13
13
Liam
My son-in-law, Blaise Hughes; his enforcer, Huck Kingston; and the psycho who was his best friend, Gage Presley, filled my office, along with Tex and Drifter—a member of The Judgment since the beginning, who had relocated with me to Ocala to help with Devil’s. We had emptied the club and closed down early last night, and then I’d contacted Blaise to tell him who had walked in my doors.
“You sure it wasn’t just some snake tat someone copied?” Huck asked me.
I leaned back in my chair and shook my head. “I fucking wish it were. He had on the vest too.”
Blaise’s expression didn’t show any emotion. He glanced over at Gage, who showed enough rage for both of them. I knew he was making sure Gage stayed in check and didn’t stalk from the room to go hunt the man down and slice his neck. At least not until we knew more.
“The LA Vipers believe they killed every member of the Florida Vipers three years ago,” Huck said.
I nodded. “Either they missed one or there is a new start-up. I can’t imagine one single man is walking around with the tattoo and vest on. It’s a statement. Could be he has no idea about the connection here and walked in blind with Diamond last night or he did it on purpose.”
Blaise showed the first sign of annoyance with a small flicker in his eyes. “If he’s wearing the vest and the tat is the same, he knows. It was meant as a statement. How long has Diamond been working here?”
I glanced at Drifter. He’d know the exact date we’d hired her.
“Seven months ago next week, but the background check done on her was clean—”
The door opened behind him, stopping whatever else he was going to say. Liberty stepped in, her gaze sweeping the room before settling on me.
Fucking hell! What was she doing? I’d had breakfast sent to her, along with a message for her to stay in her room until I came to get her.
“Go back to your room,” I demanded.
She flared her eyes at being ordered around. I didn’t give a shit.
“It’s not my room,” she snapped, and then her mouth softened into a smile. “I was unaware you had company. I just came to tell you that I was leaving to go search for a job.”
I did not have time for this bullshit!
“No,” I replied, not wanting to do this in front of any audience but especially this one. The last thing I needed was for Blaise to tell my daughter about some girl staying in my room at the club.
She placed a hand on her hip, causing her tits to sway slightly under the sundress she was wearing. Did she not have on a goddamn bra?! I swore to God I was going to lock her in that fucking room.
“I didn’t come to ask for permission, Liam,” she said tightly but managed to continue smiling at me like we were having a friendly discussion.
It was at least a three-mile walk to the closest bus stop, and at eight this morning, it was over ninety degrees. It was probably close to, if not at, the one hundred mark right now. She couldn’t walk three miles in this heat.
Shoving the chair back, I stood and stalked toward her. At least she had the good sense to look worried as she took a step back out of the room.
“This will just take me a minute,” I told the others before slamming the door behind me and crowding her until her back was against the wall.
“Do you know who is in that office right now?” I asked her through clenched teeth.
She inhaled sharply, lifting her chin up in defiance. “I don’t care. I told you last night, I’m not sitting in that room all day. I need a job.”
Leaning down, I placed my palm flat on the wall beside her head. “The fucking Mafia, Liberty. They didn’t stop by for a chat. Did you notice how quiet it was last night? That was because some shit went down, and now, we are dealing with it. So, I need you to take your ass back into that room and stay there until I come and get you.”
Her eyes glanced behind me at the closed door. There was the briefest glimpse of fear in them. At least she was smart enough to understand the situation. Maybe she’d listen to me then and stop being a fucking brat.
When her eyes swung back up to meet mine, that moment of fear was gone. Determination shone bright in them instead. “I’m sorry I interrupted. But I’m leaving. I’ll be back this evening.”
I heard the door open, and I tensed. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Gage leaning against the doorframe with an amused grin.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked.
I sighed. “I’m coming. Just give me a minute.”
He looked from me to Liberty, then smirked. “All right, but we don’t have all day.”
Cocky fucker.
I turned back to Liberty, anger radiating through every cell in my body. I was going to have to explain her. Blaise would have questions, and I had to make sure whatever he told my daughter didn’t make this look like something it wasn’t. It also couldn’t be the truth. I hoped Madeline never had to know about this. I just needed that paternity test to come back negative.
The door clicked closed.
“It’s a hundred fucking degrees outside, and the closest bus station is three miles. You might not care about your health or safety, but until I know if that baby you’re carrying is mine or not, I fucking do. So, take your ass back into that room and stay there. I don’t have time to argue with you. That man who just came out here is a damn psycho. I have to get back in there.”
She blinked, then bit her bottom lip nervously. I tried real hard not to look at her plump lips because even now, when I hated her, I wanted a taste.
Shoving off the wall and stepping back to get distance from her, I pointed to the bedroom door. “Go.”
Thankfully, she didn’t say anything more and walked toward it instead of the stairs. I waited until she was inside before going back into my office.
