Eden shifted enough so that those eyes could meet mine. A thousand questions swirled through the fathomless depths. Girl trying to get a read on me.
Piercing.
Cutting deep.
Trying to touch way down in those places I was terrified for her to see.
Instinct had me wanting to put up a wall. To stop this from happening. From her getting any deeper than she already was.
The sick part of me just wanted to give it all, lay it at her feet.
Probably was no use in hiding, anyway. With just that one look, I could feel her crack me wide open.
She got me on a level no one else could.
Both wary and devoted, Eden nodded. “Of course.”
“Thank you.” I turned my attention to Gage who Jud was flipping over his shoulder, making him laugh as he somersaulted, before he carefully set my kid on his feet.
“Why don’t you show Miss Murphy your room?” I suggested.
“You wanna, Miss Murphy, do you wanna? It’s so cool! I got a whole solar system and I know all the planets. Do you want to see ’em?”
Eden stretched out her hand and took my son’s. “I would love that.”
I watched them disappear out the archway, heart wanting to go chasing after them. When I looked up at Logan and Jud, they were both holding their laughter.
“Miss Murphy?” Jud mouthed.
“Shut it, assholes,” I grumbled, turning and heading for the refrigerator while the two of them busted up.
“Dude, you’re so screwed.” Logan was all grins.
“Pay up, bitch.” There it was, Jud deciding it was time to collect.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge, shut the door, and leaned against it as I twisted the cap and took a long pull. I rocked my head back on the cool metal, meeting their questioning gazes. “I’m fucked, guys.”
So fucked.
Because I was never supposed to let myself get in this far.
Tangled and tied.
Logan shook his head. “Nah, man. You’re fucking blessed, so stop this shit. You’ve got an amazing kid and a woman who clearly adores your surly ass considering she’s still here, so suck it the hell up.”
“Mom would like her.” Jud leaned his hip on the end of the island, looking at me with his beefy arms crossed over his chest.
Emotion locked at the base of my throat. So tight I couldn’t breathe. “She would if she was here, but I failed her.”
Failed at protecting her like I was supposed to do.
And she was gone.
Gone.
Just like I’d failed at protecting Nathan.
And I’d never outrun that.
Jud exhaled and scruffed a palm down his face. “No, Trent. Would bet my life she’s watching down right now, and she’s fuckin’ proud. Fuckin’ proud of who you are.”
Shame billowed through my being.
The sins I’d committed.
The awful things I’d done.
“Just…promise me you won’t shut her out,” Jud pressed. “That you give this thing a chance.”
I took a gulp of beer as I tried to process all the shit spinning through my brain.
“She’d be terrified if she knew what I’d be willing to do to protect her.” The words slipped out a growl. A warning of what was likely to come. If violence had followed us here? I was going to return it tenfold.
Jud gave a tight nod. Catching my meaning.
“Did you find out anything?” I asked.
“Talked to Ridge.” Ridge rode with Pillage of Petrus, which was another MC back in LA we’d had ties with. Worked with. No bad blood. Ridge and Jud were good friends. Went way back. Dude was someone Jud trusted with his life, which meant I did, too.
“There’s been some strife within the ranks of Demon’s Day.”
Mention of that club sent fire lapping through my insides. Singeing. Searing. Burning me alive.
Bad blood was all we had with them.
A war had started with them the day my mother was gunned down on our front lawn. Kind of war that was never going to end. Which was why I’d fucked Juna Lamb in a bid to get back at their president.
No better way to piss off an enemy than to put your dick in his girl.
Grief thudded in my spirit.
It was that mistake that had set the rest in motion. What had led to us losing Nathan. Another score on my soul.
But it was also the one that’d brought me Gage.
And I still didn’t know how the hell to balance that.
My throat felt tight, and my ribs clamped around my charred heart. “And how does that relate to what happened last night?”
“Not sure if it does, but Ridge is always keeping an eye out for what’s going down in the city. Demon’s Day has had some guys go missing. A few jobs gone bad.” Jud blew out a strained sigh. “Still not certain the two are connected, but there was also an attempted hit on Keeton Petrus.”
“Fuck,” I hissed. “Is he okay?”
Keeton was the President of Pillage of Petrus. Which meant if someone was targeting both clubs? Moving through the ranks of both Demon’s Day and Pillage of Petrus? Even going so far as to come after us? This was ugly. Dirty. Someone making a play for territory.