I stand up and tug her along with me, grabbing a coat hanging on the rack in her room and help her get into it. She wraps her arms around my neck and holds onto me, burrowing her face against my neck and staying quiet.
I go downstairs, exit the club and make a right, walking two blocks until we get to the small Italian bakery. They have the best fuckin’ cannolis I’ve ever had. Then again, New York cannolis are something you can’t compete with.
“Hey, Cowboy, haven’t seen you in a while. How’re things going?” Charlotte, one of the bakery’s regular girls asks me.
“Not bad, you know, just stayin’ busy. How about you?”
She smiles widely, “You know, same old, same old. What can I get for you and Destiny today, the usual?”
I release a laugh and nod at her. “Yeah, that should be fine.”
“Do you want your usual chocolate cuppie cake, Destiny?” Charlotte asks, trying to peer over at her.
Destiny doesn’t say a word, but instead looks up at me with a curt nod.
“Yeah, sorry she’s being quiet. I think after this we’re gonna go back to the house and get her settled in for a nap.” I tell Charlotte, who smiles in understanding. If I remember correctly, she’s a single mother.
“It’s perfectly fine. I remember when mine were that little. They’d run around for hours and then boom, it was time to take a nap.”
“Yeah, she’s ready for the nap, that’s for sure.”
“Awe, well, get her to bed soon. Let me get your cannolis and cupcakes. Want me to mix up goodies for everyone at the club too?”
“That would be amazing. Thank you,” I reply as Destiny tugs on my cut. I glance down at her, “What’s up, baby?”
“Daddy, what about Mommy?”
I cock a brow, “What about Mommy?”
“Do you miss her too?” God. What a fucking question.
“Are you askin’ me that ‘cause of earlier?” I question her, almost immediately getting a nod in response.
God, I do miss Tala. I miss her so fuckin’ much, but we’ve got so much history and shit between the two of us. When she ended up finally tell me Stoney was Destiny’s biological father, I think I about lost it. She knew how much Destiny meant to me, and still does mean to me, and she didn’t think to share that shit, to tell me the damn truth. Fuck, I don’t care what any DNA test says. Destiny is as much mine as she is Tala’s.
“You hug Auntie Faith, but not Mommy.” Destiny’s eyes look down at the floor, not wanting to maintain eye contact with me, I guess.
“I hug Mommy, baby. I think you’re just asleep when I do.” I’m lyin’ to her, and I damn well know it, but I don’t want Destiny to see this is the reality between Tala and I. We barely look at each other, try not to stay in the same damn room when I’m in town. For fuck’s sake, how is Destiny seeing this already? God. I thought we had at least a couple more years before these sorts of questions started being asked.
“Oh, okay.” Destiny smiles brightly at hearing that, and Charlotte puts the bag of goodies on top of the counter. I dig in my wallet and hand her a fifty, tell her to keep the change, grab the bag and quickly make my way out of here.
Destiny observing the fact Tala and I aren’t on the best of terms only solidifies we need to put some of our past issues behind us and do what’s best for our daughter. I walk with her and the bag of baked items back up the two blocks and enter the club through the garage. Heading up the small stairwell into the bar area, my eyes land on a massive, ripped man wearing a Devil’s Riot MC cut. Not only that, but there’s another man a few feet away. His stature is a bit smaller, but it’s obvious they’re related.
“I want to talk to Boss, and I want to talk to her, now.” He hisses.
“Daddy, why is that man so mad?” Destiny asks me, causing both of the Devil’s Riot MC men to turn and look at us.
Immediately I watch their reactions and then look to their cuts. It seems Stoney and Horse are here, and I’m sure I know why they are. The reason being the little girl in my arms.
“Do you need a cuppie cake? Daddy and I got cuppie cakes. They make everyone happy!” Destiny squeals, claps her hands and then yawns.
Stoney smiles, “You know, I’m all cuppie caked out right now. But, I might take you up on that later, if you’ll share one with me?”
“Okay, but the pink sprinkles is mine!” Destiny declares, looking up at me, “Daddy, guard my cuppie cake.”
