Unbroken

by Riley Edwards

  “Kevin? That’s my brother. You’ve met him before, haven’t you?”

  “Not here. Didn’t know that was your brother, man. I have seen him before. He frequents Ava’s café, Del Mars,” Reid explained.

  Ivory let out another belt of laughter, “Best fucking pumpkin pie in San Fran. I know all about Del Mars.”

  That felt nice that someone thought my café had the best of something. Even if it was just my pumpkin pie. What a small world.

  “What happened to his face?” Reid questioned Ivory further.

  “Nothing, man. Sometimes he’s got a short fuse. Got into a little altercation.”

  Obviously not wanting to elaborate on what altercation meant Ivory turned and started to walk back to his workstation.

  All thoughts of the fedora-wearing whistler, now known as Kevin, went from my mind, as the bouncy excitement came rushing back.

  I was getting my first tattoo.

  Everything was perfect until it wasn’t.

  31

  Surprise

  Reid

  I had no fucking clue that the pie eating guy that came into the café was Ivory’s brother. I tried to think back if he’d ever been in Motor Quill while I was here getting tat’ted. I was coming up blank. I would certainly remember Kevin. Something about the man was a little off. Mac had been curious about him too, but only because he is curious about anyone who spends a lot of time in Ava’s café.

  Ava and Ivory were going over the pieces Ivory had drawn up. The scripts he used were outstanding.

  “Which one?” Ava asked, looking at them all spread out over Ivory’s workstation.

  “Sweetheart, it is your body. And in my opinion, you can’t go wrong,” I answered her.

  And she couldn’t. Each one was feminine, with swirly font. Ava had chosen to get the tattoo on her forearm, just like Rick. All the men in my crew had this tattoo, all in various locations.

  “This one,” Ava exclaimed proudly as she pointed to one of the pages.

  Ivory got Ava situated, wiping her forearm down with alcohol. I could hear them talking, but my mind was still on Kevin. Soon, I heard the gentle thrumming of the tattoo gun. Surprised that Ava hadn’t even flinched when Ivory started.

  “It’s not too bad,” she said.

  Ivory was just about half-way done when the front door chime went off. I looked over at the door and watched a pretty young woman walk in. She was gripping a little girl’s hand, almost dragging her along to keep up with her fast stride.

  I vaguely heard Ivory slow the needle and come to a stop. I continued to study the woman. Memories came rushing back.

  Valerie.

  It was the night of her twenty-first birthday. I was guarding some up and coming new band, Shadow & Flame. They were opening for the headliners, some Abel… or something. I can’t remember the details. It wasn’t something I’d normally did, but a friend asked me for help. So, I’d spent the night playing babysitter. That was the first time I had met Rhianna Rains and her band.

  Valerie was trying to get backstage. She didn’t have a pass and offered to blow me if I’d let her through. No, I’m not that big of a dick that I’d let some girl blow me to get backstage, but I did end up taking her home that night. Where she did indeed blow me, right before I fucked her.

  She was still pretty. Her brown hair shorter than it had been, she looked a little older now. Not in a bad way, she just looked tired. Shit, she had to be somewhere around twenty-six maybe seven.

  As soon as she saw me, she skidded to a halt, and her eyes widened. Oh fuck. She better not cause a scene with my woman. We had one night together over six years ago. I was honest about what I wanted, and she was more than happy to take what I was offering. She didn’t ask for my last name, or my number.

  Now that she was closer, she looked frazzled and in a rush. She quickly averted her eyes from mine and stared at Ivory.

  “Hi, um, I’m sorry to interrupt, Ivory. I was just stopping by to give you this,” Valerie said to Ivory.

  I didn’t hear anything else. I caught a good look at the little girl shyly standing by Valerie. The little girl locked eyes with me, and all sorts of warning bells were going off.

  We continued to look at each other, my green eyes staring, into an identical pair. Hers were even complete with the darker green outline. I knew those eyes. I saw those same eyes every time I looked in a mirror.

