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“Of course,” Harris took me in his arms and hugged me. I welcomed the comfort, but when I turned my head and saw Kevin in the photos, sticking out from under my skirt, I knew I had opened a Pandora’s box of mistakes.
I had manipulated my way into this situation and now the thought of freeing those people who helped me into the world I used to live in, made me territorial. I didn’t want them in my world. I wanted them locked in a concrete prison where they could be locked away and forgotten about.
It was hard to understand what I was feeling sometimes, but I didn’t want Harris or Shane handling this and now that I had seen my dad and Kevin, I didn’t want to be away from them. I was so busy trying to list out my emotions to find out what it was exactly I was feeling that I didn’t hear Harris talking.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Why is your engagement ring on your desk and not on your finger? Harris inquired, but as the seconds ticked by and I tried to think of an answer, his tone deepened. He stepped away from me and studied my movements as I climbed off my desk, just like we were taught in training. “Did you take it off to hide it from Kevin Waters or your dad?”
“No! Neither! I just didn’t want to lose it if I had to get combative.”
“I’m starting to question if you know what you are doing, but you know I’m here if you need me to be there for you or to step in and finish this case…”
“You would step in?”
“I know you want this done right and I am the boss so I can assign myself to be Shane’s partner and finish it up for you. Whatever you need.”
“I need to finish this myself,” I responded. “I need the closure with my dad and I need to get Kane back in custody.”
“Okay,” he seemed to sink into himself as he looked at the ring on the desk again. “How is this club different from any other?”
“It’s not,” I wonder where that question came from.
“Then why do you need to be the one to do this? Why not pass it off to another agency or we can pass it over to the FBI?” Harris was looking for an out for me, but I didn’t want one.
“Look at the photos, what do you see?” I questioned as Harris gave very standard answers of the amount of weaponry that was showing, the background, everything except what I saw. “In the photo of Kevin, his arm is split open and bleeding, you see a violent act, but you don’t see it was self-defense. The photo of Mad Dog at the ATM, you see him withdrawing money, in your eyes he’s going to buy drugs or a new gun, but I see a club spouse in the background whose husband is in prison and Mad Dog is getting money out for her and her new baby. In the photo with Dagger, on his vest, the patch reads: I kill people. You didn’t notice that, you only saw a tattooed biker who looks like everyone else in your eyes. They may be like other clubs, but they are their own people and have their own way, a way of life that I am familiar with. That’s why it should be me that handles this.”
“What kind of rank is I kill people?” Harris inquired as he looked at the photo of Dagger a little closer.
“Dagger is one of a kind and didn’t want to have a normal rank like everyone else so Mad Dog allowed him to pick his own title,” I tried to make him understand why this had to be my case. “Something as simple as a patch title is important to the club members, but no one else will see or understand it because they are focused on the larger picture. The wider the screen the more details that are missed. I won’t miss anything because there is nothing I haven’t seen. Don’t take this away from me.”
“Okay, you win. I’ll let you stay on, but I’m supervising.” Harris conceded, but I could tell by the look on his face that I would have to tread lightly. That stunt in the interrogation room by Kevin and my lack of communication about the past had Harris on edge.
“Deal.”
“Let’s go get some dinner.”
He reached out and put my ring back on my finger. Then he held his hand out, I took it reluctantly as we walked to the office doorway. I let go of his hand and curled into him as we continued down the hall with his arm around me.
I stopped in the lobby when I saw Kevin with his head slumped over, sleeping in the chair.
“Maggie,” I softly called the door guard. “What is he doing?”
“He’s been doing this every day that he comes. He will sleep till the next shift comes on and then he steps out for a smoke and comes back in,” she answered me as Harris tried to pull me away.
“Why?”
“He said he had to protect your prisoner,” Maggie replied, and I knew I needed to say something to him. Then Maggie wiggled her finger and I walked away from Harris as she whispered, “I overheard him say that he thought someone was after your prisoner and he wasn’t leaving till he knew he was safe. I tried to tell him that jail was the safest place to be, but…”
“Thanks Maggie,” I returned. I knew that a man of my dad’s status wasn’t ever safe. Not even behind bars, but Kevin couldn’t protect him forever. No one in my current life had any clue about life inside my dad’s club. They didn’t understand that the club members would always look out for the boss, and they would do whatever it took to keep him safe. Kevin would commit any crime to get locked away with him if he had to. I needed Kevin to go home. My dad was never going to be bait for Kane if Kane had to fight through the club to get to him. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Let’s go,” Harris tilted his head and I walked toward him.
“Let me have a minute. I’ll meet you in the car,” I spoke sweetly, and Harris nodded. Then he walked out the front door as I heard the gate buzz him out.
“Kevin,” I walked over and nudged him. I stepped closer and was nearly standing over him when I did it again. His eyes opened as his arms locked around my waist and pulled me into his lap.
“I’m so glad he’s gone,” he smiled, and held me tightly in his lap as I fidgeted and tried to get up. “Ride me harder,” his gravelly voice made me stop what I was doing and realize I was rubbing all over him as I tried to get up.
