Lucas pulled into his driveway just after the sun went down. Croc and Zack were sitting on his front porch throwing cards down between them.

 

“She didn’t invite you in?” he asked with a wide grin.

 

They both jumped to their feet, wiping the dust off their jeans. “She did, but she went back upstairs to lay down, so we figured we’d come out here to keep quiet.”

 

He looked up at the windows of the second floor. Just beyond those, she was probably laying on the bed. “Any trouble otherwise?”

 

“No, other than sending Croc here to the store three times until he finally got the right ice cream.” Zack laughed.

 

“Butter pecan is butter pecan, right?” The fair-haired boy shrugged.

 

“Not to a pregnant woman, no.” Lucas laughed, patted him on his head, and stepped past them, reaching for the door. “Stick around. I’m heading back to the clubhouse in an hour. Josephine will order pizza for you all when I go. Until then—unless you see flames shoot out those windows—you keep your asses parked out here.”

 

“Got it.” Zack nodded with a knowing smile.

 

Lucas made his way through the house toward the stairs. He hadn’t heard any noises from the kitchen, and the lights were dimmed low. She must have been up in the bedroom.

 

The door to the bedroom was slightly ajar, enough for him to see her run across the room and hop onto the bed wearing nothing but a pair of panties. Even in the brief moment he’d seen her, he could make out the small bump of her belly where their child nestled in her womb. His baby was in her belly. That fact still stumped him and made him hard for her at the same time.

 

He pushed the door open, his kutte halfway off before he caught sight of her lying on the bed. Still in her panties, she was on her right side, one hand on her breasts teasing and fondling her nipples, with the other over her bare hip.

 

“Expecting someone?” He tossed his kutte onto the dresser and went about yanking off his shirt next.

 

“No. Just spending some time on my own.” She laughed. “You said you wouldn’t be home until later.”

 

He shucked his boots and unbuckled his belt, already feeling the strain of his cock against the zipper. “Either you are taking liberties where there aren’t any to take or you heard my bike in the driveway.” He hooked his fingers into his boxers and whipped them off, delighting in the little squeal she gave at the sight of his hard cock bobbing from its freedom. He doubted she even knew she’d made the sound, like a little girl about to take her turn riding the ponies.

 

“Liberties? Such a big word…” She teased, but he wouldn’t take the bait. He had other things to do with her besides debate his vocabulary.

 

“Uh, huh.” He slid next to her on the bed, rolling her over onto her back and capturing her mouth for a kiss. He’d meant a short, erotic kiss but quickly decided he wanted, no needed, more. Her hands rested on his shoulders as his own framed her face, taking the kiss one step deeper, sweeping his tongue past her lips. She tasted so sweet, so pure. “You were saying?” he asked when he pulled back, taking in her dazed expression.

 

“About what?” she looked confused, and he chuckled.

 

“Nothing, baby, you just lay there and let me get you warm.”

 

“I’m already warm.”

 

“Not yet, you’re not.” He lowered his head to take in a breast, licking her nipple and nipping it until it peaked, then he wrapped his mouth around the delicious bud and suckled. She moaned, arching her back upward at him. She tasted too good to stop, so he moved over to her other nipple, coaxing it to a hardened peak before taking it between his teeth.

 

“Oh, fuck,” she whispered into the air. He smiled into her breast and ran his hand down her stomach, over the roundness of if, and found her real heat, sliding his hands into her panties.

 

Already slick for him, he slid his fingers through her folds, gathered the liquid heat, and circled her clit with it. “Agh!” She pushed her hips at him, but he gave a light slap to her hip.

 

“Down, girl,” he muttered into her breast and laughed when she cried out in mock anger. He placed a quick kiss to the tip of her nose and brought her gaze to his. “For once, just this once, don’t fight me.” He kissed her chin, then her chest, moving down the little valley between her breasts to her stomach, where he kissed the bump showcasing their child, then went lower. Her legs instantly spread for him, waiting for him.