I see the way Stoney glares as Destiny calls me Daddy, so I look over to Iris who’s already on her way over and holds out her arms for Destiny. Faith on the other hand comes to grab the bag of treats and sets them on the bar. “I’m gonna take you for a nap, princess. Then we’ll hang out with Daddy more later, okay?”
“Okay!” Destiny smiles, looking back at me while Iris takes her out of the bar. The second she’s out of earshot the room grows more tense. Stoney glares at me, while I stare right at him.
“She calls you Daddy, huh?” He grumbles.
I nod, “Yeah. I’ve been here for her since she was born. She’s my daughter, and I’ll make that clear as fuckin’ day right now. Destiny is my little girl. She’s mine.”
Stoney scoffs, shakes his head while he laughs and Horse puts a hand on his shoulder. “Dad, chill. Whatever you’re gonna do isn’t gonna be worth it. Trust me.”
“Mmm, I think it would be.”
Anyone who ever comes in here and threatens to take what’s mine is going to get a run for their money, even if they happen to be a national charter Prez for a club we have an alliance with.
“I heard you might be showing up, but I thought it was a lie.” Tala’s voice rings out from behind Stoney, and he turns to look back at her.
“We need to talk, right fuckin’ now, Sugar.”
Chapter Four
Alpha females don’t run in packs
~ Unknown
Boss
Did he really just call me sugar? I click my tongue against the top of my mouth and stare at Stoney, ready to shoot fire out of my eyes if it was even possible.
“Why aren’t you movin’ your ass, Tala?” Stoney hisses from across the room, and I see the glint of fury flash in Cowboy’s eyes. I know if I don’t separate these two, there’s going to be an all-out gun fight in my club.
“She’s Boss to you, Stoney.” Cowboy snaps, causing Stoney to direct his attention to the man who Destiny calls ‘Daddy’. This is great, just fucking great.
“And you’re nothin’ but a fill in papa, dude, so back the fuck off unless you want me to put a piece of lead through those eyes.”
“Stoney!” I snarl, crossing the distance between us I whip my hand back and strike it against his cheek, hopefully slapping some sense into him. “Don’t you dare come into my fucking club and threaten the lives of my people. That’s not how this works, and if you think it does, you can take our alliance and shove it up your self-righteous ass.”
“Well, now I know why you two didn’t work out.” Horse all but chuckles, trying to wipe the smirk off his face.
I turn my attention to Horse for a split second, giving Stoney enough time to wrap a hand around my throat and back me up against the wall. “You have some fuckin’ nerve, woman. Threatenin’ me after keepin’ my daughter from me!? What the fuck is the matter with you?!”
I stare into his eyes which our daughter has an exact replica of. Dark brown that shifts into a golden amber color near the irises. Jesus. “Too much to list, but you know that.” I crane my neck, staring directly at him. I’m not gonna have him thinkin’ I’m gonna back down right now. He came into my home, into my fuckin’ club acting all high and mighty. He’s a visitor here. Even if we have an alliance, he’s still an outsider.
“God, you’re one fucked up bitch. You know how much I wanna snap your neck? I should after what you’ve done. I should do so much to your ass. If you were a man, I’d make an example out of you, but you know that, don’t you?”
Cowboy comes up, raises his gun and takes th
e safety off while he puts the end of his gun against the back of Stoney’s head. “Back the fuck up.”
“Cowboy,” I warn. One wrong move and we could have an all-out war on our hands. “I can handle myself.” I speak up, trying to assure him.
He scoffs and rolls his eyes, “Yeah, ‘cause you’re doin’ a fuckin’ great job at it right now, Tala.”
“Brother, you’d best back up.” Ricochet tries to warn Stoney but, in a kind manner considering he’s really close with Emerson. But based on the look in Stoney’s eyes, I don’t think he’s taking it too well.
“Ricochet, I know you and Emerson are family and all, but the next time you tell me to back up I’m gonna knock you the fuck out.” Stoney loosens his grip on my neck as he warns Ricochet to back off, giving me enough of an advantage to free my gun from my holster and point it at Stoney. God dammit, I never wanted it to come to this, pointing a gun at the father of my child, but here I am.
