Chapter 31
Declan
“How’d the drive go?” Tic asks as I take down another shot of vodka.
“Good. Guys will be down in a few days.” I’m being short with him, but I don’t care. I don’t want to talk about shit right now. My head’s a goddamn mess. I’ve made a huge fucking mess of this shit with Brooke, and I have no idea how to clear it up.
“Good to hear. Heard about what happened with your girl. Glad to know she can hold her own.”
I glance over and the thought of punching him in the face hits me hard. I growl, letting him know that I’m done talking about this shit.
“Dec! Get in here,” Blu hollers over the music.
I shove off the stool and head into the office before dropping into the chair across from his desk.
“Do you know why you’re my VP?” he asks me.
I look up at him like he’s a goddamn puzzle. What the fuck kind of question is that?
“‘Cause my dad was the Prez once?” I ask with a sarcastic tone.
“Fuck you, Declan. You’re the goddamn VP ‘cause we all know you can do it. This ain’t got anything to do with your dad, and you know it,” he snaps at me.
“What’s this about, Blu?” I ask. I’m tired of hearing shit already.
“We have an issue. I just got word that the assholes who roughed Brooke up a little while back at the club were Dragon MC.”
My eyes shoot to his and hold there. No fucking way. They don’t make any moves this far west.
“They’re out of Alabama. What the fuck are they doin’ around here?” I ask him, my anger beginning to make my blood boil.
“You ain’t gonna like this,” he says before blowing out a breath. “Your dad had a run in with them when he was Prez. Things got shitty, but that’s not the reason they’re around. Seems Brooke’s daddy was a dirty cop.”
What the fuck?
I shoot out of my chair. My hands land on my hips as I let that sink in. What in the fuck! How didn’t I know her dad was a cop?! Of all the fucking girls in the goddamn world, mine would be the daughter of a cop! I can’t even wrap my brain around it.
“I know you got questions, but I don’t have all the answers just yet. I got Mystic on it now. So far all we can tell is that Devon had some kind of run-in with them. Not sure where that leaves the club.”
A fucking cop!
Those words are burned into my mind. They are there and will never leave. Her dad was a fucking cop. Why didn’t she ever tell me that? Why did she keep that part of her life a secret?
“Calm the fuck down, brother. She had her reasons, I’m sure.”
I cut my eyes to Blu’s. “A cop, Blu! That means she knows more fuckin’ cops!” I roar.
“It doesn’t mean shit. Her daddy was killed when she was little. Devon wasn’t a part of the force, and he’s the one who raised her,” he says, trying to be the voice of reason when the fucking situation has none.
I shake my head. That doesn’t mean shit. That means nothing at all. Cops are a lot like MCs; they have a brotherhood that they honor and protect. If her dad was really a cop, she knows more of them.
“You know how fucked this whole situation just got?” I ask him, tugging at my hair.
“No. I don’t. If it’s fucked, you’re the one fuckin’ it. I don’t see an issue with Brooke. She’s never brought shit to our doorstep. From what Mystic can dig up, she has nothin’ to do with the force either,” Blu snaps.
This is bullshit. She should have told me! I’m getting more pissed by the second. I run my hand down my face when Blu interrupts my inner rant.
“Why don’t you ask her, Dec. You ain’t never backed down before. You care about that girl. Don’t let your stubborn ass fuck up somethin’ good.” He stands up, points at me, and proceeds to stomp past me and out of the office.
My stomach feels like I ate a load of lead. My chest is tight. How didn’t I know this? How didn’t I know that she was the daughter of a fucking cop? I head out of the office and out the front door. Like Blu said, I need to talk to her about it. I walk down the block completely lost in my own thoughts. I don’t know why it should matter to me. She cares about me. I care about her. That’s all that should matter, but in my world, that’s just not enough. It puts me, the club, and our way of life at risk.
***
I knock on the door and wait. Ashley opens it with a smile.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the biker who stole my girl’s heart.” She says. My heart swells hearing those words. I want Brooke’s, heart. I want all of her.
“She here?” I ask. Ashley shakes her head.
“She’s not at home?” she asks me. Home? What the fuck? I thought this was her home?
“She don’t live here?” I ask, getting annoyed. This was where I fucked her with the gun!
“No. I do. She lives across the street, and by the looks of the curtain, she isn’t there.” Ashley looks around me. I follow her gaze, but I don’t get the curtain thing.
“What the fuck does the curtain mean?” I ask. Ashley looks like she doesn’t want to tell me at first, but then she softens.
“Ever since she was little, Brooke would leave me a sign. The blue curtain in the living room. When it’s open, she isn’t home. When it’s closed, she is, and if it’s half way, there’s something wrong,” she finally tells me.
I open my mouth, but I don’t have anything to say. What the hell do you say to that?
“She was afraid that someone would come after her and her sister after her dad was killed. They never found out who it was, and it bothered her. That house was her dad’s. He left it all to her, and once she turned eighteen, she moved back into it. She and Angel lived with Devon when they were younger,” she explains.
“And she still does the curtain thing?” I ask.
“Yeah. It’s our little way of making sure she’s ok. She puts up a good front, but I know things still bother her,” Ashley adds.
“Well, fuck. I need to talk to her. You know where she might be?” I ask. Ashley nods.
“You know that gym over on Alpine? She works out there most days. If she isn’t there, she’s at the club.”
“Thanks, Ashley. Not just for the information but for lookin’ out for her.” It makes me happy to know she has Ashley. She’s a good friend.
“You really care about her, don’t you?” she asks when I turn to walk away.
I glance back over my shoulder and say, “Yeah. A hell of a lot more than I should.”