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God, this woman slays me. “I miss you too, Pixie, more than you can imagine. I’ve got to go. I’ll call and text when I can. Love you, Josephine.”
“I love you, Maceo.” And then she hangs up.
I pocket my cell and look over at Gauge waiting patiently for me. He just hung up with Opal a few minutes earlier.
“You ready to do this, brother?” Gauge asks from the seat of his bike.
I nod. “Yeah. I want to get this over with and go back home to my woman.” We start our hogs and pull out of the gas station, heading deeper into the city.
To keep Josephine from growing suspicious, I asked Gauge to accompany me for the sixteen-hour drive to Los Angeles. I told her I had to meet with some people in the city, and that Gauge was coming with me. Josephine assumed it was business-related and didn’t question any further. Had she pressed for details, I would have been obligated to tell her what I was up to. Gauge jokes Josephine’s going to have my balls for this, but it’s a legit fear of mine that she will lose her shit once she finds out what I’m doing.
We cruise to our destination, a more run-down area of the city. I wouldn’t call it dangerous per se, but I wouldn’t want my loved ones living here. We roll to a stop in front of a well-maintained bungalow with a nicely manicured yard. The residents on this block definitely take pride in their homes in comparison to the surrounding areas.
I walk the short path to the front steps, and I can easily see Josephine as a young girl growing up here. It was just over a year ago, my pixie stormed out of her parents’ home because she felt she had no emotional support from her family. I love Josephine more than anyone in the world, and I’m here to confront her parents—I won’t allow anyone to ever hurt her again. But I need to feel these people out for myself—make sure they’re not malicious or bad people—before introducing them back into her life.
I really hope this family feud is more of a misunderstanding than a toxic relationship. If it is the latter, I’ll have no problem telling them to stay the hell away from Josephine. My woman doesn’t need anyone negative manipulating her life. But if it is the former, I’ll do everything I can to help mend bridges between Josephine and her parents. She deserves to be surrounded by love and support, and I’m hoping her parents want that for her too.
I look over my shoulder at Gauge. He hangs back by our bikes and gives me a thumbs-up, letting me know I got this.
With a deep sigh, I take stock of my appearance. I decided it was best to wear something that didn’t screambiker, since it seemed to turn her folks off. I settled on some new black jeans and a flannel button-down with the sleeves rolled up. I went as far as picking up new boots, anything to spruce myself up. Lloyd cleaned my face and hair real good before I rolled out. To an outsider, I didn’t look like a biker at all.
I removed my leather vest for the occasion and wore my gladiator leather wristband with our club logo instead. The leather band let’s me represent our crew and my position without it being in anyone’s face. Plus, Josephine says it’s hot, which is more of the reason why I’ve been wearing it.
I run a hand through my hair to put it in place, and I knock on the wood door.
A pretty woman around fifty answers. This must be Josephine’s mom, Stella. She shares some of the same physical characteristics of her daughter. She’s tiny, though maybe not quite as short as Josephine. But her hair is darker, and her facial features are completely different.
I clear the lump from my throat. “Mrs. Holland,” I greet with a polite nod. “My name is Maceo Tabares. I’m the man who’s engaged to Josephine.”
Stella’s gray eyes go wide before looking over her shoulder. “Jim!” she calls in a panicked voice.
I heave a sigh. It makes sense. She’s worried since Jacob painted me as a ‘big bad biker,’ but I can’t help that it saddens me. Will they even believe that I’m more of a businessman than a biker?
A man of medium stature comes to his wife’s side. I know the second I look at him he’s Josephine’s dad. Same eyes, same nose, same lips, same sandy ashen hair. Josephine is a little cocktail of both her parents.
“Mr. Holland,” I greet with a nod.
Jim doesn’t need introductions to know who I am. He glances at his wife before looking back at me and opens the door wide for me to step inside. I feel like Goliath in this house. This home was built during a time when people were a hell of a lot shorter. My massive stature probably doesn’t make her parents comfortable in my presence. I smile kindly to try and set their nerves at ease.
Jim takes a seat in a nearby lounger and motions for me to take a seat on the couch. I lower myself gently into the cushions, afraid of busting their tiny-ass furniture. Thankfully, it holds my weight.
“Would you like something to drink?” Stella asks me politely.
“I’m good, thank you. Please, have a seat. I’d like to talk to you both.” I don’t know what kind of man Jim is, if he likes to be the captain in charge, or if he runs his ship hand in hand with his wife, but I will let them both know why I’m here. Stella takes a seat in the armchair next to her husband.
I clear my throat again. “I’m sure by now you’ve heard what happened with Jacob Klein,” I say, fighting to keep the malice out of my voice. There’s no way they couldn’t know. The story has been all over the national news.
Both her parents nod. “We tried to call her, but she must have blocked our numbers. We can’t get through,” Stella says, reaching for a tissue on a nearby end table to blot her eyes. “We would have come, but we didn’t know if she would want to see us after the last conversation Jim had with her.”
I nod. “I’m not surprised. Josephine is…stubborn. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with her. She’s not a pushover and won’t take crap.”
Her parents look at me like I’m weird for loving that trait of hers. I shrug my shoulders. I can’t help that I find her feistiness endearing. As long as I get to dominate her in our bed when I want, I’m all for her asserting herself outside of our bedroom. If Josephine and I have a daughter someday, I would hope she inherits the same trait from her mother.
Jim’s face hardens. “How is she?”
Sighing deeply, I rub a hand down my face. “She’s strong, so fucking strong. I apologize for my language. She went through a lot. Jacob had been stalking her since they broke up. He harassed her horribly, and he went over the edge when she decided to move on with her life. I’m not sure if I should mention any of this to you.”
“Please,” her father begs, and takes his wife’s hand in support. “Please tell us what happened.”