 

He moved so he was nestled between her thighs. He pulled her panties off, tossing them over his shoulder before looking down at her pussy lips glistening with her need. The pink, swollen clit peeked out from the hood begging to be touched, and he wasn’t in the mood to deny her or her body anything. Dipping his head lower, he flicked the tip of his tongue over the swollen nub, delighting in the intake of her breath, harsh and unexpected. Her hands flew into his hair, gripping him hard.

 

“Easy now.” He laughed and felt her fingers loosen up. “I’ll take care of this pretty pink pussy of yours. You put your hands on those fucking tits.” He looked up the length of her and waited until she complied with his order. She’d done what he said but made sure he saw the little pout on her face as she did so. His girl didn’t like being obedient, but if she wanted her release, wanted to cry out from her orgasm, she’d have to do it anyway.

 

“That’s my good girl. And do you know what my good girl gets?” He toyed with her entrance, slipping one finger in only to the first knuckle and retreating.

 

“Oh, don’t do that...don’t tease.” She reached down, but he slapped her hand away.

 

“On your tits.” He said in a deeper voice. She huffed but went back to massaging her breasts. “Now, if you keep being good, you’ll have my cock in you soon, but if you start fighting me, start being a bad girl, then you’ll just have to keep waiting.”

 

“You’re being mean.” She looked down at him. Her dilated pupils and wet lips told him she loved the game as much as he did.

 

“You just focus on being good.” He leaned down again, lifting her clit with the very tip of his tongue and held it there, pushing a little pressure on her until she started to moan.

 

“Lucas. Okay! Okay! I’ll be good. Please.” Her hands never left her breasts, and he wrapped his lips around her clit and suckled again, thrusting two fingers inside of her as he did so. Her wet pussy clamped down on him, nearly dragging his fingers into her. He began to pump them faster and harder as his tongue worked over her clit.

 

She held still, as well as he would expect her to, and the moans and groans of her frustration and pleasure stroked his cock. But he needed more of her, and he had promised if she were a good girl, he’d fuck her. And he wasn’t one to go back on his word.

 

Kissing his way back up her body he, hooked her knees with his arms, pulling her legs open and back. “Fuck, this is going to feel so good.” He pushed forward, letting the head of his cock press against her entrance. “Tell me what you want, baby. Tell me you want this.”

 

“Lucas if you wait any longer, I’m going to start beating on you.” She gave her threat in a flat, no-nonsense tone.

 

“Does that sound like you being a good girl?” He pulled his hips back, no longer letting his hard, aching cock touch her.

 

She groaned. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just need you, so bad. I need you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged him down to kiss her.

 

Just as their lips touched, he thrust into her. Hard. He caught her groan in his mouth and pulled back half-staff, then thrust forward again. He caught her nipple between his teeth and nipped just enough to get a small yelp out of her. He plunged into her harder, fully embedding his cock into her sweet, hot, tight pussy.

 

“Lucas.” She breathed, her nails digging into his shoulders. The sting of her nails sent his body into a fast tailspin. He looked down at her, to watch her as he fucked her harder and harder still. Her breasts bounced with each thrust, and her lip completely disappeared into her mouth.

 

“Don’t keep quiet, baby. Let it out.” He let go of her leg to pull her lip free.

 

“They’ll hear.” She whispered, looking toward the window.

 

“Let them. Let them hear you come from my cock buried inside your tight pussy. Fuck...it’s so tight...so good.” He kissed her neck, her cheek. “Fucking let them know who you belong to. Who do you belong to?” He grabbed her face and stared deep into her eyes.

 

“You, Lucas. I belong to you.” She cried out as her orgasm tore through her. “You!” She screamed again as he continued to rock into her. The wave of her release was the last straw. She clamped down around his cock, and within two more strokes, he was grunting out his own release.

 

He dropped his forehead down onto hers, letting their quickened breaths mingle between them. “You’re going to kill me if you get much more responsive.” He mumbled as he pulled free from her body and rolled to her side, flinging his arm over the side of the bed.

