4. Pez
Pez
A bolt of fucking lightning.
That’s what it felt like the first time I laid eyes on Cap’s baby sister.
It’s like a bolt of lightning came down from above and struck me so hard that it pierces my damn heart bringing it to life after a year of it not beating at all.
I know that sounds fanciful as hell, but it doesn’t stop it from being true.
I felt frozen inside when I left Tennessee.
Now, I joke, function and interact with my new brothers.
I’ve earned my stripes and position in the club.
I work hard, but that’s it. When the door closes at night, I’m alone and honestly that’s how I’ve wanted it to be.
Until minutes ago, when a gorgeous red head, with emerald-green eyes that have far too many circles under them, grabbed my attention.
It came as a surprise to me a year ago, when my buddy from the service called and I told him what had happened with Nora and where I was at now.
To find out that was being trained to take over his father’s role in the club threw me for a loop.
Seeing how Sabre barely held himself together through the day—until he could drown in a bottle every night—made me understand why Cap never took his leave to come home.
Then, one day I asked Sabre about his daughter.
The pain and anger that morphed on his face was something I had never seen.
Instead, it was something I felt. It brought me back to the night that I saw Nora—in our bed—letting another man into her body, giving what was supposed to be only mine.
I don’t know what he’s been through, but his wife had left him, so I wondered if he and I aren’t that different.
I didn’t delve, but I began to look after him from time to time.
Then, Cap mentioned it was his niece’s birthday and he hated that he was missing her party.
So, I asked Sabre if he’d like me to go with him to his granddaughter’s birthday.
He said he wasn’t going. When I pressed him, he said he didn’t have a place in his daughter’s life any longer and slammed the door in my face.
I reached out to Cap. I watched, but he never to my knowledge reached out to his daughter. So, I contacted Cap again.
That’s the real reason he came in.
The minute we pulled up to the large, one-story, brick, home, I knew there were problems. The grass was growing wild and so high that it rivaled the top of my motorcycle boots for dominance.
The flowerbeds—that I could tell were once fixed with love—were now overgrown jungles.
The windows were grimy, and the front porch was unadorned.
What really gave it away, however, was the roof that looked about three years too late for a new one, and the banisters on the steps that were dilapidated and in need of repair.
Cap had cursed under his breath as we moved to the front and then she answered the door, and my world tilted on its axis.
Which all brings me to where I’m at now.
Still feeling the zing of the mythical lightning bolt, staring at the woman that I instantly want more than anything or anyone I’ve ever wanted in my life.
It’s a hunger that I’ve never felt before and even though I don’t have an explanation, it’s there and with each moment in front of her, it gets stronger.
I don’t understand, but I also know that there’s been something living inside of me driving me to make sure Daphne was okay.
It sounds stupid, but something has always pulled me to take care of her.
Every single time that Sabre spoke about her, I wanted to drive out and find her.
Cap laughed at me for bringing it up. Yet, in my fucking soul, I knew Daphne needed someone.
I’m mad at myself for not listening to the voice in my head that told me to reach out to her.
For that reason alone, it’s not redemption I feel at being proven right.
It’s anger . For the last six months or so, I could have been doing things to help Daphne and her daughter—instead of concentrating my efforts on Sabre.
Sure, he needed help, but if he can let this happen to his daughter and grandchild, then I can’t drum up the interest in caring about him right now.
“Can we make dragons?” Cammie asks, making me laugh.
“That one might be a little hard. Next time I’m at the store, I’ll buy us some and we can put them in front of the castle. Okay?”
“Yeah! I love dragons,” she practically giggles.
Cammie’s a beautiful little girl with curly red hair like her mom, but hazel eyes and chubby cheeks.
It’s clear Daphne makes sure that Cammie eats good.
The same couldn’t be said for her. The clothes she wore, hung sadly on her too-thin frame.
As beautiful as she was, I could tell that she was a broken woman barely keeping her head above water.
She was close to the edge, and I have no plan on letting her fall over it.
“Then it’s a deal,” I purr, roughing up her hair slightly and giving her a real smile.
It seems like a lifetime since I’ve even felt like smiling.
She turns to her blocks but looks over her shoulder at me with a big grin that was missing two teeth.
It was the sweetest smile that I’d ever seen in my life, and I grinned back at her.
That was apparently all she wanted, because she continued helping me build the so-called castle.
It hurts to admit, but I’m not sure I’m good at this block building crap.
“I didn’t know you were good with kids,” Cap says, bending down to join me and Cammie.
“I didn’t either,” I admit. It’s not like I’ve been surrounded by them in my life. I won’t deny that I’m strangely happy right now though.
“Something bad is going on,” Cap whispers, keeping the anger out of his voice to protect Cammie’s sensitive ears. “You were right.”
I nod. There’s really nothing to say to that. We continue talking with Cammie and playing. Somehow Cap even got her attention here and there. I smiled because it was clear she still gravitated toward me. It shouldn’t have felt like I was winning some kind of prize and yet, it did.
“I guess I’m ready,” Daphne announced, coming back into the room.
She’d taken her hair down from the messy updo that she had it in, put on a clean pair of jeans and a deep green silky looking shirt that matched her eyes.
It buttoned up the front but left a deep V that teased the cleavage of her full breasts.
The fabric made my fingers itch, wanting to see which was softer—her skin or the shirt. I was pretty sure which one would win.
“You look gorgeous, Sis,” Cap says. I want to say that and more, but I swallow the words down, reminding myself that she’s married.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
My lips quirk a little. “That place with the bounce houses and play areas for Cammie.”
Her eyes go big. “Do you know what it’s like to have a five-year-old running loose in that place?”
“I guess I’ll find out. I hear their pizza is pretty good.”
“It’s decent,” she admits, worrying her hands together.
“Good, let’s get going. I got some time to make up with my niece,” Cap says.
“Like she won’t prefer me, Cap.”
“I’m not above bribery,” he quips, making me laugh.
I stand up and immediately Daphne goes to pick up Cammie. Cammie lets her but reaches her arms up for me. I laugh and pull her into my chest. “Seems she’s already spoken, Cap,” I joke.
“Why do you call him Cap?” Daphne asks, and I do my best to ignore the tightening in my heart when her attention is solely on me.
“He was my Captain in the military. It just stuck,” I explain.
“You two were in service together?” she asks, clearly shocked.
“Remember five years ago? When one of my men took a bullet for me while pushing me out of the way?”
I gasp. “That was you?” she says looking at me with shock and something else I can’t define. It makes me feel a little uncomfortable.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” I mutter. “We better get a move on.”
“Liar, it was a fuck of a big deal,” Cap argues. “You took a bullet for me. Hell, it ended your career.”
“Drew! Language!” Daphne scolds.
It breaks the moment up and I breathe a little easier as I lead the way out to my truck.
I do my best to ignore how great it feels to buckle Cammie into the car seat that I took out of Daphne’s Kia Sportage—that had definitely seen better days.
Then, I ignored the way I liked her sitting in the passenger seat beside me.
I doubt Cap would have liked the other ideas that floated through my mind.
If he had any inkling, he wouldn’t have jumped in the back for his chance to get Cammie to like him more than me.
As I pulled out of the driveway, I made myself a promise that no matter how long I had to wait, or what I had to do, this wouldn’t be the last time Daphne rode shotgun in my truck.
Not by a long shot.