If Lily had blonde hair, she’d look exactly like Emma. Which meant when she became a teen, he’d be threatening the hormone crazy teenage boys who were interested in her. She wouldn’t be allowed to date until she was at least twenty-one. Twenty-five. Hell, thirty.
“Did the guys treat you good?” he asked her.
Lily nodded shyly.
“Your momma’s so happy that you’re finally home. She missed you like crazy.”
“I love my momma.”
So do I.
“We’ve got a new place that we’re going to stay in for a little while. It has a pool. But after that little while, we’re going to get a place that has a big backyard. Is that okay?” Emma asked her.
“Can we get a dog?”
Emma’s eyes met Dawg’s.
He smiled. Lily had no idea she was already getting one. Spelled a little differently but still...
“We’ll see about that,” Emma answered her daughter.
“Can we go swimming now?” Lily asked, pulling on her mother’s hand.
“When we get back, yes. We’ll stop and get you a bathing suit and some clothes on the way home. Then after that, later tonight, we need to have a long talk, lady bug. Okay?”
“Yeah, Momma. Is Daddy and Gloria waiting at home?”
Dawg watched as Emma’s face twisted, but she quickly hid her thoughts and took a deep breath. “No, lady bug. It’s just going to be you and me at our new home.”
“Is Daddy going to visit?”
“We’ll talk about that later after your swim. Sound good?”
“Yes! Let’s go swimming!”
The resilience of kids amazed him.
Emma swiped a hand over her red eyes and glanced over at Dawg, who said, “Take her outside to the truck. Gotta talk to D. Can you find your way back out?”
Emma nodded. “Yes. I think so. Come on, lady bug, Dawson has to talk to the men who helped you.”
Dawg grimaced again at Em’s use of his real name. He just needed to give up and accept it.
Like saying fudge instead of fuck. Shoot instead of shit.
He sighed.
Fucking shit was going to change. That was for damn sure.
“Say goodbye to the guys, Lily,” Em encouraged her.
“Bye!” she yelled, waving at Mercy and D.
“Bye, Lily. You were a real trooper,” Mercy answered.
D grunted his goodbye, then looked at Jewel who was still a mess on the floor. “Woman, go with ‘em.”
“Why? I—”
“Got important shit to talk ‘bout.” He tilted his head toward the door and cocked an eyebrow.
“Men shit?” she asked with a frown.
“Yeah.”
“Fsst,” Jewel answered, swiping a hand in his direction, then headed out the door.
“Shut it,” D barked.
Jewel slammed the door shut, but not until thrusting her hand back into the room and giving D the middle finger.
Dawg chuckled. Jewel didn’t take any shit from anyone, especially her ol’ man.
“Fuckin’ woman drives me crazy,” D grumbled.
What the man wouldn’t admit to is how much he loved Jewel. And how she had him wrapped around her little finger. She had tamed the savage beast.
“Don’t know how she puts up with your ass,” Mercy told him, shaking his head, a smirk pulling up one side of his mouth.
“I give good dick,” D muttered, grabbing his crotch and jerking it.
Mercy snorted. He turned his grey eyes to Dawg. “So... Dawson, huh?”
“Keep tellin’ ‘er not to call me that, but she don’t listen,” Dawg answered with a shrug.
“Need to teach ‘er a lesson, then,” D answered, moving around to behind his desk and settling into his chair with a grunt.
“Yeah, all those ‘lessons’ you teach Jewelee knocked ‘er up.”
Diesel lifted his heavy shoulders and let them drop. “She’s mouthy.”
“You wouldn’t want ‘er any other way,” Dawg told him.
“That’s the truth,” Mercy mumbled.
Diesel scowled.
“Gotta thank you for gettin’ Lily home safe,” Dawg started. “Thanks for goin’ above an’ beyond, too.”
“Wasn’t nothin’,” Mercy answered with a shrug. “Easy mission.”
“Easy?” Dawg asked with a frown. Did D’s men think nothing about killing a man? No regrets?