 

She laughed and curled up into his side. The room filled with their silence. His heart slowly came back down to normal human speed, even with her hand stroking his chest.

 

After several long moments passed and he was started to drift off, he heard her clear her throat. “Shit.” He groaned and looked over at the clock on the night table. He had to get back to the clubhouse. The meeting with Clay and his captains couldn’t be forgotten.

 

“I know you have to go.”

 

He sat up, careful to let her maneuver herself off of his chest as he did so.

 

“But I need to talk to you about something.” Her small voice concerned him. She grabbed her robe from the bottom of the bed and shoved her arms through the sleeves. Once she was up on her feet, she tied the belt around her middle, accentuating the bump.

 

He looked at the clock again and picked up his boxers from the floor. “Okay, sure.” He shoved his legs through his jeans and dressed while she prepared herself to talk to him. “Your mom, how’s she doing? I didn’t ask earlier.” He swiped his t-shirt from the ground and slipped it over his head.

 

“Mom’s okay. I mean, she was feeling okay today, not great, tired but better than with the other medications. Her surgery is all set.” Josephine toyed with the robe and sat half on the bed.

 

Lucas climbed back up on the bed and pulled her into his arms. “What is it? Not that I mind, but you’ve been more cooperative than usual today, and now you look almost shy.”

 

Her body tensed, and she leaned back into his chest. “My mom told me something about my dad that’s left me a little off.”

 

“Your dad? I thought he ran off when you were a kid.” He would never understand how any father could call themselves a man after running out on a woman and child.

 

“He did.” She sighed. “But I guess he came back. Mom said a few years later he showed up out of nowhere, wanting to come home, wanting her to give him another chance.”

 

“Oh.” Lucas brushed his hand across her forehead, wiping away a stray hair. “I guess she said no.”

 

“Yeah. She kicked him out. I know it’s not because she didn’t love him. She did. I think she still does. She never once dated after him, never divorced him, never spoke badly of him either. She just said he made his choice. I didn’t know what the hell that meant until today.”

 

Josephine pulled away from him and stood up again, facing him. With him sitting on the edge of the bed, they were eye level, so he didn’t get up. He kept his hands on her hips so she couldn’t go walking off but didn’t make any other gestures to move.

 

“So, what’s that, then?” He pushed when she clammed up. Whatever it was, it seemed to have spooked her.

 

“She said when he came home, he was different. Harder. He was wearing a leather vest, you know...like yours.” She pointed to his kutte still draped over the dresser.

 

“A kutte?” His hands tightened on her waist. “He was a Fury Rider?” That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe the old man was still in the club, and he could track him down.

 

“No.” She shook her head. His phone started ringing from his pocket, but he ignored it. “You need to get that,” she said when it started up again.

 

He grunted and pulled it out, quickly answering it. “I’m in the middle of something!”

 

“I bet.” Cutter laughed. “Just letting you know Cherry’s coming over there tonight. Should be there in about half an hour. You on your way yet?”

 

“Yes. I’ll be there.” Lucas didn’t bother saying goodbye, just clicked off the call and put his attention back on Josephine before she could escape the subject.

 

“Okay, so your dad had a kutte but not a Fury Rider patch?”

 

“From what my mom described…” She took a deep breath. “I think he’s, or at least was, an Iron Rebels member.”

 

His chest tightened, but he tried not to let his expression show his surprise or his worry. If her dad really was a member of the Iron Rebels and was still a member, there could be trouble. Not just with having to deal with the shit involving the drug runs they wanted to tear his town apart with, but if her dad found out—decided to make everything about his daughter—there’d be a harder time settling shit.

 

“Okay.” He stood up from the bed and kissed her forehead. “What’s his name?”

 

“Martin,” she whispered, unable to meet his eyes. He tried not to have any outward show of recognition of the name, but his insides twisted. The Reaper was her father. A dead serious man. But the enforcer of a club like the Iron Rebels needed to be that way. No soul, that’s how most that met him would describe him.

