by Jade Kuzma
He emptied everything he had into me before collapsing on top of me. We laid together, his chest pressed against my back.
Body covered in sweat. Jeans and panties around my ankles. Hair messy. Eyes watery. Throat dry. Filled with his seed. He’d made a complete mess of me. The kind of mess that felt better than anything.
But no sex would be enough to clear my thoughts, no matter how good it was.
“Theo…”
He slowly moved off of me. I straightened up and pushed myself up from the bed.
“We’re a family,” he said. “You know we should be together. I can be there for you.”
I couldn’t look him in the eye when he said it. I didn’t need to. I could see the look on his face even with my eyes closed.
“Just… Just give me time to think, okay?” I sighed. “I… I have to do what’s best for Sage.”
I raised my head up and saw the same disappointment in his eyes I’d seen earlier.
“Take some time to think,” he said. “I only want what’s best for Sage, too. At least while you’re still here, maybe I can take some time to get to know her better.”
I smiled softly and nodded. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
Chapter 16
THEO
I pressed my palm against my chin, my eyes locked on Sage while she sat on the table in front of me. She picked up a fry and stuffed it into her mouth. Even in a bar surrounded by bikers, I wasn’t ashamed of hiding my smile.
Sage was cute enough. But seeing how happy she was with her mother was a picture too perfect. Shit was like living in a dream.
Summer glanced at me for a second then turned back to her daughter. “You know, Teddy here loves fries almost as much as you do.”
“He does?” the little girl responded.
“Yeah! Watch. Put one into his mouth and he’ll eat it right up. Be careful of your fingers…”
Sage picked up a fry and hesitantly held it to my mouth. I took a bite and nodded. I chewed as noisily as I could, making the little girl grin even wider than she already was.
“Now it’s your turn.” I picked one up for her and fed it to her. The way she giggled made me forget about everything around me.
“Okay,” Summer said. “I think you’ve had enough for now. You know too many fries will give you a tummy ache.”
“Aw… okay…” The disappointment on Sage’s face hurt me in a way like nothing else. Even still, she’s the cutest girl I’d ever seen in my life.
“Come on, sweetie.” Summer scooped her daughter up in her arms. “We’ve been here long enough. You’ll wear yourself out.”
“Mommy… Can we visit Teddy and his friends again tomorrow?”
“Sure. But only if you get a good night’s sleep tonight, okay?”
“Okay…” Sage held one of her hands out to me. I stuck a finger out and she grabbed it. Summer and I laughed while Sage shook my finger up and down.
“Are you sure you don’t wanna stay around?” I said. “You’ve only been here for a few hours. The rush doesn’t come here until late.”
“I know. But I don’t want Sage to be here when the rush comes. Please, Theo…”
“All right, all right.” I put my hands up and sighed. “Just don’t leave town without saying anything.”
“I… I’ll let you know. I just need time to think.”
“I’ll see you later, Sage!”
The little girl waved at me as her mother carried her out of the clubhouse. As soon as they were gone, I couldn’t help a sigh.
“You all right, brother?” Doc put a hand on my shoulder and smirked at me.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t bullshit me. You know exactly what I’m getting at.”
I headed to the bar and grabbed myself a beer. The sun was just going down in Ivory and a few patrons were starting to head inside to get the evening started. I leaned up against the bar while Doc sat next to me, pestering me with his wisdom like he always did.
“Did she tell you?”
I took a gulp and nodded. “She admitted it.”
“Not like she could hide it. The kid’s got some of your features. The good ones, fortunately…”
I chuckled at his comment and shook my head. “Sage looks more like her mother. The cutest damn kid I’ve ever seen.”
“She’s cute all right. Does she know?”
“Summer is still trying to figure that out. It wouldn’t be fair to Sage for me to say something. All her life, it’s just been them two. For me to show up suddenly… It’d change things.”
“You’re her father. You have every right to be a part of her life. It’s not like you ran out on her. Hell, you didn’t even know she existed until a few days ago… right?”
“If I knew Summer was pregnant, I would’ve never let her leave Ivory.”
“Then I don’t see what the problem is.”
Jordan was the leader of the MC. Rex was impulsive. Ash and Grant were book smart. Micah was the man you turned to when you wanted somebody to get their ass kicked. But Doc… Doc was the man we all looked to when we needed answers.
Right now though, I didn’t think he had the answers I was looking for.
“Can I ask you something, Doc? Kelly’s cool with everything, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, the MC. You being a part of it. Knowing some of the shit we pull under the table. You can’t be with a lady as long as you’ve been and keep it a complete secret.”
“You know we don’t do anything we’d be ashamed of. No women. No children. It’s just club business. Kelly knew what kind of man I was before we even started dating. Things haven’t changed, even after all these years.”
“But it can’t be that smooth. Just the other night, I was in a fucking shootout. You can’t tell me she was all right with that.”
“Kelly knows what comes with the territory. But nah… She’d prefer I didn’t get shot at. It’s not like we’re fucking running into burning buildings and shit. Shit like what happened the other night was an anomaly.”
