Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“I understand.”
“In the meantime, I’ll take her with me and assume responsibility for her safety and care until I can talk to Thorn. It might be a few days, but I’ll make sure she keeps in contact with you.”
“I’m good with that. I realize I’m the one who brought this up, but I’m still warnin’ you not to hurt her.”
It was time to turn the tables on the bastard. “You know she feels guilty for not moving out of your compound. She feels like she put discord in the club. Probably thinks some of the members dislike her very much and might see her as a threat.” She hadn’t said that, but I wanted to know Rocket’s thoughts on this. It was very possible there could be more than one of them angry enough to fix the situation themselves.
“Fuck.” Rocket stared out the window for a long moment. When he turned back to Talia, there was pain in his eyes. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. None of that was your fault. I understand why you didn’t want to move out, and if I’m honest, I needed you close too. Still do.”
“It’s fine, Dad. I’ll figure it out.” Lia spoke softly but looked genuinely determined for her statement to be the truth.
“Honey, you know this is for the best. Right?”
“I don’t know him.”
“So? Get to know him. Talk with him, and both of you lay out your expectations. I’m not saying I’ll change my mind about offering you to him, but if Doc doesn’t think he can make it work, he’s not going to sacrifice himself and make both of you miserable.”
Lia looked up at me. The innocence shining in her eyes was a punch to the gut, as was the delicate way her tongue peeked out at me before she took her lower lip between her teeth. “I guess we can talk about it. You haven’t been unreasonable since I met you. I’ll trust you won’t start now.”
I couldn’t help it. I pulled her tighter against my side and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “We’ll work it out, Lia. Just promise to talk to me. We’ll spell everything out to each other, then make a decision.”
“OK. I can agree to that.”
Rocket stood, and I followed. He stuck out his hand to me and I took it. “Take care of my daughter. And I mean that in all seriousness.”
“I know you do. I swear I’ll keep her safe. And I will respect her.”
“Good.” He looked down at his daughter. “You know I’m only looking out for you. Right?”
“Yes, Daddy. I understand.”
Rocket shook his head once, like he couldn’t believe what he’d done. Then he headed back out to his Bronco and left. I slid back into the booth, and Talia trembled at my side. I was pretty sure she was in shock and coming down from the adrenaline rush.
“It’ll be fine, Lia. I promise we can work through this.”
“What just happened?” She looked from me to Tito and back.
“I think your papa gave you to Doc,” Tito said in a stage whisper like it was all an amusement for him. I wanted to kick his ass, but he was old, and I wasn’t mad. I got something I secretly wanted and fuck him anyway.
“I can’t decide if I like this idea or not. What a nightmare.” She muttered and shook her head as she stared down at the table. It was obvious she was more than a little bit shaken. When she took a drink of her water, her hands shook.
“Pretty sure you didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I said, grinning at Talia.
“Say what out loud?” She looked adorably confused, then her eyes got round and her lips formed an O of surprise. “Ohmigod! I can’t believe I said that!”
I chuckled lightly. “You know, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” I leaned in and ran my lips along her temple before releasing her.
Marge chose that moment to bring out food. “Feeding Linnie in the back with Elena. Y’all take your time.” Marge winked at Lia.
We ate in silence for a while before Lia asked her first question. “Why does the president need to take a vote in church about me?” She picked up a french fry and dragged it through some ketchup. She didn’t eat it, just played with it.
“Because of the circumstances. I can’t speak for the club about forming a loose alliance with another club. I don’t think that will be an issue, because the main reason Rocket wants that alliance is to be able to have contact with you and to watch over you. Thorn isn’t going to like having big brother over our shoulder, but I think he and Rocket will be able to work out something to keep your daddy happy.” I nodded at her food. “Eat up.”