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I couldn’t blame Calli for thinking what she was thinking, but hearing her speak that way about Shay had my blood boiling.
“That why you moved her into our house? Easy access?” Calli hissed, swiping at the tears running down her cheeks. “You always said you wouldn’t bring club girls home, that you wouldn’t disgrace Mom’s space like that. You disgust me.”
She turned to walk away, so I grabbed the half-full drink off the bar and threw it at the floor.
Glass and alcohol flew everywhere, and Calli almost leaped out of her skin.
I stood in the center of the mess, my hands clenched into fists as Calli turned slowly back to face me, her mouth hanging open. “What the—”
“I moved her into our house because someone was trying to kill her,” I told her, speaking slowly to fight the anger building in my gut.
Her face quickly changed, the anger giving way to shock and concern. “What?”
There was no hiding the way she cared for Shay.
Her love for Shay was exactly why she felt hurt and betrayed, and Calli had the right to be upset. There had been lies and some deception. She was entitled to feel how she wanted to about that, but I didn’t tolerate disrespect.
Not from strangers, not from my men, and especially not from the daughter I fucking raised.
I didn’t give a damn how upset she was.
“The club was asked to find this young girl. Her pimp brought her into the ER, and Shay recognized her from a photo I had, so she refused to let him take her and got a beating for her troubles. You know that bit, right?” Calli’s hand went straight to her heart. I bet it ached. I bet she felt ill. That’s how close these girls were, and I needed her to understand the truth before their relationship was ruined forever. “He turned out to be worse than we thought, and his buddies emptied two semi-automatics into your fucking apartment that same morning.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “Why wouldn’t she tell me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Shay knew you’d be so worried that you’d get on the next flight home, so she asked me to keep all this shit to myself so you wouldn’t ruin the biggest opportunity of your life!” I scrubbed at my face. “That’s why she’s been living at my place since you left because I wanted to keep her safe. Things just escalated from there.”
I didn’t mention how badly I’d fought it or how those feelings had been there well before Shay came to stay. Those things didn’t matter.
All that mattered was trying to repair these relationships.
Calli leaned back on one of the tables, her mind visually ticking over as she processed the information I’d just given her.
“I understand that you’re upset. I fucking do, and I hate it,” I told her, walking over and taking her face in my hands, forcing her to look up at me. Tears brimmed her eyes, and her bottom lip trembled. “We fought this. The both of us. Because we were both absolutely fucking terrified of hurting you. I’m sorry we didn’t get to tell you before you found out this way, but you have to believe we planned to.”
Seeing my daughter cry made me want to kill someone. Only I was the reason for her tears.
It fucking hurt. It really did. But I needed her to understand so we could get through this and hopefully move on.
“This isn’t just some fling?” she questioned, her voice barely above a whisper. “You guys aren’t just fucking around, and it’s going to be super awkward later when you break up.”
I pressed a soft kiss to her head and stepped back. “I swear.”
“Can confirm,” Blue announced from behind me.
“I second,” Hawk said, stepping through from the garage. “Calli, this is something special. I know it’s hard to imagine, but when you see it…”
A couple of the boys had come in during the chaos, and her eyes skimmed the room, glancing at each of them and hopefully getting what she needed before returning her attention to me. “I wasn’t sure you’d ever find someone.”
I scoffed loudly. “I didn’t.” Her face pinched in confusion, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Since your mom, I never believed I would find someone with her heart and soul who would fit so perfectly in my life, your life, and the club’s life. But I didn’t find Shay, you did. You brought her into our lives, knowing she’d fall right into place in our family. You loved her, so I couldn’t help but love her too.”
Calli’s mouth dropped open. “Did you just say you love her?”
Did I? Fucking hell.
“Dad!” Calli waved her hand in front of my face, and I blinked a couple of times, bringing her into focus. “Dad, are you serious? Do you love Shay?”
“I don’t know, okay?” I finally responded, putting a few steps between us as I contemplated the words I’d just fucking said. “Look, can we just go get Shay and put this to bed? Talk to her, hear her side.”