“All it takes is one night…” I gulped down the rest of my beer. The little bit of alcohol didn’t do much to clear my head. “…Summer wasn’t built for this. She can’t handle being an old lady. But I fucking love her. After all these years, shit hasn’t changed…”
“Hmm… I can’t tell you what to do brother. Nobody can. I know you’ll make the right decision. The MC is always here for you.”
I reached over the counter to grab myself another beer when the entrance to the club opened up. I wouldn’t have cared too much about someone coming in for a drink but something caught my eye. As soon as I turned, I saw why.
You never got too many suits in this place. And this motherfucker was in a suit that looked like it was worth something. The black suit. The tie. The diamond watch. The stick up his ass was probably worth a fortune.
He slicked his dark hair over his head and walked toward Doc and me, flanked by a couple of overdressed bodyguards. He gave me a straight face as he eyeballed me. I watched as his eyes shifted toward the patch on my chest.
“Cobra… Your president around?”
“Who’s asking?” I said.
“Aaron Picardo.”
“Picardo…” I narrowed my eyes at him. It didn’t hit me until Doc said it.
“Cartel,” Doc muttered.
“I’m interested in speaking to the president of the Cobras. If he’s available.”
I looked around the bar and didn’t see Jordan around. “He’s not here right now. If you got a message, I can relay it to him.”
“I suppose that will do. It’s come to my attention you recently had a run-in with a man named Lennox Moore.”
“You got business with Moore?” I said.
“Not exactly. Moore was looking into getting into business here in Ivory.
The same business I’m conducting. I’d prefer not to get involved with the Cobras if it can be avoided.”
“I didn’t have business with Moore. It was personal. Cobras don’t give a shit one way or the other if you wanna do business here.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Picardo had a smug little grin on his face. He straightened his tie and sighed through his nose. “I’m sorry for the intrusion. Perhaps there’s a possibility we can collaborate in the future.”
“I’ll let the president now.”
He bowed his head and left the clubhouse.
“That motherfucker,” Doc sighed. “He tries to act professional and formal but it’s all an act. The guy’s as ruthless as it gets.”
“How do you know?”
“That’s just how the Picardo Cartel does things. That motherfucker ain’t any different.”
“We should run that shit by Jordan. Even if we don’t plan on doing business with Picardo, it’s nice to know what the fuck is going on in this town.”
“We’ll let him know. Right now though, you should be fucking celebrating. You just got out of the hospital. Have another beer, brother.”
Rex walked up next to me right and dropped another bottle in front of me like he was listening to what I was saying. “What was that shit all about?”
“It’s nothing,” I said. “Picardo’s just letting him know he’s doing some business in Ivory.”
“Sounds like it could be a good opportunity.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Doc said. “We’ll talk about it in the next meeting. Let the man have his drink.”
“I’ll let him drink. Seeing as how he’s not gonna be putting his dick into anything anytime soon now that his old old lady is back in town.”
Rex cackled more annoyingly than ever before. Even Doc had a good laugh. The brief encounter with Picardo left my thoughts. I took a sip of beer, hoping that it would help me forget about my situation with Summer.
“Assholes…”
Chapter 17
SUMMER
Ivory was a quiet little town between more important cities. Outside of Golden Hills, the place where a few rich folks lived, everybody here lived simple lives. All of the businesses were locally owned. The townsfolk all knew one another. Even after five years away, I still remembered where everything was. It’s like nothing had changed.
Including one of the diners I liked to frequent. It was early in the morning but the place was crowded. Men and women were enjoying their meals before they got their day started. The fresh aroma of coffee and assorted breakfast meats filled my nostrils. I sat with my daughter next to me while she rested her head against my arm. The two of us enjoyed the scene all around us in peace. After what we just went through, every scene was peaceful.
The waitress arrived with a stack of pancakes that made Sage’s eyes light up. She grabbed the bottle of syrup in a hurry to the waitress’s delight.
“You let me know if there’s anything else I can get for you,” she said.
“Is it usually this busy in the mornings?”
“Weekdays, sure. Saturdays can get hectic. Sunday… That’s when you can really relax in here. Most people are too busy sleeping in.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“You from around here?”
“From here, yeah. But I haven’t been around lately. It’s nice to know things haven’t changed.”
“No need to change something when it’s already working.” The waitress winked and walked away. She distracted me enough that I just barely stopped Sage from dousing her pancakes in a plateful of syrup.
“That’s enough for now. Here. Let me.” Sage watched with hungry eyes as I sliced her pancakes for her.
“I can do it!”
“Okay, okay.” I giggled as she took the fork from me. She sloppily stuffed the fork into her mouth, getting just as much syrup on her lips as between it. “How are they? Good?”
“Mmm-hmm!” Sage hungrily picked at another piece of pancakes with her fork.
“Miss Humphrey.” I raised my head up at the sudden voice.
“Detective Bradford. What are you doing here?” I stared at him with a bit of confusion. It was still early in the morning but the man looked like he’d been awake for several hours. Either that or he went to sleep in his suit. Then again, that wouldn’t explain how why his hair was so neat and there wasn’t a wrinkle anywhere on him.