Glancing at Drifter, I nodded my head toward the hallway.
“Make sure she doesn’t leave the room,” I told him.
He didn’t question me and left to go do as he had been told.
I walked back over to the desk, feeling every pair of eyes in there locked on me. I could almost feel the amusement coming from Gage.
When I sat back down, I looked at Blaise. “Sorry about that.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s not the doctor.”
I didn’t ask him how he knew what Selena looked like. I already knew how he worked. The moment I’d started dating the woman, I was sure he’d had a complete background check done on her. He probably had a file with every tiny detail about her in it, along with several photos. Blaise allowed no one into Madeline’s life until he checked them out thoroughly. That meant anyone who was connected with me too.
“No,” I sighed. “It’s her sister.”
I couldn’t lie to him. There was a good chance he had a photo of Liberty in that file of his. He’d know all of Selena’s relatives.
“Half-sister,” Huck replied.
My eyes shot up to the tall brick wall of a man who stood with his back against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest. He lifted his shoulder in a small shrug. “I was there when Levi got all of Dr. Selena Dillard’s information in. I saw the photos and the family tree. Six wanted to know if the sister was single.”
Six. Another one of Blaise’s men and one of the few who wasn’t already claimed by a woman. He was a regular here. Bellatrix was his current favorite.
Well, Six, she’s pregnant. Stick with the strippers. Less drama.
“She’s dating Marlow Gabler’s youngest son,” Blaise said.
Not anymore. Looked like they didn’t have the updated information on Liberty.
I shrugged as if I didn’t know her current relationship situation, like it didn’t matter to me. I had to be careful. I might be Blaise’s father-in-law, but lying to him wasn’t something he’d forgive. Even if this wasn’t his business.
“As much as I love a good soap opera, can we get back to the fact that there was a motherfucking Viper in here last night? If one of them survived and they are rebuilding, then we need to know,” Gage said.
Blaise stared at me for a moment more, as if trying to decide if he should be concerned about Liberty being at my club, before glancing over at Gage. “You take Huck and go question the girl. Find out what she knows. Levi is already looking into things on his end. If they have a paper trail, he’ll find it.”
“Diamond is being held downstairs. Drifter can take you to her,” I told them.
Gage stood up and followed Huck from the room. Blaise didn’t move. His focus remained locked on me.
When the door closed behind the others, he leaned forward, narrowing his eyes slightly. “You need to tell me something, Liam?”
I wanted to tell him my personal shit was just that. Mine. But I also didn’t want to have a bullet removed from one of my body parts today either. He wouldn’t kill me, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t shoot me.
I leaned back and smoothed my beard with my hand. Leaving out anything would bite me in the ass. Levi could find anything on the internet, and if he couldn’t, Wilder Jones, their very own cyber genius, sure as fuck could.
“The week before I went on my first date with Selena, I was on my way back from Miami. It was storming, so I stopped at Abernathy’s to get a drink until the rain lightened up. Liberty was the bartender. We talked. I enjoyed her company. The crowd was thinning out, so her boss let her off early, but she didn’t have a ride.” I paused, wishing like fuck I could stop this story now. “She was staying at a motel—she’d broken up with her boyfriend, who she had lived with recently. I went inside. We …” I stopped again.
He raised his eyebrows. “Fucked?”
I nodded. We had definitely fucked. Several times.
“Anyway, I left, didn’t think I’d see her again. But she called her sister, needing somewhere to stay until she could get a place of her own. Selena took her in.”
I was hoping that would be enough.
Blaise tilted his head. “Why’s she here?”
Dammit.
I leaned forward, putting my elbows on the desk. “She and Selena had a falling-out. She had nowhere to go. And … she’s pregnant. Until I know if it’s mine, she’s here. I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell this to Madeline. I don’t want her to know I fucked some thirty-one-year-old bartender I didn’t know and knocked her up if I didn’t, in fact, knock her up. If it’s mine, I know I’m gonna have to tell her. But I …” I rubbed my temples, why hadn’t Liberty just stayed in her room.
“You don’t want her disappointed in you. Why? Because you got a woman pregnant from a one-night stand or because she’s only six years older than Madeline?”
I frowned. “Both.”
He nodded and stood up. “I don’t keep things from Madeline that affect her. What you do affects her. But I’ll wait until you know if it’s yours. No reason she has to know about her father’s sex life otherwise.”
There was that at least. If it wasn’t mine, she’d never know. I had a small amount of relief. If the baby was mine, I’d have to tell her eventually.
Blaise shook his head as a low chuckle came from his chest. “Siblings with a twenty-five- year-old age gap. Jesus,” he said in an amused tone.
I didn’t want to look at it like that. It made me feel like an even bigger disappointment to Madeline.
“Could be worse,” he said as he headed for the door. “It could have been one of your strippers.”