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Jen reaches for my clenched hands and gives them a motherly squeeze. “Yeah, he does, baby. She’s about three years old.”
I jerk away from her as if she’s slapped me. It’s a lie. A lie. It has to be a lie. Someone’s making up stories to see if I’ll snap. Well, I’m going to!
Stupid me, I was ready to forgive him, ready to let him back into my heart even. All over a piece of cake! All the reasons I assumed why Bash had left me had never involved someone else. Never once have I ever thought he left me to go play happy family. He has a fucking kid—a daughter—and I didn’t even know.
And when he said there’s been no one else? That he’s never wanted anyone since me..? All. A. LIE!
Feeling wild, ready to hurt as I hurt, I glance around almost frantically for one of my brothers. They’ll tell me the truth. If they know—and they know everything that goes on in the club—then I want to hear them say it. Colt walks behind the bar with a tray full of empties and tosses them all into the huge trash can beside me.
He barely shoots me a glance before turning around to collect more. I grab his elbow, catching him by surprise and turning him around to face me. “Who’s the kid’s mom?” I demand.
Colt frowns. “What kid?”
My patience is slipping quickly. “Bash’s kid,” I grit out. “Who is her mom?”
His eyes darken and his gaze moves from me to Cory, who shrinks back from whatever she sees there. Then those eyes, so identical to my own, back on me. “I don’t know. She isn’t from here. I think she was the daughter of the president in the Vegas club, Red Dragons.”
“You think, or you know?”
“Yeah, Rave. She was. But the bitch caught a bullet in a raid at the warehouse in Vegas, along with half the club—including her father. Kid had no one. Bash decided that he didn’t want his girl living in that world, so he took her and made house somewhere else … Look that’s all I know, okay?” He tosses the tray aside and grasped both my wrists, pulling me against him. “I didn’t even know that much until recently.”
I lean into him for just a second, needing my brother’s strength as I try not to fall apart in front of a bar full of people that will never let me live that shame down. Taking a deep breath, I push away from Colt. “You should have told me,” I whisper and walk into the back room where I let the tears fall.
Chapter 12
Raven
The first time Bash kissed me was the night I turned eighteen. My first kiss, my first anything.
For weeks Bash had been picking me up from Uncle Jack’s on Saturdays and taking me home. We would watch movies, order pizza or whatever else we felt like eating, and just hung out. At first I loved it. Bash wasn’t off whoring around at the bar with whatever sheep happened to catch his eye. Instead he was with me and I had his full attention.
Then I realized that my brothers were probably having him babysit me or some other shit. They hated for me to work on Saturdays when all the club whores were in attendance, and with Bash keeping an eye on me then they were free to do what needed doing—or who needed doing. Because he was the enforcer—the one that made sure that peace was kept within the Club, the one that took care of rule breakers—Bash wasn’t likely to break the number one rule.
No one touches Raven Hannigan.
I was starting to resent his presence on Saturday nights, really hated the fact that he kept the full length of the couch between us when we watched television. Despised the fact that he treated me like a kid when there were girls younger than I was hooking up with members of the club and even becoming ol’ ladies.
Tonight was yet another Saturday night, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to be spending it at home watching action movies with Bash. If anything he wasn’t even on my mind as I put Uncle Jack’s books away and got my things ready to go. Today was my birthday and I was going to celebrate it how I wanted. With Flick, a few bottles of Jameson, and no brothers or enforcer or biker in any shape or form.
Grabbing the keys to my new car, a brand new Dodge Challenger that my brothers had given me just that morning, I headed out. I called a goodbye to my uncle and was already running toward the back door. If I didn’t get of there soon, I knew Bash would show up and I would be forced to suffer through yet another Saturday night of wanting something that I knew I couldn’t have.
“Whoa!” Uncle Jack called out, following me. He had grease on his hands and streaked across his still handsome face. Just because he owned the shop and connecting garage didn’t mean he got to sit behind a desk all day. He worked hard. “Not so fast, Raven.”
Frowning, I turned to face him. “Did you need something else, Uncle Jack?”
He pulled something from his jean pocket and offered it to me. “I promised Max I would give this to you on your eighteenth birthday. It was your mom’s.”
As he opened his big hand, I saw a silver necklace with a medallion hanging from it. I didn’t remember my mother, not one thing about her. Pictures showed me that I looked startlingly like her, but I had no emotion for the woman when I saw those pictures. It was hard to love something you never had, hard to miss something you never wanted. My father and Jet had raised me with so much love that I never even wished for a mother. The few times I needed motherly advice—like my first period—Felicity’s mom helped me out.
“What’s this?” I asked, taking the necklace.
“Something your old man gave your mom when they first started dating.” Uncle Jack shrugged. “He said she wanted you to have it.”
I nodded as I read the back of the medallion. Angel’s Halo was engraved within a diamond with a halo over the top of the diamond. On the back it said: Mad Max. A smile touched my lips as I traced a finger over my dad’s name. “Thanks, Uncle Jack.” I slipped the necklace over my head letting the medallion hang freely. “I didn’t even know you guys still had these things.”
“Only the Originals have them. Take care of it, Raven. Your dad was one of the few good men I’ve ever known.”
I gave him a hug, letting him squeeze me tight before stepping back. A kiss to his cheek, and then I was out the back door. I picked Felicity up, ready to hide out for the night. Twenty minutes later we were parked on top of the one hill in Creswell Springs. It overlooked the small town, and I felt like I was finally free of my brothers as I sat on the hood of my new car.