“Yeah. Got the news from Hunter an’ Walker as soon as I landed in Brunei that her husband was takin’ care of.”
“They didn’t wait for you?” Dawg asked Mercy, surprised.
Mercy shook his head. “Didn’t have to. Man fuckin’ crashed his rental car. Fucker’s tire blew out, hit a guide rail, car flipped over that an’ down an embankment. No seatbelt, major head trauma. Problem solved. Couldn’t have been more convenient.”
Right. Pretty fucking convenient. Dawg glanced at D to see if he believed that story.
Of course, D had no expression at all, like normal.
“Wanted to make the fucker suffer like he made that poor woman, but never got the chance. Fuckin’ sucks.”
Dawg eyeballed the man with the scarred face. He certainly could be a scary fucker and he wondered if the man even had a conscience. Maybe with all that he’d seen during his stint with the Special Forces that had chipped away at his humanity.
“Had a little problem with the girlfriend, Gloria, though. Thought she had the right to keep Lily. We told her differently. Convinced her it was in Lily’s best interest, as well as hers, to let the girl go home to her mother. She might be a little loco, but finally got through to her and decided to hand over Lily without a fight.”
“Lily see anything that Emma needs to be worried ‘bout?” Dawg asked carefully.
“Nope. She was outside playin’ when we had our little discussion with Gloria. Lily didn’t hear or see shit. Gloria then went out, got her, introduced us as friends of her father, then off we went. No shit, all shine.”
“Good,” Dawg said, relieved. Lily had been through enough with the kidnapping, she didn’t need to witness any “coercive” discussions.
Mercy nodded his head, pushed off the wall he was leaning against and said, “Done here. Gettin’ outta here, boss.”
“Right,” D grunted. “Bonus in it for you guys. Got me?”
Mercy flipped a hand over his shoulder in acknowledgement and when he passed Dawg, he whacked him on the back. “The bonus was seein’ Emma an’ her daughter reunited. Worth more than money.”
“Got your six, dude. Anytime,” Dawg said. “Walker an’ Hunter, too.”
“Will tell ‘em. Never know when we might need extra hands. ‘Specially when it comes to those squirrelly Warriors.”
“Still workin’ on that?” Dawg asked, surprised. “Figured something was goin’ on behind the scenes since we haven’t heard a peep from those fuckers since they grabbed Slade.”
“The roaches are still scurryin’ but been doin’ some pest control,” Mercy began.
Mercy started to say something else, but D made a noise from behind his desk and have his man a pointed look. “Get gone, Mercy.”
Ah, Diesel was keeping whatever was going on with the Warriors under wraps. Dawg could understand that.
Mercy’s gaze landed on D then he gave his boss a nod. “Got you.” He headed out of the office.
Once the door closed behind the man, Dawg turned to D.
“Got your woman, got her daughter back. Now what?”
“Gettin’ Keeks to get my daughter back.”
D nodded. “Hear ya on that. Moose ready to take over Heaven’s Angels?”
“Workin’ on it. Just a little more shit I gotta go over with ‘im an’ he’ll be good.”
“Pierce didn’t resist the idea of you helpin’ ‘im out at the gun shop. The reasons didn’t make ‘im suspicious.”
Dawg nodded. “Good. Gonna look for a house to rent and move my shit out of the apartment above the cl
ub. In the meantime, I’ll crash at church.” He considered the big man behind the desk. “You’re gonna need a house, too. Can’t be livin’ over the pawn shop when your kid comes. It’s not big enough for a family.”
“Big enough. Just havin’ the one kid.”
Dawg grinned. “Sure ‘bout that?”
“Yep.”
“Sure you don’t want a place with a fenced yard an’ shit?”
D made a disgusted face. “Fuck no.”
Dawg bit back his laugh. “Okay.” He gave D a chin lift. “Gonna take Lily an’ Em home. Sure she’s anxious to get Lily settled.”
“Then fuckin’ get gone.”
Dawg smirked. “Thanks, brother. For everything.”
D grunted. “Get gone. Go take care of your woman.”
