Calder pulled into the garage. He had dropped Star and Harley off at school, so he hadn’t counted on Stud beating him to the garage. He had been mentally preparing himself to talk about Star to Stud. Jesus… each scenario was like a broken record that started and stopped as he would start a pretend-talk in his head. Then he would think of a different way to start until he had given himself a headache. He still had no idea what he was going to say.

Parking the van, he was still deciding the best way to begin when he entered the bay and came to a dead stop.

Candi was in the office with Stud. He could see them through the glass window.

Calder strode through the garage, reading Stud’s expression from three feet away. He didn’t bother knocking, going inside and bringing the shouting match to an end.

“What are you doing here, Candi?”

“What are you doing here? Stud call you?”

Stud sat down on the end of his desk. “How could I have done that? You’ve been here with me since I opened the door.”

“How’d you get here? I didn’t see a car outside,” Calder asked her.

“I got a taxi. A friend of mine is giving me a car, but he needed it today. What does it matter how I got here?”

“Because if any of the Destructors or Blue Horsemen are giving you rides, we’re going to have a problem.”

“I’m not seeing anyone you would know. I don’t hang out with trash anymore,” she venomously struck out at him.

He accepted her insult, because frankly, he didn’t care what she thought of him.

His eyes went to Stud, whose cold expression belied the real concern in his eyes. His brother was disturbed by something Candi had said before his arrival.

“What did you need to talk to Stud about so badly that it got your ass out of bed before noon?”

“I don’t sleep till noon anymore—prison breaks that habit. And what Stud and I talk about is none of your business.”

Calder, seeing a warning look from Stud, instantly knew what the bitch had been doing.

“Have you been threatening him into telling me that Star is my kid?”

He could tell from the surprise Stud couldn’t hide that she had.

Shaking his head, Calder said, “Candi, I’m going to give you two minutes to get your ass out of here. Your blackmail wasn’t going to work, even if I hadn’t come. Stud may have always tried to protect me, but Star is more important than me. He’s been what neither of us could be to Star—a parent. Star’s the most important thing in my life, has been since I realized she was mine. But you? You don’t have an excuse, other than using Star as a pawn, which nearly hurt or killed her if Sex Piston and Killyama hadn’t stopped you.”

“Stud took my baby away and wouldn’t let me see her—”

“Stud took her away because that was the deal when he found out you were pregnant and wanted to abort my baby. Yeah, I knew before you told me yesterday. Aunt Katy told me when I got out of prison. She also told me how much money Stud gave you to get a divorce from you and for you to sign over sole custody to him. You’re a greedy bitch who nearly bankrupted him, yet you’re still not satisfied? What is she wanting this time?” he posed the question to Stud, ignoring Candi.

“She wants fifty thousand, says she needs to start over, and she wants to see Star.”

“No.”

“To which part?” Candi asked.

“To all of it. No money, and no, you’re not going to see Star. In fact, I’m going to give you an ultimatum. You need to contact your probation officer and find another town to do your probation. You need to leave town as soon as possible.”

“What if I don’t?”

“I’m not a crackhead anymore, waiting for you to deal out small amounts. I know who you used to sell to. Remember? I waited on my bike when you went inside to make the buys, and then drove you to whoever had you purchase them. The beauty of living in Jamestown is that pretty much everyone lives in the same place. I recognized some of those dealers and buyers at the penitentiary. I don’t think you had a better lawyer than I did, and I don’t think that it was a coincidence that we all got busted at the same time. You were an informant, and if I let that be known around town, your life won’t be worth the cardboard box to bury you in. You should get in touch with your parole officer, and talk to whoever you gave that information to, telling them that your life is in danger, because it is.”

“You wouldn’t do that.” Frightened, she gave him a beseeching look.

“Try me, Candi. Please, try me.” He ruthlessly jerked away when she tried to touch him, opening the door. “Get out.”

Candi ran out of the office, her high heels clicking the concrete as she left.

Calder didn’t watch which direction she went, closing the door and turning back to Stud.

“Bro, I’m sorry. I was going to talk to you when you came in this morning. I should have known that bitch wouldn’t wait to cause trouble. I made us an appointment to see Diamond. I’ve been saving for a place to stay. We can use my money to make sure you and Sex Piston don’t have to give her visitation—”

“Slow down, Calder. I already knew you knew about Star.”

“How?”

“When you and Crazy Bitch came to the house for pizza. Sex Piston and I overheard you two talking about Star.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Why didn’t you?” Stud countered.

