Chapter 19 #2
Silence fell and the tension in the room grew exponentially. He’d just called out our club as well as us ourselves. He didn’t know who he was talking to. That much was sure.
“You’re Dani’s Dad, so I’m going to let that slide,” I said before Lock or Rip could speak.
“But don’t you ever imply that we can’t protect our own.
” I’d spoken the words before looking at him, but now we locked eyes.
“The men in this room have killed more people than you can imagine. Each one of us was trained by our government to survive lethal attacks and to ensure we prevailed by any means necessary. Most of us have continued that training even though we’re not in the military any longer. ”
Dani’s hand landed on my forearm, silently begging me to be understanding.
My hand went to the back of her neck, it was a possessive move even though my thumb brushed lightly over her skin, trying to soothe her at the same time.
I was gentle with her, a direct contrast to my voice and the way I was speaking to her father.
He hadn’t missed my gesture and his eyes narrowed.
“Smoke.” Lockout didn’t need to voice his warning, but I was too pissed.
This guy could question me all he wanted when it came to Dani and how we’d gotten together. He could say what he wanted about me, except that. “No one fucks with my family,” I told him. Dropping my hand, I rested my arm on the back of her chair.
“Exactly why we’re in this situation to begin with,” Keely said, her voice a little too cheery as she tried to steer the conversation back to the case.
Robert had been watching me with a dark look while I spoke. His eyes kept flicking to where I was touching Dani. Doubt flashed over his features, before he seemed to come to some sort of decision. Finally, he nodded. “Sorry.”
Giving a single jerk of my chin, I accepted the apology.
I didn’t need some drawn out explanation.
I understood where he was coming from. He didn’t know us from shit, but that was going to change now and he was going to have to figure out how to trust us.
Same way as we’d have to learn to trust that he and his family would hold our secrets.
We were going to have to spill a few in order to let Cynthia and Keely help us.
Dani’s fingers relaxed on my arm, leaving behind the indents from her nails.
She didn’t want there to be friction between her family and mine, but the very nature of how we’d ended up together ensured that.
I could handle whatever her dad threw my way, but he also seemed to be a pretty good man.
In any other situation, I had a feeling we’d get along.
The fact that we were arguing now was comforting.
It meant that when it came to Dani, I could count on him.
“Keely and I reviewed the arrest reports and the charges. They’re going after you for assault and battery,” Cynthia said, giving her husband a look.
Despite her confident nature she hadn’t reprimanded her husband for all his questions.
She let him take the lead when it came to their family.
Now that the discussion was back on the case, she took over.
“It would honestly be easiest just to plead guilty and take the slap on the wrist.” She gave me an apologetic look.
“I could easily argue that this was a one off behavior. Your military records would make sure that the punishment was light.”
“That’s not happening,” Lockout gritted out. “With all due respect, you have no idea what’s going on here. In any other city, that might work.” He looked over at Dani in question.
She shook her head, indicating that she hadn’t mentioned anything to her family about Fremont and why he wanted to go after the MC. Her eyes met mine and she gave me a soft smile.
I had no chance against that look. Linking our fingers together, I held her hand while Lockout stood up and began pacing.
“It’s a long story, and you don’t want the details, but the short version is the DA has it out for us.” He paused and looked over to judge the look on Cynthia and Keely’s faces.
“I’m not surprised,” Keely admitted. “Fremont hates clubs like yours. Says they’re all criminals.” She shrugged, though an apology for voicing it was written all over her face.
“John’s an asshole,” Cynthia stated. “Everyone who exists around him knows it.” She pursed her lips. “But he’s good at his job. If this goes to trial, they’ll end up bringing Eli in as a witness. It’ll be a game of he said, he said. We might be able to pull out a win, but we risk losing, too.”
“That asshole stabbed me,” I said in disbelief. “That’s far worse than the black eye I gave him.”
“They’ll argue it was done in self-defense,” Keely explained. “Four men broke into his home and attacked him. He had every right to defend his own life.”
“He waited until I’d turned around and was leaving,” I pointed out.
“Doesn’t matter,” she told me with a shake of her head. “They’ll try to use it as a defense for him. Mom’s right. It’s a risk and we might lose. Doesn’t mean we won’t argue our side. We just can’t guarantee it’ll work.”
Everyone fell quiet. Static looked over at Lockout. “We could always try to talk to Fremont-”
“No.” The word cracked through the room like thunder. Dani’s hand jumped in mine as she jerked at the sound.
I wrapped my free hand around one of the bars on her chair and pulled it closer.
The loud sound of wood grinding on wood as I slid the chair toward me had everyone looking at us.
I didn’t give a fuck. Right now she was the only thing that mattered to me.
Her mom could say I was going to prison for the rest of my life and it wouldn’t phase me.
I dropped my arm over her shoulder, pulling her against my body, giving her comfort where I could.