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“I understand. Rose walked in the shadow of her older sister for a long time. It took a while for her to come into her own, and when she did, she did it big. Big dreams, full of independence, and she always knew what she wanted. Treat my girl right,” he says.
“That I can promise you.” We chat for a few more minutes about his retirement and how they’ve settled into their new space. Erik loves to golf and is on the course a couple of times a week, while Penny is volunteering at the local hospital. Erik never mentions anything suspicious, and I take that as a good sign that no one is nosing around them.
When I hang up, Rosie is right beside me. “That sounded like it went well,” she says hopefully.
I reach out to touch her cheek. “Your father’s a good man, babe. He wants you to be happy, and I’m going to do my damn best to give you that.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders. The events of the evening have been intense. “Are you doing okay?”
Rosie releases a heavy sigh. “I’m fine, right now. Noah is a great comfort.” She looks over to where Noah is situated across the room. “He didn’t leave me for a second.”
“He’s a good kid.” I turn my attention in his direction. “Yo, Noah, we’ll drop you off at Charli and Wildcard’s place.”
“I’m supposed to stay at the club tonight,” he says.
“Not tonight. Charli’s going to want you home.”
Noah nods. We both know Charli, and when shit like this goes down, having Noah home makes her feel better. Charli’s been looking after Noah for years, and after Noah fell in with a nasty crowd, she’s been overprotective. Noah’s free and clear from those guys, but the wound is still fresh, and since Charli’s the only family Noah has, she’s responsible for her brother. I tell Rose, “We’re staying at the club tonight.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m meeting with the brothers, and it’ll get late. We’ll go to your place first, and you can pack an overnight bag. I have my own room. It’s comfortable, and the place is a fortress.”
She doesn’t put up a fight. She’s probably emotionally exhausted. Rosie looks tired. She worked like a madwoman getting the shop ready, and then this happens. She needs food and sleep.
I, on the other hand, need answers. This shit needs to end. I want to know who the fuck is responsible for wreaking havoc in Rosie’s life and our club. Then I want to find the bastard and rip his dick off and shove it down his throat.
I know how to contain my anger. I’ve trained myself from an early age to control my temper, and that’s just what I’m doing for Rosie’s sake. She doesn’t need to see me lose it. It’s not easy to watch people you love walk away from you. My parents emotionally left me, and it hurt. I battled that war within myself and decided that I get to choose how I react. It was a simple decision after that. They weren’t going to have that power over me.
Rosie and I get to the compound, and even though I want to get to Orion to see what he’s found out, I take my time getting Rosie settled. Dinner is sandwiches and chips, but she doesn’t seem to care. Her eyes are practically closing while she eats.
My room is up the stairs, at the very end of the hall. It’s one of the bigger rooms, with its own bathroom. This has been my home, my quiet place. Yet tonight when I walk in, it doesn’t have the same warm feeling I got from Rosie’s home.
Rosie is ready to drop. I sit with my back against the headboard as she settles in my bed. I stroke her soft hair and listen to her soft sighs before she falls asleep. Apart from the progress of the shop being ready to open tomorrow, it’s been a crazy day. I wasn’t sure how Erik was going to react when Rosie told him about us. I guess I was expecting outrage, but Erik made it easy.
We had a close relationship until I took off. Erik didn’t need an explanation and didn’t want one. He knew I had to get away. He didn’t blame me; he took that on himself. I’m glad he’s come to terms with who was really responsible: Clarissa herself.
Easy is waking up in the morning and watching Rose sip coffee, smiling. Easy is unloading a truckful of boxes and knowing it makes her happy. Easy is acceptance of who I am to Rosie and letting me be part of Erik and Penny’s family. I like easy.
THIRTEEN
Face the Day
THUNDER
Idrag myself away from Rosie, leaving her curled up in my bed, and head back down the stairs. Orion is in the office we’ve set up with every possible gadget a computer guy would want. Orion’s the best there is. The only one comparable is Dante Viale. He’s Reno’s younger brother, and between the two of them, I’m hoping we’ll find the connection between the dead woman and the bastard terrorizing Rose.
Guard and Ghost are already there, along with Saint and Risk.
“Is Rose all right?” Saint asks as soon as he sees me.
“Shaken up, for sure, but she’s hanging in there.”
“Yeah, well, it ain’t every day a body goes flying out of a car directly in front of your store,” Risk says. “She’s tougher than she looks.” I have to agree with him. Anyone else would have crumbled by now.
Orion looks up from his screen. “I did a reconstruction of the woman’s face, and I’m running it through a recognition program. It may take a while. The morgue has Jane Doe slotted for autopsy tomorrow morning. I’ll be checking periodically for the final report.”
“She died from a gunshot to the heart. What’s curious is that she was beaten first,” Saint says. “If she was an out-of-line whore, why bother beating her if you were going to kill her anyway? And why kill her at all if she was making you money? A pimp’s goal is to use these women for cash. Why kill your revenue stream?”
“She could have been causing drama,” Guard adds.
