“Baby,” he said calmly, running his fingers down her bare spine, then running them back up.
She forced herself to whisper. “I can’t.”
“Guess you were right. Fuckin’ Hank talked to your stepdad.”
“Of course. Because again, they forget I’m a fucking adult!” she shouted.
“Yeah. Now everyone at this resort knows it.”
She buried her face into his chest. “Sorry.”
“Tell the neighbors you’re sorry in the mornin’.”
“Ugh,” she groaned against his skin. “This is a disaster.”
“So, you call her in the mornin’ and you tell her.”
“Tell her?’ She lifted her head and bugged out her eyes at him. “Tell her what?”
“That a friend came the fuck along with you.”
“Right. You don’t know Regan.”
“Glad I don’t. Heard she’s a fuckin’ nightmare.”
“You heard right.”
“But she’s your mother.”
“One thing I learned in the last ten years is blood isn’t always family. She lied to me, Magnum. Lied. For almost fifteen years.”
“Yeah, baby, fuckin’ get that. But she had her reasons.”
She had her reasons? “How would you feel if you were Dawg and you found out the mother of your child didn’t tell you you had a daughter? Reason being, she didn’t think you were good enough to know. I’d be pissed. I was pissed.”
“Yeah, baby, I’d be pissed,” he said softly. “I get it. People fuck up tryin’ to protect the ones they love. Sometimes they’ll do anything to do that, even lie.”
While that may be true, it didn’t make what her mother did right. “Dawg’s a good man. She just refuses to see it, to believe it. She only sees who he is and what he is on the surface. She only knew him for a split moment, just long enough to get knocked up with me. She never got to really know him. She’s embarrassed by her ‘mistake.’”
“Yeah, get that.”
Cait was the result of her so-called mistake. One she had been reminded of again and again during the awful visitation fight. “So, don’t defend her.”
He said nothing.
“She stole me from my father. She stole him from me.”
His chest surged up abruptly and then fell. “Gonna say this one last time. She thought she was doin’ what was best for you.”
Her fingers curled against his warm skin. “But it wasn’t.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t. She was wrong.”
“I’d never do that to my kids.”
Again, he said nothing.
“Would you lie to your kids like that?”
More silence.
She lifted her head and met his eyes. “Magnum, would you lie to your kids like that?”
It took him way too long to answer. “No.”
She jumped as her phone rang. It was Magnum who reached out with his long arm and snagged it off the nightstand. He hit the power button, silencing it. “Mornin’. It can wait ‘til mornin’.”
“It can wait until I get back.”
“Do what you need to do, Caitie. Do it on your time, but eventually you’re gonna have to deal with it. Like it or not.”
She burrowed herself against him and his arm curled around her. “Does anyone know your real name?”
“Doubt it.”
Well, that was a relief. “Good. Then I’ll think of a story.”
That relief was short lived.
Because even if no one knew his real name, everyone in her personal life revolving around the MC world knew what Magnum looked like.
She ignored the endless texts and the phone calls that started as soon as she had turned her phone back on earlier, letting all the calls go to voicemail. Though, each message from her mother got shorter and angrier.
But it was the photo her mother texted of her and Magnum together on the steamboat’s dance floor that made the phone fall from her fingers.
She didn’t even try to catch it.
Instead, she sank to the ground next to it.
Hank! It was all Hank’s doing for not minding his own damn business.
Between this and what happened to her that night a few weeks ago, her dream job was quickly turning into a damn nightmare.
Unfortunately, because of that picture, she couldn’t wait until she returned to Shadow Valley to deal with this. She needed to try to at least minimize the damage before it got to the point of no return.
Which would be Dawg finding out. And if he saw that picture...
Regan normally didn’t talk to Cait’s father. But if she was pissed enough, she wouldn’t hesitate. And right now, the way her voicemails sounded, she was at that point.
For a woman who hadn’t wanted to admit she slept with a biker, she sure used him when convenient to try to control Cait when she couldn’t.
Dawg hated it. And he rarely agreed with anything Regan wanted.
Like when Cait decided to go to the University of Pitt instead of the Ivy League school her and Paul had donated money to.
Cait never saw a vein pop out that far on a forehead as much as Regan’s had the day she announced that U of P was the college she selected.
Regan had immediately blamed Dawg for that. Blamed him for encouraging her to stay close to home.
He hadn’t. He supported whatever decision Cait made. Unless she had decided not to go to college at all, then her father might have put his biker boot down firmly.
He wasn’t poor. He’d run the MC’s very lucrative strip club for almost twenty years, and now managed a very successful gun shop and shooting range, also owned by the MC. The club was flush and so were their members.
Rich? No. Doing well? Very much so.
