She tilted her head, huffing like she was annoyed. “This is a thing, right? When Storm calls church, everyone runs.”
“He doesn’t call it just for the helluvit. He has better things to do, like be with his wife. It’s important.”
She sighed, shifting in her chair. “What’s it about?” She was uneasy about all this, but this was part of my MC life she needed to adapt to. I had every confidence she would be okay. It was just new to her.
“You know I can’t tell you.” I reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles, avoiding her new tattoo. I was damn happy my name was permanently etched on her fingers for the whole world to see she was mine. “We shouldn’t be there long, then we’ll go home.”
“Fine. I’ll hang with Maddy and the others.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Motherfucker!” I roared, pacing in Storm’s office. This wasn’t the news I wanted to hear. “You’re sure?” I turned toward Grizzly.
“Positive. He was released from prison after serving his time, second-degree manslaughter.”
I dragged my hands over my face. “Christ Almighty God! And he’s been out for four months?”
Storm filled my shot glass with tequila.
I tossed it back and nodded for another. “Tara thinks he just abandoned her with her elderly grandma. Nobody ever told her he murdered her mom.”
Storm shook his head. “It’s fucked up, man.
“Fuck. There’s no telling how long he’s been watching Tara. What in hell could he want with her after all this time?”
Grizzly cleared his throat, something he did when nervous. “If you want my opinion, he wants to go back to the way things were before his arrest.”
I fucking wanted to throw up as an image of a little scarlet-haired girl being burned by a cigarette pummeled my mind. I’d searched Roja’s body for every single scar, kissing it better as my heart wept for her sweet innocence stolen from her by her motherfucking father.
I shot him a murderous look. “No.”
Grizzly raised his hands. “I’m just saying. He hurt his daughter when strung out on drugs. No telling what else he did to her other than burning her with a cigarette.” He shifted in his chair and the weight of the world crashed on me. I knew about the worst parts of Tara’s abuse, but it hadn’t occurred to me that her everyday life was probably just as bad. Fuckers like her father never did anything good. I could only imagine how bad things were for her growing up.
Grizzly’s repeated throat clearing got me back in the moment. “It’s possible he’s clean and will stay that way.”
“But you don’t think so?” I asked Grizzly, darting my eyes to Storm’s.
Grizzly collected his long hair and secured it in a hair tie. “When I bounced from one foster home to another, you see a lot of shit. Horrible stuff in group homes. It was why I left. I’d rather live on the streets.”
Ryder flashed in my head. His visitation day wasn’t until Tuesday. I wanted to make sure he was holding up okay and that nobody bothered him.
I missed him. Wanted him in the club where he’d be welcomed and treated like family.
Storm tapped his desk. “If you got what you needed, we need to get to church.”
I grunted, getting to my feet and capped Grizzly’s shoulder. “Thanks, man. I appreciate your help.”
“Any time, brother. Sorry, it wasn’t better news.”
“Not your fault.” I wished I could spare Tara any more pain. She needed to know about her dad. Keeping her informed would help protect her. I didn’t want my woman in the dark about the dangers lurking around her. Knowledge was power.
Before I took her home, I’d get her a can of mace and a knife. She wasn’t trained to handle a gun, but she needed something to defend herself.
26
Tara
NOT GONNA LIE, I freaking adored the women in this club. Maddy, Sugar, Tina, Jill, and Libby all pounced on me the second I entered the massive kitchen with Hero.