 

“What’s wrong?” She searched his eyes. He shook his head and plastered on a smile. She had already had a long day, and he needed her cooperation for the future plan.

 

“Nothing. I’ll ask around, see if anyone knows him, if that’s what you want.” He released her and went over to the dresser, trying to be as casual as he could manage, given the fact that his insides were shaking with rage and worry, a mixture completely foreign to him. Having the Reaper as a father-in-law wasn’t exactly on his to-do list, and having him as an enemy while his daughter carried Lucas’s baby didn’t make things any better for them, either.

 

“I don’t know what I want. Mom said she told him to stay away. But, maybe he’s a different man now. Maybe he was then, but she was too scared. Maybe she saw danger and ran away.” He didn’t miss the way her voice dipped when she spoke. Those were the same worries she held when she looked at their situation. Would she tell him to stay away at some point? Would she think it was better to have him gone from their kid’s life?

 

“I’ll ask. If I find him, you can decide then, okay?” He gave her a tight smile and ran his fingers through his hair. “Cherry’s coming over. Why don’t you girls rent a movie or something? Just relax. I’ll be home late, and I’m sure Cutter will probably come pick her up from here. The guys are just outside. If you need something, send one of them. Got it?” His hands were back on her arms, rubbing up and down.

 

“Got it.” Her smile was just as weak as he felt his own was, but he didn’t have time for a longer conversation. He was already dangerously close to not beating Clay to the meeting point. He kissed her again, a longer, lingering kiss, then headed out.

 

If her father had anything to do with tonight’s meeting, things wouldn’t go well— for anyone.

 

# # #

 

Josephine pulled her hair into a ponytail and slipped into some leggings and a sweater. Cherry was sitting downstairs, biting her nails, while Josephine finished showering and getting dressed.

 

“Hey, you want sausage or cheese on the pizza?” Cherry called up the stairs just as Josephine stepped out into the hallway.

 

“Either is fine,” she answered as she made her way down the stairs.

 

Cherry had straightened her hair but only wore a light layer of lip glass. She looked cuter than the sex kitten she’d met at the clubhouse.

 

“I’ll see what the bobsy twins want.” She laughed and poked her head out the front door to ask the guys.

 

“Maybe we should let them inside,” Josephine said offhandedly, walking through the living room to the kitchen.

 

The front door clicked closed, and the lock slid into place. Josephine thought it a little weird but didn’t comment, just went about getting the can of soda from the fridge she was after. With Lucas off doing whatever he was doing, she was free to indulge in the forbidden caffeinated drink. After swinging open the fridge with a mischievous smile, sure she was about to get away with something, her heart sank and her hope died. He’d replaced all the soda with fruit drinks and caffeine free soda, the bastard.

 

“When you order the pizza, can you order a two-liter of coke, too?” Josephine called out to Cherry and grabbed a bottle of orange juice to tide her over. No caffeine, but enough sugar to help keep her awake for a little while. “Cherry? Did you hear me?” She closed the fridge and twisted the cap off the drink before walking back into the living room.

 

“Josephine, wait...Don’t panic; it’s okay.” Cherry tried to rush to her, but a large hand gripped her hair and tugged her back.

 

The orange juice almost slipped through Josephine’s hand, but she managed to grip tighter and get her mind to focus just in time. “Clay.” She would have liked her voice to be just a bit firmer, but she didn’t seem to have a choice at the moment.

 

“It’s okay, Josephine,” Cherry said again, but her eyes didn’t have Josephine convinced. They were wide and full of fear. She tried to twist in Clay’s grasp to turn to him, but he only pulled her to his side, still holding her by her hair.

 

“What are you doing here?” Josephine looked toward the door she heard lock. “Are the boys still outside?” She looked to Cherry for that answer. The tears welling up in her eyes expressed the truth.

 

“Yeah, they’re out there.” Clay grinned, flashing fat teeth. “Their bodies anyway.”