So, it really stuck in Regan’s craw when the threat of not paying for Cait’s college degree—unless she went to her mother’s choice of school—went ignored and Dawg stepped in to help.
Dawg didn’t like to be manipulated and didn’t like his daughter being manipulated, either.
The only thing she had to do for him to afford her education—even with her scholarships—was live at home with him and Emma so she could commute. But that wasn’t a hardship since it also gave her the chance to help out with her two younger sisters, Lily and Emmalee, which she enjoyed.
But that also meant Dawg kept a close eye on who she was dating.
A very close eye.
Or would have if she’d brought anyone home, which she didn’t. It wasn’t because he was a biker, but because he was overly protective and she wanted to give anyone she was dating a chance before he was scared off. Because of that, she never mentioned her dates, only saying she was going to hang out with her girlfriends or had to stay on campus late to study.
Emma mentioned a few times—when Dawg wasn’t around—about finding it curious a “pretty and smart girl” like her wasn’t going on dates. But she would also give Cait a knowing look. Which meant her stepmother knew Cait was dating and most likely having sex, but said nothing to her ol’ man.
But then, Emma was cool like that. There were too many times Cait had wished Emma had been her mother instead of Regan.
She wasn’t.
And now she had no choice but to deal with her mother who hated her father and was bitter about Dawg “stealing” her away. Every time Cait heard her say that, one word would come to mind: karma.
She loved her mother, but there were days she hated her, too. She already knew today would be one of those days.
She picked up the phone when she saw her mother trying to video call her.
Oh no. That wasn’t going to happen, especially since Magnum was sitting out on the balcony smoking a joint and could walk into the room at any time.
She swiped her finger across the screen to ignore the video call and then immediately dialed her mother back.
“I’m so angry at you right now!”
Yep. That should set the whole tone of the conversation. “Hi, Mom,” she answered on a sigh.
“Cait—”
“You forget I’m twenty-five,” Cait interrupted her. “I have my own apartment, pay my own bills, and have a job.”
“I don’t forget it. But you are still my daughter and my child.”
Cait rolled her eyes. “Your child, not a child.”
“You still make foolish decisions.”
“Because they don’t align with what you want or expect?” Cait did her best to tamp down her bubbling temper.
“I know what’s best for you. I made mistakes that I want you to avoid. That’s my job as your mother.”
Cait pinned her lips together and sucked a deep breath through her nose. After a second of blessed silence, she asked, “Hank send you that photo?”
“Of course. He’s worried about you and also said this man you’re with has a bad temper. He trashed the room you two are staying in. You’re sharing a room, Cait, with a man I’ve never met. With a man I’ve never even heard about!”
“And I’m an adult and can make that decision. I also don’t need to announce that decision to either of my parents. That’s private.”
“Hank has me worried this man may hurt you.”
“He hasn’t and won’t. So, don’t.” That would never be a fear. That was one thing that impressed her about the biker community, the men didn’t usually abuse their women. If anything, they’d hurt someone who hurt or threatened their woman, instead. There were a few exceptions, of course, but abusers like that were in the minority. And she knew Zak, Diesel and the rest of them did not tolerate that kind of thing in their club. She figured Magnum was the same way with his.
“How do you know he won’t?”
“Mom... Honestly... You should’ve studied the dramatic arts in school.”
“Not funny, Cait.”
“No, it’s not. Now you get my point.”
“Does your father know about this? Does he know him? Has he met him? Why haven’t I heard about him?”
“We only recently started seeing each other,” Cait lied since they weren’t technically seeing each other, just having sex.
“Not according to Hank! That man said he’s been with you for eight years!” Regan’s voice had risen to dog whistle level on the last part.
She winced. Shit.
“Eight years ago, Cait, you were only seventeen and living with that damn...”
Oh. No. Her mother hardly cursed and hated when Cait did since it wasn’t “lady-like.” That could only mean things would spiral out of control sooner than expected.
“That damn what, Mom? My father?”
“Does he know about him?”
“No. And Malcolm only said that as a joke.”
“Being with an underage girl is not a joke. And Hank said he’s old enough to be your father, Caitlin.”
Oh fuck, she was pulling out the use of her full first name. “He’s not.”
“The hell he isn’t. I can see it clearly in the picture. He’s not in his twenties. He’s not even in his thirties. Who is he? What does he do? Why did he go with you?”
“Mother.”
“Don’t Mother me. Hank is worried and so are Paul and I.”
“It’s none of Hank’s business. He forgets I’m his employee.”
“He’s looking out for you.”
“Bullshit.”
“God, your language! Ever since he...”
“He? Who? You mean my dad?”
“Ever since he forced himself into your life... Your language, your attitude... Your hopes and dreams. Everything changed. I had such high hopes for you, Caitlin. That you’d break the mold of your DNA.”