Calder rubbed his neck. “I didn’t know how. I still don’t know what to say to you. How do I say thank you for watching out for my kid, and then tell you that we should tell her? I didn’t want to hurt Sex Piston. I know how she is about Star—how you both are. I wanted to make sure I was strong enough not to relapse again. Every day I made through without using, I would tell myself that, if I make it another week without using, then I will talk to you about Star. Then another week would go by, and then another.”

“Is that what you want to tell her?”

“Yes. Crazy Bitch said it would hurt worse if she finds out for herself, and that we’ve been lying to her. I don’t want her any more hurt than she has to be. You and Sex….” Calder thought back to last night and realized Crazy Bitch was right. “We should all sit down and discuss the best way to do it and when.”

“I agree. I’ll call Sex Piston, and then all three of us can go to Diamond’s office to talk to her about the best way to handle Candi. You’re not going to oust her as an informant, so we need to find the best legal way to stop her from causing trouble.”

“And if there isn’t?”

Grimly, Stud didn’t hesitate. “Then I’ll oust her. This time, I won’t have to worry about you leaving town, and I don’t have to worry about her being pregnant with your child. She comes at me, trying to hurt those I love again… God help her. I will destroy her.”

“Stud…” Calder still couldn’t find the words to tell his brother how much he appreciated what he had done for him. Not only for Star, but the other past mistakes he had made and didn’t know how to atone for. “You deserve a better brother than I have been to you. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, but it’ll never equal what you’ve done for me. I’m sorry about Dad. I’m sorry about Reese—”

“Dad’s death wasn’t your fault. He started a fight with me before our race, trying to distract me and put me off my game. You tried to tell him you wanted to double-check that tire and he wouldn’t listen. He wanted that purse, but more importantly to him, he wanted to beat me. You were smarter than me. I wanted to race badly enough to put up with him; you gave up what you loved instead of letting him destroy the love of it like I did. That’s why I gave up racing. Not because of you, but because I didn’t love it anymore. And I didn’t love Reese. That’s why she found someone who could.

“You loved Star, so when you realized she was yours, you didn’t make waves by acknowledging it. You’ve sacrificed your love for her to make me and Sex Piston happy. Calder… I’m not the one who needs repaying. It’s us who owes you gratitude. You gave life to my daughter, that beautiful little girl who I have held in my arms and has given me such joy that I will never be able to repay your gift.”

Calder broke, his regrets shattered, raining down on him and cleansing his soul.

Stud jerked him to him when he couldn’t hold back his own tears any longer, seeing the tears in Calder’s eyes. Tears that had been held back too long. Tears for their mother’s death, for their father’s, for the years he had used drugs as an escape, the years they had been apart. The last ones they shared were of laughter that they were standing in his office, crying like babies, before breaking apart and slapping each other on their shoulders.

“It’s a little late, but congratulations on being a father,” Stud said, using the sleeve of his T-shirt to wipe his cheeks.

Calder used a rag on the desk to wipe his own, keeping his face impassive. “Thanks. But talking about our girl, we have a problem to solve.”

Stud became serious.

Calder’s eyes twinkled with laughter, knowing his brother thought he was talking about Star’s living arrangement. “We have any work that needs to be done today?”

Stud glanced through his window, toward the empty garage. “No. It looks like you took care of it yesterday. Why?”

“We have four little fuckers—as Crazy Bitch likes to call them—to take care of.”

Stud’s expression lightened. “Who?”

“Sam, Steven, and Brandon. We should have enough time to take care of them before meeting Diamond.”

“What about the fourth one?”

“We have to wait until Monday to take care of that little fucker.”

“Why do we have to wait until Monday?”

“Because Ricky is in school now, and our meeting with Diamond gives him a chance to get home.”

“Star told you about Ricky?”

“Technically—by the way, that’s another favorite word of Crazy Bitch’s—Star told Harley.”

“Technically, I like that word, too. By the way, I need to use it more often with Sex Piston. Technically.” Stud savored the word, letting it roll off his tongue. “We should let Harley deal with little Ricky. Don’t you agree?”

“I agree, brother, I agree.” Calder reached into his pocket for his bike keys as Stud reach for his and the key to lock the garage.

“You ready?”

Stud locked the office as Calder backed his motorcycle out of the garage bay, where he had stored it while he had been driving Stud’s van.

Once both of them were seated on their bikes, Calder looked at Stud. “Do we need to go by the clubhouse to get backup?”

Stud shook his head. “We got this. Let’s ride.”

The brothers pulled out of the parking lot in unison, neither taking the lead. They were going to defend their girl as one, and as one, they would triumph.