“I was in the area. I thought I would pay you a visit.”
“In the area?”
“Ivory is a small-town. I asked someone about a place to get a decent breakfast. They pointed me here.”
Bradford’s story was believable but I wasn’t buying it. After everything that happened, it was too much of a coincidence. “I’ve been in Ivory long enough to know there are other places to get breakfast. Just be honest with me, detective.”
He paused for a moment then nodded. “All right. You’re being monitored.”
“…Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I sighed.
“May I?” Bradford took a seat in front of me. Sage was quiet this whole time, her attention focused on wielding her fork properly. “How is she?”
“She’s fine. The doctors said she’s perfectly healthy. She’s been happy and laughing this entire time. It’s like the incident with Moore never happened. That’s just fine by me.”
“I’m glad.”
“There’s no need for you to keep watching over me.”
“I’m afraid there is.”
I looked at my daughter. “Of course,” I sighed. “Can’t even enjoy breakfast with my daughter without something going wrong.”
“I’m sorry, Summer. I wouldn’t contact if you if this weren’t urgent. There’s nothing for you to be concerned with but it’s something you should aware of.”
“And that is?”
Bradford looked to the side to make sure nobody was listening but the diner was so crowded, nobody could hear him anyway. He leaned forward across the table and lowered his voice.
“Investigators looked into the crash when Moore was trying to make his escape. The Cobras caused the car to come to a halt and fired on it. After it stopped, one of them rushed up, Miller I’m assuming, pulled your daughter from the vehicle. Then the shootout occurred after.”
“I already know what happened.”
“Not entirely. During the shootout, the Cobras targeted the car to make sure Moore couldn’t escape. But he was already one step ahead. There was another vehicle waiting. The MC was too distracted by the gunfire to give chase.”
“I knew that, too. You’re not telling me anything new.”
“Investigators examined the car that was left behind. The ransom money you gave them was nowhere to be found.”
“That makes sense. Moore got his money and took off. He got what he wanted.”
“And have you ever wondered why he was so adamant about getting his money? Did you ever think about what your ex-boyfriend Booth was getting into?” Bradford raised his eyebrows in an attempt to get me to figure it out for myself. But it was too early in the morning for me to be stressing out over something like this.
I looked at my daughter and smiled as I wiped some of the syrup from her lips. She just as quickly made another mess as she took another bite.
“I’m done with Booth. I’m done with Moore. He got his money and I got my daughter. It’s over.”
“Moore was collecting his money because he was planning on coming down to Ivory and getting involved in the drug trade here. The market is completely volatile. Nobody has a monopoly over it. It’s the perfect opportunity for someone without any clout to establish themselves. That’s compared to the city, where the territories are already divided up. That’s what Moore is trying to do. That’s what Booth was trying to do.”
“Booth isn’t here anymore. I told you, this has nothing to do with me.”
“Moore is looking at getting involved with the Picardo Cartel. Our intel suggests they’re trying to set up an operation
so they could get the monopoly on the market here.”
“This has nothing to do with me—”
“Yesterday, Aaron Picardo, the leader of the Picardo Cartel, was spotted going into the Bone Pit.”
I already knew what Bradford was trying to get at. The way he stared at me made it obvious. But I didn’t say anything even though I’d already put the pieces together in my head.
“There’s no denying you’re connected to Miller. If Miller and his MC are involved with the Cartel, there’s a chance he’s still linked to Moore. And with Moore still out there, there’s no telling what he’s up to—”
“Listen, detective. Cartels. MCs. Moore. That’s all happening in Ivory. I’m heading back to the city with my daughter in a few days. This isn’t any of my business. It’s not my responsibility. I have nothing to do with this.”
Bradford straightened up and sighed softly through his nose. He carried himself like the professional he was the entire time I knew him. He kept his composure better than most people I knew.
“As long as you have a connection to Miller and Moore is not in custody, I can’t make any guarantees on your safety.”
“So, what are you telling me? Are you saying that I’m stuck here in Ivory? That my daughter and I are gonna have to spend the rest of our lives under police protection?”
“It’s my job to make sure nothing like that happens. I’m only telling you this to give you a word of caution. The investigation has spilled out of the city. The cartel. The MC. Everything associated with them is being monitored.”
There was no point in arguing with him. I couldn’t blame Bradford for giving me the details, even if I didn’t wanna hear them. I held back my frustration and helped my daughter take another bite of pancakes. I couldn’t ignore what Bradford just told me but I was doing my best to try.
“I’ll be in contact with you if anything happens. Enjoy your breakfast, Summer.” Bradford got up from his seat but didn’t leave the diner completely, instead taking a seat at the counter. I watched him for a second then felt my daughter tugging on my arm. “You still hungry, huh?” I forgot about everything for a moment and helped her to another bite. “What do you wanna do today, sweetie? We have the whole day to ourselves. We can go to the park and run around in the grass. Maybe find some dogs to play with. That sounds like fun, right?”’