  Oh fuck. Oh fuck. She looked to be about six. Her hair was a little browner than her mother’s, more like my color.

  “I…I…Ivory.” I heard the strangled stutter.

  I looked up to see Kevin walk back into the main room. I followed Kevin’s eyes as they went from Ivory over to Valerie.

  Valerie jerked back and tossed Kevin a dirty look.

  I must’ve missed the whole conversation between Ivory and Valerie because the next thing I heard was. “Come on, Melody, we have to leave.” And Valerie was pulling the little girl out the door.

  “I’ll be right back.” I jumped up, not waiting for Ava or Ivory to answer.

  By the time I had made it outside, Valerie was buckling the little girl in the backseat. I waited until she slammed the door closed before I spoke.

  “She mine?” I asked.

  Valerie jumped before she turned around. She didn’t need to answer me verbally. The answer was written all over her face.

  “Val, I asked you a Goddamn question. Is she mine,” I repeated.

  “Yes, Logan she is,” Valerie confirmed.

  Oh, fuck!

  “You didn’t think it was pertinent for me to know that you were carrying my kid?” I spit out.

  “I tried.”

  “Obviously not hard enough. Seeing as you had my kid, and I’m just now finding out about it.”

  I was being a dick. I knew I was, but fuck, I just found out I had a daughter. My fucking daughter had been floating around San Fran for the last six years, and I never knew.

  “What did you expect me to do, Logan? Call the fucking FBI to find my baby daddy? I didn’t know your last name. I didn’t know your number, and if you remember, we went back to my place, so I didn’t even know where you lived. And I did try, asshole. I called the venue, tracked down who was in charge of Shadow & Flame security, but they wouldn’t give me any information on a Logan. They thought I was some groupie trying to get your information,” she fired back at me.

  “Fuck. I’m sorry I’m being an asshole,” I apologized, “I’m a bit in shock, Valerie. I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do or say here. I have a thousand questions running through my head, but I can’t sort them enough to ask. Her name is Melody?”

  “Yes, Melody Susan,” Valerie answered.

  My daughter’s name is Melody.

  “How old is she?”

  “Five. She’ll be six at the end of summer.”

  “I want to know her, Valerie.”

  “We’re leaving, Logan. That’s why I’m here. I was saying goodbye to Ivory.”

  “Leaving?” I questioned.

  “We’re leaving San Fran. There is too much going on. And after what Kevin did, I’m done. I have to leave.”

  “What the fuck did Kevin do? Did he hurt Melody?” I roared.

  I was going to fucking kill that guy if he hurt my daughter. I didn’t care if I didn’t know she existed until five minutes ago. I knew now. And if that bastard laid a finger on my daughter he was dead.

  “No, he didn’t hurt Melody.”

  “What’d he do?” I questioned. “Does it have something to do with the marks on his face? The altercation he got into?”

  Valerie’s face paled, and she started to tremble.

  “I don’t wanna talk about it. I’m just not safe here anymore,” she whispered.

  “I can make you safe. You’re not taking my daughter, Valerie. I just found out I have a kid after almost six years. You’re not taking her from me again.”

  I watched as Valerie worried her lip and thought about my offer.

>   “Promise you won’t tell Ivory or Kevin?” I nodded my head, and she continued. “I’ll stay. But only a few days until we can work something out, Logan. I still have to leave. But, you’re right, you deserve to know your daughter, and she deserves to know you.”

  Thank God, she agreed to stay a few days. I’d be able to convince her to stay permanently once I had a chance to talk to her. I just had to figure out what had her so scared.

  “My kid in danger?” I asked.

  “Not at the moment. That’s why I need to leave before she is.”

  Mother fucker.

  “Where are you living? Same place?” Not that I remembered where that was so it was actually stupid to bring it up.

  “No, I have an apartment over by the Java beach café.”

  I knew where that was. Decent hood, not great, but not a shit hole.

  “Here.” I handed her my phone. “Call yourself, so you’ll have my number.”

  She took my phone, and once her phone rang, she handed my phone back to me.