“Plan on it.”
That was for damn sure.
Epilogue
Dawg sat at the table watching Emma move around the kitchen making breakfast.
Lily sat in his lap with the excuse that she was helping him with his homework.
Yeah, his fucking fudgy homework.
Emma thought it would be a good idea for him to get his GED. There was no reason for him to get it, other than it sort of being a good influence on the girls. Education was important his wife said.
Dawg didn’t need an education. He had life experience, and he was helping Pierce take the gun shop and range to the next level. Dawg’s goal was for it to bring more money into the club coffers than ever before. Pierce was a lazy fucker, and the books showed that.
Since Dawg took over as assistant manager, the cash flow looked so much fucking better. Assistant manager.
What-fucking-ever.
Hopefully, a change was coming. Sooner than later.
Though he loved the challenge of turning the gun shop around, he hated Pierce more each day. He had to step in several times when the man got handsy with female customers. He was a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Jag wanted to be the one to carve the colors off Pierce’s back, but Dawg would help him. No fucking doubt. Though, for some reason Diesel was in no rush to oust the older member. He seemed to be the most resistant on stripping the man’s colors.
He wouldn’t say why, but there was something D knew that the rest of them didn’t. So he’d have to trust D for now.
But Dawg’s patience with Pierce was running thin.
Really thin.
“Are you going to answer that?” Lily asked him, tugging on his beard. He dropped his gaze to the blonde haired, blue-eyed miniature of Emma.
His heart swelled for a moment, then it hit him what girl said. “What?”
“Your phone! Looks like Aunt Kiki is calling!” she exclaimed.
Dawg’s gaze landed on his cell which vibrated again. She was right. Kiki’s name was coming up on the caller ID.
He snagged it and swiped to answer, lifting it to his ear. “Hey, Keeks, what’s up?” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Emma freeze where she stood and turn to face him.
“Got good news.”
“Hawk Jr. coming?” he teased. Kiki seemed ready to pop any day now.
“No! And I wouldn’t be calling you if I was in labor!”
“Ow. That wounded me.”
“You’ll get over it. It’s better than that.”
“Better than hatchin’ Tweetie Bird?” he asked with a smirk.
“Fuck,” she muttered, though he could hear her muffling her laughter on purpose. “Good Lord, I pity Emma if you two ever have a kid. You are forbidden to name it.”
“We’ll see.”
“Do you want to hear the news?”
“F...” He glanced down at Lily in his lap. “Fudge yeah. Hit me.”
Lily whacked him on the arm and laughed.
Dawg pulled the phone away from his ear. “Didn’t mean you, lady bug.”
Lily shrugged and gave him a big smile.
Putting the phone back to his ear, he said, “Go.”
“Visitation was approved!” she shouted into the phone.
“What?” he asked in shock.
“Yes! Approved! And better yet, not supervised.”
“What?”
“Yes!” Kiki yelled into the phone as if she couldn’t believe it, either.
“So what does that mean?”
“It means you get to visit with your daughter. You’ll get to know her. She’ll get to know you. For a couple hours at first. Then, eventually, if everything goes well, she’ll be able to stay overnight with you and Em. That’s if Caitlin wants to. She’s old enough to decide that for herself. And the judge wants her to be comfortable.”
“What?”
“Dawg!”
“What?”
“Stop saying ‘what!’”
“Holy... fudge.”
“I know! This is freaking exciting!”
His hand went automatically to his heart. It was beating a mile a minute. “When?”
“A schedule will be made up. I’m getting together with a mediator and their attorney to sit down and work something out. Are you okay with that?”
“Hell yeah. Soon, though, right?”
“Yes. Very soon. Like within the week.”
“So... she knows ‘bout me now?”
“Yes.”
“Was...” He hesitated. “Was she okay with it?”
Kiki got silent on the other end of the phone. A pain shot through Dawg’s chest. His daughter didn’t want to see him. Didn’t want to meet her real father.
They fucking did all of this for nothing.
There was no way he’d force her to get to know him. He didn’t want her to be miserable and hate him for the rest of her life.
