15. Chapter Fifteen
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WAR
“We need them gone. They don’t get to make a move on our territory without any repercussions,” Prez says, glancing around the table. Ora is upstairs in my bed while I called Church to discuss what happened today. I’m fucking fuming they even looked at my woman, and I need to make sure nothing happens to her.
Angel, who does all our security, set up a much better system for Lu, and we can see the camera footage from the clubhouse. I like being able to have eyes on Ora while she’s at work. We will also be leaving a prospect or one of the members watching over them.
When it comes to my woman, I don’t play.
My shit doesn’t touch Ora. Ever .
“It’s going to get messy,” Lore comments, but he doesn’t sound put off by that fact. “We need to all be on high alert.”
“We will have eyes on them and find out what we can,” I say, nodding to the twins, our enforcers. “And then we will make a plan. But everyone stay armed and be ready for anything.”
“Warn the women,” Prez adds, then brings his eyes to me. They flicker with an unreadable look before he addresses the room. “There’s something else that needs to be discussed, and War, you ain’t gonna like it.”
“What?” I ask, resting my palms on the table, ready to jump up if I need to.
“It’s about Ora. I had a background check run on her,” he starts, looking me in the eye.
“And?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “She ever tell you about her father?”
I shake my head. “No, said he wasn’t in her life.”
“He wasn’t,” he murmurs, and I’m so on edge I’m about to tear this room to shreds if he doesn’t tell me what’s going on and what it has to do with Ora. “I don’t think her coming to Rest Falls was a coincidence. I ran her DNA.”
“How the fuck did you do that?” I growl.
“I had Bones get one of the glasses she drank from,” he explains, pushing his chair back and standing. I do the same. “She’s mine, War. I’m her father.”
“What?” I whisper, my brow furrowing.
He puts his hands up. “I knew she looked familiar. She looks just like her mother. But her eyes…”
She has blue eyes just like Rome’s. She also has his dimples.
Fuck me.
“What are you saying? She came here because she knew you were her dad?” I ask, trying to understand what he is laying down.
“I don’t know,” he replies, lifting his head, his jaw tight. “But I do know she is my daughter. She’s a club princess.”
I have a moment where I wonder if she has played me. Did she want an in with the club so badly because of Rome?
But I’m the one who chased her, not the other way around.
I walked into her bakery.
And the night I met her, I wasn’t wearing my cut. She acted surprised when she saw I was a biker.
But why the fuck didn’t she tell me?
She’s made me look like a fool in front of all my men, and it pisses me the fuck off. We were only just talking about our families last night. She had an opening to come clean, and she didn’t.
“Ora is mine ,” I declare, crossing my arms against my chest. The rest of the men stand in case they need to get involved or pull us apart. Rome is our prez, and I know no one can stand up against him. I’m second in command, but I need to be careful how I play this. Rome is her father. “I claimed her.”
“I’m her blood!” Prez scowls, narrowing his eyes. “And I want to spend some time with her… get to know her.”
“When are you going to tell her that you know?”
He holds his arms out at his sides. “No time like the present. Bones, bring her in here.”
Fuck.
The tension radiating from us is stifling, and if we aren’t careful, we’re going to come to blows.
The slowest five minutes of my life later, Ora walks in behind Bones, her long hair still damp, her face makeup-free. She’s in sweats and a tank top and appears confused as hell.
She looks around, her eyes landing on me. “What’s going on?”
Prez doesn’t ease her in, he just throws it all out there. “Hello, daughter. I think you have some explaining to do.”
Her delicate throat works as she swallows. She doesn’t deny it, nor does she look too surprised. Yes, she’s known who Rome was to her this entire time.
Why didn’t she tell him?
Why did she keep this to herself?
She couldn’t be working against us, could she?
I hate that these thoughts run through my mind, but they do. She hasn’t been honest with me.
“I can explain,” she finally says, moving closer to me. We all sit back down, trying to appear less intimidating, maybe, but I don’t reach for her. I’m too angry, too on edge. She leans against the table. “When my mother died, I found a box with your photos and information. I came here to see you, I guess. You’re my only living relative. I saw you at one of the charity events, and I don’t know, you had the club, your family already.
“As far as I was told, you weren’t ready to be a father, so I was torn. What if you still didn’t want anything to do with me? I’d come to see you sometimes from afar, but I never approached you, and I kind of let it go. When I met War that night, I didn’t know he was a member. I only knew when he walked into the bakery.”
“Firstly, let’s clear something up. I didn’t know you existed, Ora. When I saw you, you looked familiar. I remember your mother. You look just like her. We were seeing each other for about six months before she ended it and left town. If I’d known she was pregnant, I never would have let her leave,” Prez admits, clearing his throat. “Don’t ever say that I didn’t want you. I didn’t fucking know.”
She blinks away tears, and I feel like we’re all intruding on their moment.
Prez must realize the same. “Everyone, out.” When Ora turns to leave, he reaches out and takes her arm. “Not you, Ora. You sit.”
I pull out my chair, and she drops into it, her eyes trying to connect with mine, but I look away. I need to clear my fucking head because this bomb has just been dropped squarely on me.
“Didn’t see that one coming,” Bones mutters, slapping me on the back. “You all right, VP?”
“I’m going for a ride,” I say, walking outside.
The twins follow, getting on their bikes and roaring their engines. We ride out with me taking the lead.
This brotherhood means everything to me.
So why does it feel like something just changed?