  “We’re the first building after the Café on Judah Street, apartment 3160. I’ll wait for your call.”

  I glanced in the backseat, where Melody was happily playing on a tablet with earbuds in.

  “She’s beautiful, Val.”

  “She is. She looks just like you.”

  “Fuck. Okay. I’ll text you tonight,” I told her.

  “I’m sorry, Logan. I didn’t know your last name. I promise I tried to find you.”

  “I know, babe. It’s all good. Reid. My name is Logan Reid.”

  “Nice to meet you, Logan Reid.” Valerie laughed out.

  She was a pretty girl, even prettier when she smiled. Not quite as beautiful as Ava, but pretty nonetheless.

  Shit Ava.

  How the fuck was I going to explain this to Ava?

  “I’ll call you tonight. Be safe. And if you need anything, you call me. If you hear something funny, you call me. You get scared for any fucking reason, you call me.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  She rounded her car and slid in the driver seat. I watched as she drove away. Taking my daughter with her.

  Holy fuck, my daughter.

  When I walked back into the shop, Ivory was finishing up Ava’s tat. I’m not sure how much of that they heard, but by the looks on their faces, they had seen a lot.

  Damn.

  “What was that about?” Ivory asked.

  “Nothing,” I clipped. “You done already?”

  “Don’t look like nothing to me.” Ivory went on ignoring my question. “You know Valerie?”

  “Yep. Val and I go way back.”

  “That so? She tell you why she stopped by?” Ivory inquired.

  “Nope. Just shootin’ the shit, catchin’ up.”

  Ivory wasn’t buying any of that shit, but he did stop pressing me.

  “Yeah, we’re done.”

  He held out Ava’s arm for me to inspect before he covered it with plastic wrap.

  “Turned out great, man, thanks again for doin’ it.”

  And it did. It looked awesome. Ivory did great work.

  Ivory rattled off the aftercare instructions to Ava while I scanned the room looking for Kevin. What the fuck was going on.

  Ava tugged on my shirt causing me to look down at her. “You ready?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Sorry, sweetheart.” I dropped a kiss on her forehead and followed Ivory to the entrance. I handed him a wad of cash, thanking him again.

  “See you soon, Ivory. Take care.”

  “You too, Reid.”

  I was distracted all the way to the car. I couldn’t stop thinking about Valerie and Melody, and where Ivory fit into the mix. Was Valerie his woman? Had he been daddy to my daughter? Fuck this was a Goddamn mess. I had to hurry and text Mac. I needed his help.

  “Who was that?” Ava started in as soon as the car door shut.

  “We need to talk,” I told her.

  “I gathered that. Who is Valerie?” she asked again.

  “Fuck, Ava, we need to have a conversation, but I don’t think the car is the best place to talk about this.”

  “Reid, you’re scaring me. Is everything okay?”

  I didn’t know if there was a right way or a wrong way to do this. What was the protocol when you were about to tell your woman you just found out you had a kid?

  “No, everything is not okay. But it will be. You sure you want to do this now in the car?”

  Maybe I should wait until we were home, where I could lock her in the bedroom if she tried to run.

  “I want to know now,” she answered.

  “I need you to promise me you’ll listen to the whole story, and you won’t run.”

  “I won’t run.”

  “Fuck. Okay, I met Valerie years ago at a concert. I was working security for Rhianna’s band. Valerie wanted backstage. Shit. This was a long time ago, Ava. You need to know that. I won’t give you details, all you need to know is that she decided not to go backstage, but went home with me. It was one night. No numbers exchanged, no last names, just one night.” I explained.

  I chanced a look at Ava, she did not look happy. But then what woman would look happy hearing about a woman her man had fucked. Didn’t matter how many years ago it was.

  “I haven’t seen or heard from her since that night…”

  “Oh. My. God,” Ava whispered and covered her mouth.

  “It was about six years ago,” I rushed out.

  “The little girl?” Ava paused. “Is she…”

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “Holy crap, Reid. I don’t know what to say. Why didn’t she tell you?” Ava asked.