 

Cherry groaned and again tried to pull free. Clay flicked his wrist, shoving her behind him. “Stay there.” He pointed a finger at her.

 

“What do you want?” Josephine took a sip of her orange juice. Her mouth had already gone dry, but more than that, she wasn’t about to show him any fear. She tried not to think about Croc and Zack lying dead out on the front lawn.

 

The sun had already gone down, and since she hadn’t heard any commotion out there, she doubted the neighbors heard or saw anything, either. Lucas had been gone almost an hour, and he hadn’t told her where he was going. Was he too far way to get back in time? Her phone—she’d left it on the nightstand upstairs in the bedroom.

 

“Just want to talk is all.” Clay shrugged.

 

“Not sure how I can help. Lucas was meeting you. Shouldn’t you be there instead of here, you know, talking to people who give a shit about what you want?” She took another sip, trying desperately to calm her stomach before she threw up on his shoes, not that she gave a fuck about his boots, but he would see it as a weakness.

 

“Oh, you have everything I want, Josephine. You just don’t get it yet.” His eyes narrowed, and his fat tongue ran over his bottom lip. She tried not to look as repulsed as she felt, but she wasn’t sure how successful she was.

 

“I have no idea what you and Lucas are up to, and I don’t care. I don’t know anything about club crap, and I don’t want to. So, whatever you’re doing here, it won’t work. I can’t tell you anything, and I really don’t feel like being intimidated right now.” She wanted to sit in the chair. Her knees were getting too wobbly trying to stand up to him.

 

“I don’t need any information,” he scoffed. “You think you’d know something I don’t?” He plopped down in the rocking chair and tossed one booted foot up onto the coffee table. “Sit down. Take a load off.” He pointed to the loveseat a few feet to her right.

 

“Let Cherry go.” Josephine didn’t look at Cherry but nodded in her direction.

 

“So she can go ratting me out to Cutter? Or Lucas? Fuck, no. The bitch stays with us. And if she so much as opens her mouth to sneeze, I’m gonna knock her out.”

 

“You have a lot of hate for a girl you don’t even know.” Josephine suddenly remembered them talking at the mall. He did know Cherry, so why was he so pissed at her right then?

 

He laughed and looked over to where Cherry was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest. “You didn’t tell her? Of course not. I bet you never told Cutter either. He wouldn’t have stuck his dick in you if he’d known mine was there way before his.”

 

“Fuck you, Clay.” Cherry looked away from him but didn’t quite meet Josephine’s eyes. “I’m not with him. I haven’t been with him for a long time.”

 

“An ex.” Josephine shrugged. “So what?” She aimed her question at Clay. “Again, what do you fucking want? I’m hungry and want my pizza.” Cherry hadn’t ordered it yet, but he didn’t really know that, nor did it really matter.

 

“Lucas’s going to be busy with that meeting for a while. I want you to sit the fuck down, just for a few minutes. Our ride should be here soon.” He grinned again.

 

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Josephine tried to laugh but moved over to the loveseat and sat down, thankful to get off her feet.

 

“We’ll see.” He nodded and reached behind his back. When his hand came forward, a pistol was cradled there. He didn’t aim it at her or Cherry. He just rested it on his leg, like a security blanket. “We’ll see.”

 

Josephine put the bottle of juice on the end table and tried to think about what to do. If she ran out the back door, Cherry would still be stuck with the lunatic. That’s if she made it out. He could very well shoot her for her trouble. The front door was out. She’d have to pass him, and it was locked, so that would take up valuable time. Besides, he most likely had at least one more guy out there.

 

Clay relaxed back in the chair, keeping his sneer focused on Josephine. Cherry just rested her head on her knees, breathing deep.

 

Car lights flooded the room from the driveway out front. Two doors slammed shut and the deep voices of two men talking were heard through the windows as they past. Josephine looked at the door when the knocks came.