“Why don’t we take this conversation somewhere more private?”
Stoney isn’t looking at me. Instead he’s staring down the barrel. “Alright, Tala. Let’s have a chat.”
Cowboy glares at me, and I mean he’s glaring at me more than he did the day I told him Destiny wasn’t his. “Ricochet, you and Horse can tag along if you don’t mind. But you’re both staying outside of my office. Is that clear?” I say, looking to both Ricochet and Horse who give me a curt nod.
“We’ll only come in if we think you’re gonna kill each other.” Ricochet confirms.
I pull my gun back and secure it inside the holster on my hip. Stoney releases the grip on my neck and takes a step back, giving me a bit of room to walk by him, I go to the door that leads into the hallway. We head straight for my office so I unlock the door and Stoney follows me inside and shuts the door.
I don’t even have my ass in my chair before Stoney starts coming at me again. “I’m not leaving. Not when I’ve missed so fuckin’ much, and especially not when that fuck out there is getting called Daddy. I’m her daddy, Tala. Not him. Me! Why in the fuck is—” Stoney slams his hand down on my desk, causing me to take in a deep breath.
“You never wanted a kid with me.” It’s a fact, and based on the way he immediately stops speaking, he only confirms this fact. “You never wanted this sticky situation, and I know that. God, Stoney. We had a hate fuck. That’s all it was. We weren’t anything more, not even if we were both subconsciously trying to test the waters. The most important thing to us both is our clubs, and there’s no denying that. At least at that time that is where my priorities were. Now they’re different. Destiny is my priority, and I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t make all the best decisions, but I did what I thought was best.”
Stoney’s eyes widen and his nostrils flare. “You did what you thought was best? Are you fuckin’ kidding me!?” He grabs the ceramic piece of pottery my father and I made at a studio down the street before his passing. I’m sure he thinks it’s just some random piece of art on my desk, but the meaning is so much more important than that. It’s one of the last good memories I had with my dad.
“Please, please don’t break that.” I beg him with shaking hands, feeling tears threaten to spill. Stoney looks down at the white, blue, and gold painted dove and tosses it between his hands.
“What? You mean this?”
I nod and he pulls his arm back, throwing it as hard as he can against the wall. My dove shatters into so many little pieces, and while it might not seem important to most . . . Stoney just crushed the last reminder I had of my father. The last good thing.
Tears stream down my face as I stare at him and my hands shake even worse than they were a few moments ago. A gut-wrenching scream leaves my body and I can’t even hear it. It’s like everything goes silent around me. It just stops as the pain surrounds me, pouring out of me from the years I’ve kept it pent up.
“Why is she calling him Daddy, Tala?” Stoney roars, veins pulsating in his arms.
I shut my eyes for a moment and look up to him, “Because he loves her, Stoney. Even when I told him Destiny wasn’t his, he stuck around. He barely even looks at me, but he comes here and sees her as much as he can without getting his visa flagged. Destiny is his entire world.”
“That’s the fuck you were screwing around with when we slept together?” Stoney questions with an amused smirk.
I’m sure he’s thinking Cowboy isn’t anything special with his thinner frame, but he’s ripped under his clothes. He isn’t huge like Stoney, but it doesn’t matter. It’s always been the personality that’s attracted me to men, or women, depending on the case. Stoney’s stubbornness made me want to fuck him, the way he dominated everything around him. In Cowboy’s case, it was his loyalty to the club, and most of all, to me.
“He’s a good man. He’s a good father.” I mutter, ignoring the way he’s trying to make fun of Cowboy.
“I’m her father, not him, so get that through your fucking skull, bitch.”
When he calls me a bitch it’s like a switch gets flipped inside my body. I totally lose my shit and break the distance, trying to claw at this motherfucker’s eyes. He slams me up against a picture frame, causing it to break when Horse and Ricochet come running in. Horse manages to pull back his father while Ricochet pulls me away before I do something I really regret.
