arms only to immediately regret it. Pain shoots through my chest, and I wince before I can stop it.
I look away, hoping Jack didn’t see.
He saw.
“Sunny,” he says, voice low, tight, almost gentle… and somehow scarier because of it.
“I’m fine,” I lie.
“Bullshit.”
He crosses the room before I can blink and crouches in front of me.
“You winced, baby. You’re in pain. That’s not fine.”
I try to hold his stare. I really do. But his eyes… they hold something too intense. Like I’m the only thing anchoring him to this world, and if I fall, he shatters with me.
I look away.
“I just want to feel normal again,” I mumble. “Being here makes me feel safe, but… I don’t want to lose who I am. I’m an independent woman, Jack. I’ve always taken care of myself. And right now… I just feel useless. ”
There’s a beat of silence so thick it presses on my chest harder than the bruises.
Jack exhales slowly. “You think being protected makes you weak?”
“No,” I whisper. “But it makes me feel… fragile. And I’ve fought so hard not to be that girl. I have to be strong enough to take care of myself and Mama. Feeling fragile just won’t work.”
He gently lifts my chin until I’m forced to meet his gaze again.
“You’re not fragile,” he says, voice rough with emotion. “You’re hurt. There’s a difference.”
My eyes sting.
“You were drugged, Sunny. Almost killed by someone who didn’t give a damn who they hurt. And you still walked away. Even with broken ribs, you’re still standing. Still fighting. That’s not weakness. That’s strength.”
“Maybe,” I admit. “But, I really don’t like sitting still.”
He nods, the faintest twitch of his lips betraying his understanding. “I know. But sometimes sitting still is the bravest thing you can do.”
Before I can respond, Marv’s voice floats in.
“Why don’t you go lie down on the couch for a bit, Sunny-girl?” he says gently. “Give Jack and me a minute.”
I glance between them, reluctant. “You’re not gonna talk about me like I’m not in the room, are you?”
“Yes,” Jack says with zero shame.
I roll my eyes and mutter something about “ungrateful biker men and their jerk fathers who may or may not be the boss of me…literally” as I shuffle back to the couch.
***Bones***
As soon as Sunny’s out of earshot, Marv steps closer.
“You’re losing your damn mind over her, son.”
I don’t even try to deny it. Just scrub a hand over my jaw and stare toward the living room like I can still see her through the wall. Like her voice left an imprint in the air and I’m chasing the echo of it.
“She thinks she’s a burden,” I mutter. “Thinks needing help makes her less.”
Marv exhales through his nose. “She’s used to being on her own. Being the one doing the protecting for her and her mama. And that woman works her ass off. I should know. I’ve taken over her jobs while she’s out and I’m fucking exhausted. Sitting around doing nothing is probably driving her crazy.”
I nod once, barely. The pressure in my chest tightens.
“I don’t want her to feel trapped,” I say quietly.
“Then stop acting like she’s made of glass.”
My jaw ticks.
“She doesn’t need a cage, Jack. She needs a partner. ”
I drop my eyes to the floor. My shoulders feel like they’ve been carrying bricks for days, and suddenly… just for a second… one of them slips off.
“I’m not used to this,” I admit, voice rough. “Caring like this. It makes everything feel... open. Exposed. Like I’ve left all my weapons on the ground and just stood there. ”
Marv gives me a long look. One of those fatherly ones that see through every wall, every lie I tell myself.
“That’s because it is vulnerable,” he says.
“She’s not just taking your attention, Jack.
She’s peeling back the parts you’ve boarded up for years.
The part of you that you hide away for fear of becoming your father.
You’re not your father. You would never harm her or any other woman.
So, you either let her in… or push her away.
But don’t you dare act like you’re doing it for her. ”
I lift my gaze back to the hallway where she disappeared.
“I don’t think I can push her out,” I say, barely above a whisper.
Marv claps a firm hand on my shoulder, the weight grounding.
“Then don’t.”
“She’s not ready to go back to work,” I say.
“No, she’s not,” Marv sighs. “Let’s break the news to her and then you need to take her to see her ma. I bet that will lighten her mood and bring our Sunny back to full power. Also, you do realize that she snuck outside and is sitting on your porch, right?”
“Yeah,” I say with a smile. “She’s a pain in my ass. Thanks, Dad.”
Marv pulls me into a hug, smiling.
It’s not often I call him Dad. Not because I don’t want to…it just felt weird at first. Forming that kind of connection with a man I barely knew when my first dad was such a fucking monster? It was easier to keep it at Marv. Then it just… stuck.
But it’s never been about the name. I love him just the same. He’s the best man I’ve ever known.
***Sunny***
Deciding not to listen to the overbearing alpha men in my life, I step out the back door and walk around to the front porch.
I love sitting out here, just watching the traffic of bikers as they come and go.
Although Riley tells me it’s nowhere near as busy as usual.
Spike’s put a hold on outside visitors for a while.
I shudder at the memory of being in the war room, listening to the sound of a man’s voice playing over Foster’s phone. Spike wanted me to hear the recording. Wanted to know if it matched the voice of the man who killed Josh.
It did.
I’ll never forget that cruel, smug tone. The way he spoke, like hurting people was sport. Like life meant nothing.
Apparently, that voice belonged to Spike’s cousin, Billy.
Who, from what I understand… is no longer breathing.
Since it turns out he’s the one who drugged me and Riley, I can’t bring myself to feel bad about what happened to him.
I should feel relief. Closure, maybe.
But all I feel is cold.
The kind of cold that starts in your chest and doesn’t care how warm the sun is on your skin.
Josh is still dead.
And no matter how much I pretend otherwise, I still have no idea how to carry that.
I tuck my legs under me, careful not to jolt my ribs. The noise of the compound hums around me. Bikes rumbling in and out of the gate, muffled conversations from in and around the clubhouse. Someone yelling at Tank to stop drinking straight from the milk jug again.
Normal stuff.
This weird, twisted version of normal I’ve somehow become part of.
And a version I’m already mourning, even though I haven’t left it yet.
I don’t know how long I sit there before the screen door creaks behind me.
Jack.
Of course, it’s Jack.
He doesn’t say anything at first. Just walks over and sinks down beside me, letting the silence settle.
“You weren’t in the living room,” he says finally.
“I needed air,” I reply.
He nods, slowly. Thoughtful.
“Marv suggested we go visit your ma,” he says.
I turn my head to look at him. “Really?”
“Would you like that?”
“Very much so,” I say, smiling. “I’m used to seeing Mama once or twice a week. Talking on the phone just… isn’t the same. I really miss her.”
“I know, baby. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it sooner.” He stands, then offers a hand. “Come on. Let’s get dressed and head that way.”
“Wait, you’re coming, too?”
“No way I’m letting you leave this compound without a Shadow.”
“The guy who hurt me is dead, right? So why are you still worried?”
“He might be dead, Sunny. But the people he was working for?” Jack shakes his head. “They’re not. Until I know they’re gone…until every evil bastard who could harm you is in the ground…you’re not stepping foot outside this gate without protection.”
“There’ll always be bad people, Jack.”
He gives me a look. Sharp. Unapologetic. “Exactly.”
“You can’t protect me forever, Darth Brooder ,” I say with a smirk. “I won’t be here much longer.”
“Whatever you say, baby.” He leans in just enough for his voice to go low and dangerous. “Now call your ma and ask if she wants Chinese or burgers.”
“She’ll want Chinese,” I laugh. “For sure.”