King’s hands shook as he held onto her.
“Reid…?” he asked her. “Are you sure?”
Lexi searched his face for answers. He clearly knew something, but he wasn’t giving her the information.
“I wouldn’t just pull that name out of thin air, King,” she said with irritation. “Do you know him or not?”
He scratched the back of his neck and nodded slowly.
“Yes, Lex, I do,” he said sadly. “He’s the old boy… The one we passed in bed this morning…”
In an instant, Lexi felt every single emotion she thought she could ever feel. She went from disbelief, to anger, to regret, to sadness… This man, her father, had been in Slate Springs all along, and now he was dying.
Tears welled up behind her eyes, and King pulled her to him.
“I don’t know what to do,” she confessed. “Should I tell him?”
King shrugged and kissed her on the forehead.
“Only you know what’s best,” he whispered.
***
When they left the side room, Lynx and Tammy were still by the office talking like they had known each other forever. King whistled down to them.
“I’m taking Lex over to the clubhouse,” he said. “Let Sasha know she won’t be on the bar tonight.”
He wrapped his hand with hers and kissed it.
“Will you be okay, Tammy?” Lexi called to her friend.
“Sure,” Tammy grinned. “I’m sure Lynx will look after me.”
He nodded and smiled at her, and Lexi and King made their way back down the hallway, straight out through the bar and into the night.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “You need some answers.”
He lifted her onto his bike and started the engine, and they flew out of the street to a whoop of men cheering and the blue daze of cop car lights. Lexi felt completely different from how she had only hours before when King was taking her back to their secret headquarters. Then she had been excited and full of curiosity, and now she was shaken and full of dread. What if her mom had made the whole thing up? Or what if Reid didn’t want to know?
As they flew down the highway and pulled off the main road and onto the dirt track, she kissed King on the back of the neck and whispered, “I’m so glad I found you.”
He turned his head to the side and said, “Babe, so am I…”
They pulled up at the house and a soft glow of lights came from most of the windows. It wasn’t late, and she could see movement inside.
“Before we go in,” she said to King. “Tell me about him…”
He smiled and pulled her to him.
“Reid was one of our founding members, and he’s more than well respected. If he’s your father, you’re from a family of legends. You’re outlaw royalty… No wonder I found you and can’t let you go.”
Lexi felt herself blush and ran her hands through his hair. She looked into his eyes and although she was scared to death, she knew that if she had him by her side, everything would work out okay.
They entered the house and made straight for the stairs. King held her hand as they climbed them two at a time and walked around the gallery to the doorway that was now empty, save for one of the other bikers who sat on a chair inside the room with Reid at his side.
Reid looked up and smiled.
“King,” he said. “Who’s this lovely little thing?”
Even though he was frail and clearly sick, his voice was still strong and boomed through the room. King smiled and looked down at Lexi who was now almost shaking. He let go of her hand and she moved into the room, searching Reid’s face for some flash of recognition.
She pulled up a chair and sat down next to him and stared at him deep in the eyes, and it was then that she saw it. The resemblance between them was definitely there. Their eyes were the same, their complexion. Reid was her father… She had found him.
She held the old man’s hand and felt the tears roll down her cheek. He nodded slowly and his lip trembled. He saw it too.
“She told me she got rid of you,” he whispered, the tears filling his own eyes. “If I’d have known… I would have found you.”
Lexi lunged forward and hugged him. In an instant, they both knew that they were father and daughter. Kept apart for a lifetime because of a poisonous woman.
There was so much to talk about and so much to learn. They laughed together and Reid told her how happy he was that she had found someone like King. A strong, lawless man after his own heart. When he began to tire, she and King went back upstairs and lay together in bed. She hadn’t wanted to leave her father’s side, but it had been so overwhelming and she needed a chance to digest it all. She had been on the biggest rollercoaster of her life, and as she looked back on the events of the past few days, she almost couldn’t believe it had all happened to her.
“I’m going to look after him from now on,” she said. “I’m so glad I found him…”
“You’re one of us,” King said as he held her tight and kissed her softly. “This is your house now, too. You don’t ever have to go back there.”
Lexi smiled and nuzzled into him. She had finally escaped her mother and Dereck, found her father who she had longed for her entire life, gotten herself a new job and found the man of her dreams.
“I guess miracles can happen,” she said as she looked up at King and he smiled.
“There’s so much more to come, Babe,” he said gently. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
THE END