“Jesus, what the fuck happened in here?” Ricochet questions, looking down at the floor and then at my tear stained face. Then his eyes focus in on the ground. “Whoa. What the fuck? Where’s the dove?”
“You mean that shitty little thing on her desk? I fuckin’ broke it. Bitch needs to learn what she can and can’t do to a man like me.”
Ricochet lets go of me and gets right in Stoney’s face. “Her father fuckin’ made that with her before he died you disgusting piece of shit. It was the only fuckin’ thing she had, and now you took that from her.”
“He won’t take anything else from me,” I sob, suddenly heaving. Everything tears through me, becoming too much, so I sit down on the floor and let every emotion I have roll through me. I don’t bother looking at Stoney, not wanting to see what I’m sure is gratitude on his face.
“Fuck, I’m sorry. If I’d . . . if I’d known I wouldn’t have . . .” He speaks softly, trailing off as he talks to Ricochet, but I’m in no mood.
“Get the fuck out before you fuck up anything else!” I scream, unable to stop tears from rolling down my cheeks.
Ricochet clears his throat, “Wait for me out in the hall and shut the door. I’ll be out in a couple minutes, then . . . then the three of us can talk.”
Ricochet kneels down in front of me and the click of the door can be heard, signaling we’re alone. He brushes his fingertips against my cheek and stares into my eyes. “Tala,” he’s practically whispering my name.
“I know I-I fucked up h-here. I k-know I d-did. I know I’m t-the one in the w-wrong.” I manage to get out through sobs.
Ricochet sits down on the ground next to me, wraps his arms around my body and pulls me close, holding me against his chest. I won’t let him do it for long, but I sure am glad he was here. Emerson doesn’t know this, but Ricochet is practically my brother too. I only wish my actual brother would treat me like this, and not like a piece of gum stuck on his shoe.
Chapter Five
I was quiet, but I was not blind
~ Night Owl Quotes
Cowboy
“You good, brother?” Mug, our club enforcer asks while he takes a seat beside me at the bar.
“I’ll be better when I get a scotch.” I reply, looking over to Iris who was lucky enough to avoid the shitshow between Stoney, Boss, and me.
“Say no more, sweetie. Coming right up.” She tells me with a smile, though her eyes say it all. She’s feelin’ sorry for me. Iris is quick and gives me my drink before she tends to the rest of the club, who’ve been slowly filling out the bar area. It’s a Friday night, so everyone is ready to get turned on and go on up to the game room. We call it a game room, b
ut it’s really the fuck room. We’re a club of swingers. Sure, there might be ol’ ladies and ol’ men in here. Take Gold and Chuckles for example. They’re one hundred percent committed to each other, but fuck if they don’t screw around with other people on occasion.
“I need you to keep your shit together. There’s gonna be enough shit I gotta watch out for right now. I don’t need you comin’ up in here, losin’ your shit over Stoney and puttin’ us in an all-out war. The Devil’s Riot MC is our ally, brother. Until the day Boss changes her mind, we can’t fuck with that. You get what I’m sayin’? They’re helpin’ us with the cult, keepin’ eyes open and their ears too.”
“I get what you’re sayin’ man, but how much help have they actually been givin’ us? I mean, really? Our leads ran dry and we haven’t heard a damn thing as of late.”
“Brother, it’s best you shut your mouth now. The second Boss hears you sayin’ shit like that, doubting her ability to make the right decisions for the club. Shit, man . . . she’ll have your fuckin’ head.”
“Doesn’t she already? She really didn’t like the way I was talkin’ to Destiny’s sperm donor.” I huff. I know what Mug’s tryin’ to do, keepin’ the peace and all that, but right now isn’t the time to preach to me about shit.
“Dude, Stoney is her dad.”
I blink blankly at Mug, wonderin’ if he’s tryin’ to get his ass beat right now. “Don’t ever fuckin’ say that to me again. He hasn’t been the one here for her every day. He hasn’t been the one spendin’ every Christmas and birthday by her side. I’m her dad, and that’s the end of this conversation.”
Bossed Up (Iron Vex MC Book 2) Page 3