  “No last names, no numbers. She said she did try and track me down, but had nothing to go on,” I explained.

  “Do you believe her?”

  “Yes. She really didn’t know anything about me. As much as this makes me sound like a douche, we didn’t do much talking, and I didn’t make a habit of giving out personal…”

  “I get it.” She cut in, stopping any further explanation. “So, what now?”

  “I don’t know. Valerie said she was leaving town, that’s why she came to the shop, to say goodbye to Ivory.”

  “What? No. She can’t just take your daughter. You just found her. That’s bullshit. Absolutely not. She can’t take that little girl away from you.”

  Damn, I loved this woman. She was fierce and protective.

  “She agreed to stay a few days. I didn’t get a whole lot of information from her. I gathered that there is something going on between her and Ivory, since she went out of her way to see him. And I have a feeling that the marks on Kevin’s face have something to do with her. Either directly or indirectly. I need to talk to Mac and Damion and see what they can dig up.”

  “Did Kevin hurt her?” she gasped.

  “No, I don’t think so. I asked Valerie if Kevin hurt Melody, and she said no.”

  “Melody.” Ava smiled. “What a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.”

  I didn’t know what to say. It was surreal. I had a daughter.

  “How are you with all of this?” I asked.

  “Me? How am I? I am a little shocked. I am more than a little pissed on your behalf that you’ve had a daughter out there that you didn’t know. But, that’s alright, you know now. We’ll make it right. How are you?”

  Every day, twenty times a day, Ava’s compassion and thoughtfulness impressed the hell out of me.

  “Same as you, I guess. I’m in shock. I’m mad, not at Valerie per se, but mad I missed out on a lot of years. And honestly, I’m a little scared,” I admitted.

  “Scared? Of what?”

  “I’m worried about what this does to Melody. How do we introduce me to her, as her dad? I’m worried about JJ and my relationship with him. I don’t ever want him to think that just because we found out about Melody that it changes anything between us. He is my son, and nothing changes. I’m worried about you, well us I guess.”r />
  “First, Melody will adjust fine. We’ll just have to take it slow. As for JJ and me, we will love her. She is yours. She is a part of our family now. Remember what I told JJ? There is enough room in our hearts to love more than one person. We’ll make room for her. She will fit right in, and in no time flat, it will be like she’s always been there. You’ll be a good dad, Reid. I know because you’re already a good one to JJ. There is nothing to worry about. We’ll talk to Valerie and work something out.”

  I might’ve had to pick my jaw up off my lap. My fucking woman was spectacular.

  “Goddamn, I love you woman. There is no two ways about it, you are simply unbelievable. Thank you. I want to know her. I want her in our lives as much as possible.”

  “And she will be. I have no doubt you and Valerie can work something out. Invite Valerie over so she can get to know us all. Melody will feel more comfortable if Valerie is there for the first little while anyway. We need to welcome Valerie into the family as well. This is gonna be hard on her too, Reid. She’s had Melody to herself all this time. She’s never had to share her child. We’re gonna have to think about her feelings as well,” Ava explained.

  “Shit, I didn’t think of that. You’re right. This is gonna be hard on both of them. You think JJ is gonna be okay?” I asked.

  “Oh, yeah. He’ll be just fine. The only thing JJ wants is for the people he loves to be happy. He will love her.”

  I hoped that Ava was right. I didn’t want any setbacks with JJ. That boy was my heart, and this might make me a dick, but I already had a tight bond with that boy. He felt more like my blood than my own daughter. Maybe that would change over time. Jesus, I hoped it would, but if Valerie took off and ran with Melody I might never get the chance to know her.

  “We’ll talk to him tonight?” I didn’t want to push this, but I wanted it out of the way. If there was any fallout, I wanted to be able to handle it quickly.

  “Yep. We’ll talk about it at dinner.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “For?”

  “For understanding. For being so great about all of this. Most women would be throwing a hissy fit right about now.”

  “A hissy fit, huh? Good thing I’m not most women,” she answered.