She burst through the door, and Tammy looked up, startled. Lexi sat down at a booth, shaking and wiping her eyes.
“Oh my god,” Tammy hissed as she ran over to her. “What’s happened? Did that biker hurt you?” she asked.
“No,” Lexi breathed. “My mother… She’s really done it this time.”
She filled Tammy in on everything that happened, from her night with King, to returning home and being delivered the biggest blow of her entire life. She sobbed and wiped her eyes while Tammy comforted her and told her that surely everything would be okay.
“She’s kept me away from them out of spite,” Lexi sniffed. “It had nothing to do with her being afraid for me or my safety… She was being selfish and cruel because he broke her heart…”
Tammy nodded and sighed. “I can’t believe she never told you… God, he could have been here this whole time.”
Lexi started to cry, and Tammy wrapped her arms around her.
“You have a name,” Tammy said reassuringly. “And you have King… He must know him or have at least heard of him?”
She had been so caught up in the revelation that it hadn’t even crossed her mind that maybe there was still a chance she could find her father. She looked up at Tammy and smiled.
“You’re a genius,” she said. “I can’t believe I didn’t even think of it.”
“Go back to my place and sort yourself out,” Tammy said as she handed her a key to her apartment. “I’ll be done here in the next couple of hours, and I’ll come over to the bar with you for your shift tonight. Let’s talk to King and see if he knows Reid.”
“Thank you so much,” Lexi smiled as she hugged her friend. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
***
After she had showered and revived herself she sat in Tammy’s front room as her mind raced over and over. No wonder she had such a wild side to her—her father was an outlaw and it was in her blood. She had always been so fascinated with the bikers, so drawn to them, but her mother had kept her terrified and held hostage with threats. Now she knew the truth, and she was determined to find out who Reid was.
She dressed for work and just as the sun began to set, she and Tammy got into the car and made their way over to The Bleeding Bullet. The cops were there again, swarming the streets like flies. With the knowledge she had now, this was the first time she hadn’t felt like an outsider venturing into this part of town. She knew they were her people and she welcomed it with all she had.
“Will King be there?” Tammy asked her as she pulled up at the side of the road, the only car in a sea of bikes and cop cars.
“He said he would be,” she whispered.
The girls got out of the car and walked towards the bar. Even though Lexi was nervous about asking King about Reid, she could also feel how tense Tammy was beside her.
When she pushed open the door, the music blared out at them and Tammy’s eyes grew wide with amazement as she watched the girls dancing on the bar and the men cheering them on.
“Wow,” she said. “Is this what you do?”
“One shift down, hopefully many more to go,” Lexi winked.
They moved through the crowd and approached the counter. Sasha was behind the bar serving, and she waved and winked at Lexi.
“Is King here?” she called, not wanting to delay another moment.
“The office,” Sasha shouted back.
Lexi smiled and thanked her before she grabbed hold of Tammy’s hand and led her further into the crowd. They passed around the back of the bar to where Lexi had seen King watching her the night before. They passed the leather couches and started down a dark corridor that was almost hidden out of view.
“I think it’s down here,” Lexi whispered.
As they moved swiftly down it, her heart began to race. For all she knew, Reid could be there at that very moment. She didn’t have time to pull all of her emotions together. She just had to find out if there was any truth to her mom’s tale and whether he was still around. They came to a door and Lexi leaned up and knocked on it. She didn’t know if she was in the right place, but she could hear men’s voices behind it, and it wasn’t long before the sound of locks being turned broke into the hallway. The door heaved open and Lynx peered out at them.
“Hey, Lex,” he exhaled a plume of smoke. “You after King?”
She nodded shyly before he disappeared back inside. The girls waited for him to reappear and when he did, he had King by his side.
Even though her mind was fraught with possibility, Lexi couldn’t help but notice the look Lynx was giving Tammy. He was staring at her in the exact same way King had looked at her the day they met, and she was surprised but happy to see that Tammy seemed quite taken with him, too.
King held onto her by the arm, instantly sensing something was wrong.
“Are you okay?” he said. He led her further down the hall, leaving Lynx and Tammy together.
“No,” she said, feeling the tears welling up again. “This is going to sound crazy but…” She didn’t even know how to begin.
“It’s okay, Babe,” King soothed her. “Come on, just tell me…”
“My mom,” she sobbed. “She went crazy when she found out I was seeing you, and then today I go home and she tells me it’s because my dad was part of the Forsaken Riders… She always told me he died before I was born… It’s so fucked up, I just don’t know what to do.”
King was looking at her in disbelief and he pulled her to him and hugged her.
“How the hell could she do that?” he asked her.
“I don’t know. But she gave me a name…” she said with trepidation. “And I want to know if you have any idea who he is.”
King led her further down the corridor and opened a door to a side room. Inside it was nothing more than a dark closet with a couple of chairs, but he pulled on the light and sat her down.
“I can see you’re in shock,” he whispered. “It’s okay, just calm down.”
Lexi began to cry again. She was so lucky to have found King amidst all of the bad experiences she had been through. It had been the craziest week of her life.
“Okay,” she exhaled once she had composed herself. “She gave me a name, but I don’t know if there’s anything in it… She said that she got pregnant and that he went to jail and then she never saw him again… After that, I was too angry so I stormed out, but she did give me a name.”
“Go on…” King said as he squeezed her hand tightly.
“Reid,” she exhaled. “She told me his name was Reid.”