 

Clay grinned wider and hopped up from his chair. “Time for a little reunion.”

 

Josephine’s breath caught in her chest. He couldn’t mean what she thought. No way he knew. She hadn’t even known.

 

Clay flicked the bolt out of place and pulled the door open. Two men slapped his back and walked into the house. “So, what’s the big prize? What’d you drag my ass out of the bar for?” An older man said looking at Cherry on the floor. “Hey, Cherry Pie. I thought we were done with you. Heard you took up with those Fury Rider assholes.”

 

Cherry looked up briefly, then quickly, over to Josephine before ducking her head back down.

 

“Reaper, not her. Fuck her. The other one.” Clay gave the man a little shove.

 

When he stepped closer, the kitchen light shone on his features, and she sucked in her breath. He was older, much older, than the pictures she’d seen, but it was him—her father, standing in the living room, squinting at her. Maybe he didn’t recognize her.

 

“What the fuck?” He finally whispered and took another step closer. “Josephine?” He turned quick as a flash to face Clay. “What the fuck is going on, Clay?”

 

“I thought you’d want to see her. I know your old lady bailed on you. Aren’t you happy I found her? Well, Cherry girl helped. A little.”

 

Josephine wanted to look to Cherry for answers, but she was still staring up at her father. His beard was graying, almost completely void of the dark hair she remembered from her childhood. His eyebrows were bushier, and his hair, completely gray, was short and neat. Wrinkles—worry lines from a hard life lived—covered his face but didn’t take away from his muscular build. He was in his fifties, yes, but built like a man much younger.

 

His eyes softened as he looked back at her. Pain flashed there for a moment before the hard look returned, cold and heartless. “You shouldn’t be here. Why are you here?”

 

“I live here. Why are you here?” she demanded with a shaky voice.

 

“Here? With that fuck, Lucas?” He turned back around and glared at Clay. “What the fuck?”

 

“She’s knocked up, too, Reap. Got his bastard in her belly.” Clay seemed to be enjoying the anger he was building up in her father’s expression.

 

“I—I don’t understand. Why are you here? Why are all of you here?” She looked past her father, trying to forget for a moment a lifetime of rejection and pain, at the other two men in the room.

 

“Your man wasn’t able to get the job done, so we are going to have to go another route. You see, your little club is getting in our way for a big job, and it’s just…well, annoying. So, we’re going to have to take what we want.” Clay spoke as though she knew what they were talking about. It seemed to be almost funny to him.

 

The look on her father’s face darkened, and he stepped closer to her before he turned to speak to Clay. “What are you talking about? We had this discussion; no war with the Riders was worth it. They didn’t want the deal. We’ll just skate around them.”

 

“Yeah, we talked about it, but you don’t get it. Taking their route, taking that line, would blow up our profit. And we could expand right into town.”

 

“There are other ways.” Her father’s fists clenched at his sides.

 

“Yeah, I know.” Clay nodded and pointed at Josephine. “This way. You’re gonna take your daughter there and hold on to her while I go meet up with Lucas. Once I get what I want, you can let her go or whatever. But you keep her close.”

 

“And if he doesn’t give in? You’re talking about a club that only deals with the marijuana shit because it’s medicinal. They have a fundraiser for the fucking high school every year for fuck’s sake, Clay. They aren’t a club that’s going to roll over and let your train of shit drive through.”

 

“You see, I keep hearing how the Reaper is losing his spark, lost his taste for the life. Is that true? Am I hearing right?”

 

“I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.”

 

“No, but you’re saying it like it should matter to me, like we should bow down to those fucks. Not gonna happen!” Clay’s eyes narrowed, and he took a menacing step toward his enforcer. “Now, I’m being nice, letting you be the one to hold on to her, but if you can’t do it—”

 

“I’ll take her,” Reaper said, nearly growling his answer. “Cherry Pie, too. Having Cutter and Lucas twisted in knots will only help you.”