No fucking way.
He never should’ve let Kiki start the process. It had been a big mistake.
“Dawg...”
“Yeah?”
“She does want to meet you. I think she’s confused, maybe even a bit scared, which is only to be expected. But she’s almost fifteen. She’s old enough to process it. Lily took to you like a fish in water because that’s how easy you are to love. Caitlin will be the same way. She’ll meet you and love you, just like Lily. Like Emma.”
Dawg pressed a hand to his eyes and dropped his head back, fighting back the burn in his eyes. “She ain’t the only one scared,” he murmured.
“It might be rough in the beginning. But, Dawg, it’s going to be worth it. I’m not sure what they told her about why you were never in her life from the beginning. I’m not sure you should talk about that right away. Maybe down the road. You don’t want to turn her against her mother, even though Regan was in the wrong.”
Dawg nodded even though Kiki couldn’t see it. As he processed what she was saying, he finally grunted, “Yeah. Got you.”
“Good. Hanging up now so you can tell Emma the good news.”
Dawg’s gaze met his wife’s across the kitchen. “Think she figured it out.”
“Good. Give her my love.”
“Take care of that kid. See you soon.” The phone went dead in his hand and he placed it on the table.
“Am I going to meet my sister?” Lily asked, staring up at him with wide blue eyes.
“Yeah, lady bug. Eventually. Maybe not at first, ‘kay?”
“But I want to play dolls with her.”
Emma rushed over to them. “Lily, why don’t you go take Oscar out back and throw the ball for him?”
Lily hopped off Dawg’s lap and screamed for the dog that was only five feet away, asleep on the floor.
Emma frowned. “No need to scream. He’s right there, Lily.”
“I know but he was sleeping!”
“Well, he’s not now,” Emma answered with exasperation.
“That was the point,” Lily told her mother with a huff.
Emma sighed as she watched Lily take the American Bulldog that they had adopted from the shelter a few weeks ago out the back door to the fenced yard.
Then she climbed into Dawg’s lap, tak
ing Lily’s former spot. Dawg wrapped his arms around his ol’ lady and she did the same, looping her arms around his neck.
“Good news,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to his lips.
“Yeah.”
“I know you’re worried,” she said, running soothing fingers through his beard.
“Yeah.”
“Baby, it’s going to be all right.”
“Yeah.”
Emma frowned. “Take it slow. Let her set the pace.”
“Right.”
“Dawson,” Emma whispered.
He dropped his gaze to hers. “Yeah?”
“She’s going to love you.”
“Ain’t nothin’ like her mom and stepdad.”
“Exactly. That’s why she’ll love you. You’re one hundred percent genuine. She’ll see that and appreciate it.”
“Sure?”
“Fudge yeah,” Emma answered with a smile.
“Love you, baby girl.”
“Love you, too, Dawg.”
He shook his head. “Just for that, need to give you one of D’s ‘lessons.’”
“Can’t wait.” She pressed her mouth to his ear. “Tonight after Lily goes to bed.”
Dawg reached between them to adjust his now hard dick. “How soon’s that?”
Emma laughed. “Since it’s only breakfast time, hours from now.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “Maybe she’ll take a nap.”
“She’s almost eight. I doubt she’ll want to take a nap.”
“Fuck. Maybe one of the women will wanna watch her for a few hours.”
Emma laughed. “A few hours? Since when do you need a few hours?”
“Damn, woman. That’s harsh.”
She pressed a kiss to his cheek and ran her hand through his beard again. “But true.”
“Then we’ll do it a few times.”
“I’m okay with that,” she whispered.
“Didn’t know you had a choice,” he said, keeping his face serious.
“Hmm. Bossy.”
He lifted his left hand and wiggled his ring finger which now sported a titanium wedding band in front of her face. “Remember our vows ‘bout you obeyin’?”
“I had my fingers crossed behind my back.”
“Someone needs a spankin’,” he announced quietly.
Down & Dirty: Dawg (Dirty Angels MC Book 7) Page 21