“Fuck,” he grunts, his eyes still on his beer bottle.
“She was a virgin,” I continue.
“Fuck,” he hisses again, and even though he’s not looking at me, I don’t need to see his eyes to tell his mood. His ears are turning red, and his knuckles are white from his grip on the beer bottle.
“I just found out that her dad sold her to those fuckers.”
His eyes snap to mine. “Are you for real?”
I merely nod. “He sold her to enhance his run for Congress. He lost, and I think he regrets that she was ever found.”
“So he had her abducted and then sent people to find her?”
“Cerberus found her when they were looking for another abducted girl.” The memory of Virus telling me that Colby Davis killed herself after being rescued rattles around in my head, making me worry even more about telling Kaci the truth.
“Those fuckers,” Lynch mutters.
We don’t hate the New Mexico MC, but only because they haven’t brought trouble to our doorsteps. They focus mainly on recovery, security, and reconnaissance. If we were dealing in skin, I imagine we would’ve tangled with them a time or two by now.
“No wonder she’s fucked up. That’s gotta suck knowing her dad was responsible for all of that shit.”
My head is shaking before he even finishes talking. “I don’t think she knows. She hasn’t mentioned it. She went to their house a while back. She doesn’t seem the type of girl that would have loyalty to parents that pulled this kind of shit.”
“And I thought our dad was fucked up,” Lynch mutters.
“Right?”
“What are you going to do?” I shrug. “Are you going to tell her?”
“If you found out this shit about Zoe—”
“Zoe blew her dad’s head off when she found out she was a fucking pawn in that bastard’s game,” he interrupts. “Does she seem like the type who would want to do something like that? We could make those arrangements.”
Lynch has the same damn mindset that Virus has. If Royce Stewart is going to meet the reaper for the things that he has done, it will be at Kaci’s hand. Lynch has all but laid down an order. If I had any thoughts of taking care of this for her, I might as well throw those out.
“I know what you’re thinking, but if you don’t tell her what he’s responsible for and then kill him, she’s going to feel even more misplaced guilt. Don’t tell her if you don’t want, but his death is her decision, and she can’t make that call if she doesn’t know.”
“And if I tell her and she wants me to do it?”
“If she wants him dead and doesn’t have the stomach to do it herself that’s fine.” A grin spreads across my face because I can convince her— “If you manipulate her and persuade her into believing that’s what she wants when it really isn’t, she’ll hate you in the long run.”
How in the hell does he fucking know what I’m thinking?
“I can’t even imagine Zoe walking away from me. I don’t think I’d be able to survive it if she did. I don’t wish any of this on you man, but you have to make a call and fucking hope that it’s the right one.”
“What would you do?” I hold my hand up when he opens his mouth to argue about what Zoe went through. “If you were in this exact same situation, if you were me, what would you do?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t have enough information to answer that truthfully. If I loved her, I’d tell her about what her dad did, but I’d also let her know how I felt about her because she’s been through a lot and I imagine she’d want someone to lean on after that. If I didn’t love her, I’d keep playing with her until I’d had enough, and I’d cut her loose. It would be too much drama for me to fuck with if I didn’t care about her.”
My gut clenches painfully at the idea of walking away from Kaci, but at the same time, I can’t confess my love for her. I don’t even know if that’s what I’m feeling. I’m sure as fuck not going to ask Lynch what being in love feels like.
I drain my glass of whiskey and stand from the bar, still undecided what the final outcome of all of this shit is going to be.
“What are you going to do?” Lynch asks, swiveling his bar stool around so he can face me.
“I’m going to go shower and then get my girl out of the fucking basement.”
“And after that?”
“I don’t have a fucking clue, man.”
Good-naturedly, he slaps me on the back. “Let all of this sink in for a little bit, and the decision will be the easiest one you’ve ever made.”