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“So he’s it, huh?” Huntsman asked as we walked away from the pizza joint and back to the parking lot. The street was reasonably empty as it was getting close to that time where people with kids were home and heading to bed, and college students were back at their dorms or flats getting ready to go out.
I pulled my jacket in around me a little tighter as a cold breeze hit me. “Yeah. He’s it.” I couldn’t say it without a smile. “I’d ask for your approval, but I really don’t care if you do or not.”
He laughed, the deep sound kind of soft and gentle. Tonight felt different. Like the outer shell had finally broken, and there was this gentle giant inside. And now I knew the answer to that one question I’d always had in the back of my mind.Would I have been a daddy’s girl?
Since I’d seen his stern resolve crumble and had a peek inside the man that was buried inside, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind, that if I’d had Huntsman in my life since I was young, I would have been a daddy’s girl for sure.
I felt safe around him. Like no matter how long we’d known each other, he’d do whatever he needed to do in order to protect me.
I could imagine running to him when I skinned my knees. Or when the boy next door told me I couldn’t play with him because I was a girl. And I knew he would have pulled me close, told me not to worry, before going next door and scaring the fucking shit out of the little turd.
“I can respect a man who will stand with my gun against his forehead and call me a dumbass.”
I stopped walking, my mouth dropping open. “He didn’t.”
Huntsman turned and looked over his shoulder with a smirk. “Oh, he did. That kid, he really went into battle for you. Not for himself, and not so he could have you as his Old Lady. He wanted me to know what I was missing if I walked away. Let me know how far you’d come…”
I lowered my head and took another step forward, falling back into line with him. I knew what he meant. Ham had obviously alluded to the fact that I hadn’t exactly been miss popular. The more I grew as a person, the more I hated to think about how I’d let so many people walk right over me, and how little respect I had for myself.
“You know how I met Ham?”
He shook his head.
“My ex-boyfriend and his friends were playing an always fun game of ‘keep away with my backpack’ on the side of the road after school.” I screwed up my nose, thinking about Nick again made me want to punch something.
Huntsman’s mouth formed a straight flat line. “He stop them?”
I grinned at the memory. “No. My Uncle’s Old Lady, Hadley, pulled over. There had been some drama with the club, so Ham was following her on his bike. She told them if they didn’t give my backpack back, she’d put her foot up their asses and then call the boys from the club.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Old Lady material, right there.”
I nodded in agreement. “The few days after that happened, Ham followed my bus home and watched me walk two blocks from my bus stop to my front door. Then he’d leave. I started spending more time at the clubhouse. We never spoke, but we got to know each other through silence.” I sighed heavily. “Sounds weird, huh?”
“No, not at all.”
We rounded the corner into the parking lot. It was full when we walked in, but now two hours later, it was dark, getting cold, and there were only a few flickering lights illuminating Huntsman’s truck.
“I feel kind of bad for punching him now.”
My smile beamed from cheek to cheek, and I nudged Huntsman with my shoulder and shrugged. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. He deserves it sometimes.”
“Aw… isn’t this sweet,” a chilling voice called over the darkness.
Huntsman instantly grabbed my hand and pulled my body quickly toward his truck.
“Oh, no, not tonight, old friend.”
Before we could reach the vehicle, four men wearing dark clothing and carrying heavy weapons stepped out from behind it and rounded to the front. Black jeans, black T-shirts, black beanies over their heads and dark narrowed eyes. They perfectly blended into the night, the couple of stray overhead lights doing nothing but cast more shadows for them to hide inside.
Huntsman grabbed me, pulling me closer to his body.
My heart began to race, thumping so loudly I could hear it in my ears. The adrenaline injection made my body shake as I grabbed hold of Huntsman’s club cut, gripping the leather so tightly in my hands it hurt my fingertips.
“So this is the infamous daughter I’ve heard rumors about.” A dark figure stepped out from behind the truck, a business suit on, his dark hair slicked back and violence sparkling in his eyes. “Go figure. She happens to be the same girl who was inside my nightclub and had two of my men killed last weekend.”
“You’re a long way from home, Isiah,” Huntsman responded, directing me behind him. His eyes moved between each of the men in the parking lot as if gauging his next move.
I searched the area, trying to find anything or anyone who might help us get out of this shit, but the parking lot was out the back of a building on the main street. There was no one around. No one that would dare get involved in this kind of shit at least.