 

“Fine. Take her, too. Don’t much give a shit about her. Cutter won’t think twice to toss her aside once he finds out she was balls deep in our club first.”

 

Josephine did look at Cherry then. Tears puddled in her eyes, but her lips were pursed and her hands fisted.

 

“Take the car. Logan’s coming with me.” Clay flashed another smile at Josephine. “You be a good girl for your daddy, you hear? If you misbehave, I’ll have to give you a spanking’” He laughed, then snapped his fingers. “Oh, wait. No. Shit. Sorry.” He gave a fake apologetic look, then looked over at Cherry. “That’s Cutter’s thing, not Lucas’s. I wonder how many times he’s had your mouthy ass over his knee.”

 

“Better over his knee than anywhere with you, you asshole,” Cherry snapped but remained on the floor.

 

Clay laughed. “Well, after he hears all about us and tosses your ass to the curb, we’ll see about that. And we’ll see if my belt is as sharp as his.” He winked and turned on his heel, nodding to the third man—the silent follower—and walked out of the house, taking with him only some of the tension in the room.

 

Josephine stood up from the loveseat, moving around her father, unsure of what to do or what to say. After twenty some years, there he was, in the flesh, standing in front of her. He had aged but was there. She could almost smell the leather on his kutte, he was so close to her.

 

He watched her as she scooted backward and went to Cherry, urging her to her feet. He didn’t stop her when she walked around the rocking chair Clay had occupied but called out to her when she looked over her shoulder at the front door. “Don’t.” It was a devilish tone, hard and low. It made her tense and look back at him. “You both are staying with me.”

 

“Reaper, he’s crazed. You know that, right?” Cherry finally spoke up, pulling away from Josephine. “He’s nuts. If Lucas and Cutter can’t get the club to do what he wants, and they won’t, he’s going to make you kill her. You get that, right? You’re going to have to kill your own fucking daughter!” Cherry pointed a hand behind her, straight at Josephine.

 

“You knew,” Josephine whispered, keeping her focus on Cherry. Too many emotions, too many thoughts floated around her mind. She needed to keep only one in the center, hang on to one detail at a time. “You knew he was my father.”

 

Cherry dropped her hand and looked back at her. “You look just like him, Josephine, and he talked about his kid a few times when he was drunker than hell, a girl—Josephine.” Cherry’s shoulders slumped.

 

“You…I mean…with him?” Josephine couldn’t even look at him. Now a whole new image popped in her head. It was too much.

 

“No. I mean, yeah, but no. We never—”

 

“Cherry Pie, I don’t think you’re helping. Go take a seat.” Her father jerked a thumb at the couch.

 

“Reaper—”

 

“Just sit. I think you’ve made a big enough mess, don’t you?”

 

“This isn’t my fault.” Cherry moved over to the couch and plopped down, looking every bit the pissed off little girl. “I didn’t tell him to go get you. He asked. He saw her, saw the resemblance and he cornered me.”

 

“At the mall.” Josephine kept her eyes on the carpeting. “I saw you, but I forgot after Clay grabbed me.”

 

“He touched you?” Reaper nearly yelled.

 

“He grabbed my arm.” Josephine qualified with a shake of my head. “What do you care? Cherry’s right. When the club won’t let your drugs into town, Clay is going to want me dead.” Once she put her mind to it, she pieced everything together. Clay was after her town, and the Fury Riders—they were a biker club, not guardian angels, but they wouldn’t let that shit into town if they could stop it.

 

He ran his hand over his cropped hair, looking at Cherry sitting on the couch. “Did he threaten you? Hurt you?”

 

Cherry frowned. “No. He just asked me about Josephine. He wanted to be sure she was who he thought she was.”

 

Reaper blew out his breath, his lips flapping from the force. “He’s out of his fucking mind.” He turned a concerned eye on Josephine. “Are you okay? I mean, do you need anything?” He motioned toward her belly.

 

“I need Lucas. Can you get him for me?” she asked with her chin thrust in the air.

 

“No. That I can’t do.”