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“It’s going to be okay. We’re going to figure this out,” I promised her, hoping I wasn’t telling her lies.
She buried her face in my neck, and my eyes met Blade’s in the rearview. He was obviously thinking the same thing I was—this was an absolute clusterfuck.
The remainder of the trip back to the clubhouse was quiet, and I knew she was stewing on everything she’d learned.
Korrie, Loralei, and Jasmine were in the kitchen when we got back. They were making a birthday cake for Kira. I brought Laila in and asked if she wanted to hang with the girls or lie down for a bit. She’d had a lot thrown at her today.
“I’d rather not be alone. I’ll think too much,” she said, swallowing hard.
Enveloping her in my arms, I held her close. She seemed too fucking breakable in that moment, and I hated it. Though I happily would’ve held her all day, I looked up over her shoulder and saw Venom motioning with his head to his office.
I hated to leave her, but I leaned back and framed her face with my hands. “I’ll try to keep this short, then I’ll come get you.”
She nodded, and we entered the kitchen. I made introductions. The girls called out greetings with wide smiles. It was obvious my brothers had been talking to their ol’ ladies, because none of them seemed surprised.
“I love your hair,” I heard Loralei say to her as I turned to report to my president’s office. Knowing she was in good hands, I breathed a little easier.
As I hit the hall entry that led to Venom’s office, I heard the front door open. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Chains and Phoenix come in. I waved them to follow.
Blade and Raptor were already waiting when we went in and closed the door. It wasn’t a huge room, and they were in the few chairs, so we stood.
When I filled everyone in, there was more than one expression of disbelief. Venom was, as usual, stoic as he took in every word.
“So you’re telling me her father is Luis fucking Trujillo?” Blade asked with a wide-eyed stare that I rarely saw.
“Yeah. At least according to her case agent. Crazy shit, huh?” I asked as I raked a hand through my hair and then covered my mouth to hold back my frustrated shout.
Blade seemed to go pale as he fell back in his chair.
“Dude, you okay?” Chains asked as we all studied our usually unflappable brother curiously.
“No. This is bad. So fucking bad,” he said as he bolted from his chair and paced the small room with his jaw muscle jumping and his hands clenched.
“Blade, what the actual fuck?” Raptor asked.
“You know I’m solid as fuck. I can handle a lot. You have always had my back, but if we’re going up against Luis, we’re stepping into a pile of shit we are not prepared for,” he said before he stopped and dropped his hands to his knees and breathed deeply.
“What do you know?” Venom asked as he narrowed his eyes.
Blade stood, ripped his shirt off, and turned. “That’s what I know. That’s how Luis deals with people who disagree with him.”
His muscular back was a mess of crisscrossing scars.
“What the fuck?” I asked, stunned. He quickly pulled his shirt back on and met my gaze.
“I stepped in when he was going to whip a nine-year-old boy. Instead, he used me and made the boy watch.” His lip curled in a snarl. “If you think I’m fucked in the head and heartless, you have another thing coming. Because that man is who made me what I am, and he’s ten times worse.”
Blade’s revelation shook me—and I’m pretty sure every brother in the room. We agreed to look into Laila’s paternity and make a decision about what to do with Luis after we dealt with Khatri. One fire at a time.
We settled on a plan. With the meet set for early next week, we had a little time to prepare and ground ourselves. At that moment, I needed Laila. I made a beeline to the kitchen.
Women’s laughter filtered through the common area, and it was strange to think this was a mens’ clubhouse. When I stopped in the doorway, I saw Laila and the other girls watching Loralei put the finishing touches on Kira’s cake.
She looked up, and a soft smile curved her lips. As if she could read my mind and the restless need I had brewing in my veins, she said a few soft words to the other ol’ ladies, who shot knowing smiles in my direction, then went back to what they were doing.
“You wanna go talk at the bar or in the room?” she asked as she rested her palms on my chest. I gripped her wrists, holding her against me.
“Room,” I said abruptly. Her sky-blue eyes searched my face before she nodded and twisted her arms in my grip to curl her hands with mine and lace our fingers.