She meant Dawg’s half of her DNA. Certainly not hers, since Regan was apparently perfect. Oh, except for that one big mistake she made named Dawg.
Cait’s chest compressed to the point where it was getting hard to breathe. “Holy shit, Mother, why do you have to be so fucking dramatic? There’s nothing wrong with my DNA.”
“I did my best to give you a fighting chance.”
Oh no, she didn’t... “I’m hanging up now.”
“You don’t warn someone you’re hang—”
She hit the End button, cutting off her mother’s voice.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she tapped her phone against her forehead, trying to calm her raging blood.
“Probably not a good idea to piss off your mother.”
She inhaled deeply and glanced up at Magnum from the floor, who was now standing over her, his booted feet wide, hands on his hips and his face, masked with a blank expression, tipped down to her. But his eyes were searching, assessing. Also, not holding any kind of happy.
“She has a photo of the two of us.”
“Fuck,” he growled, his eyebrows dropping low. “Yeah, not a good idea to piss her the fuck off when she’s got that shit, Cait. Call her back and make fuckin’ nice.”
“I’m not making fuckin’ nice.”
He stabbed a finger toward her. “If she’s got a goddamn picture, then you make fuckin’ nice. She sends that photo to your father, I’m fucked. You, too.” He grabbed his crotch. “Say goodbye to my fuckin’ balls, Cait, because they’ll be sliced the fuck off, shoved down my throat and, if I’m still breathin’, shittin’ them out the next day. You get that?”
“My father... Diesel... all of them like you.”
“None of ‘em are gonna like that I fucked you.” He raised a palm to stop her next words. “Stepped in their territory, which is you, without permission. Touched their property, which is you, without permission. Can’t believe I’m explainin’ this shit to you again.”
“I don’t need to hear it again.” She was tired of hearing it. Sometimes she hated the archaic rules of an MC. This “women as property” shit was one of them.
“Then pay the fuck attention.”
Cait surged to her feet, snapping, “Pot should’ve mellowed you out, not turned you into a damn asshole.”
“Always been an asshole, Cait, it’s a part of the job. And ain’t enough pot in the fuckin’ world to prepare me for the shit that’s gonna land on me if Dawg gets that picture. Call your fuckin’ mother back and eat your pride.”
“No.”
His lips thinned out, his nostrils flared wider, and suddenly he seemed a hell of a lot bigger than he was. “You’re actin’ like a goddamn spoiled brat right now, Cait. Not likin’ it. Not likin’ it at all.”
“I’m not a spoiled brat, I—”
“Really? What the fuck do you know ‘bout growin’ up poor? Grew up with a goddamn silver spoon in your mouth. Your ‘daddy’ was rich—”
“Stepdad.”
He cocked a brow. “You know he was your stepdad all those years?”
She didn’t bother to answer, because he knew the answer.
“Right. Know nothin’ about scroungin’ for survival. For food. For money. For a minute of your mother’s fuckin’ time ‘cause she’s bustin’ her goddamn hump for her kids, workin’ two jobs and also workin’ a side hustle to try to make ends meet. You wore goddamn plaid skirts and knee-high socks to go to private school. You probably didn’t walk to school or ride a public bus. Bet you got dropped off in a fuckin’ Benz.”
Cait closed her eyes at the truth he was saying.
She didn’t want to fight with him. She also understood his concern. She had it, too. But she was tired of people trying to make her life decisions for her when she was damn well capable of making them—and screwing them up—on her own.
The point of making mistakes was to learn from them, right? Just like that night a few weeks ago. It was a hard lesson to learn, but she had and now she was dealing with it. Maybe not perfectly, but she was.
She needed to change the tension in the room and between them. “I still have those if you’d like me to wear them while I ride your cock.”
She realized it did neither when he said flatly, “Don’t got no schoolgirl fantasies.”
Cait shrugged. “I thought most guys were into that.”
<
br /> “Babe, first thing you need to learn is, I’m not most guys. Figured you knew that by now.”
“Sorry,” she whispered, suddenly feeling pressure from all sides.
When the hell was her life going to be her own? When was her mother going to let her live it? When would her boss mind his own damn business? When would her father not be a threat to anyone she might be interested in?
She thought it would be after she graduated college, when she got her own place, when she got a steady paycheck. One she could afford to live off.
Apparently, she was wrong.
It shouldn’t matter to anyone who she slept with, who she spent time with, but, of course, the man she wanted also had strong opinions.
She suddenly felt like running away, but then, she would be acting childish.
Even so, she could give at least the two of them space for now. Because she didn’t want it to be like that between them. She didn’t want them to be angry with each other.
She wanted to enjoy the little bubble they’d created up here. And while it had popped, maybe they could make the best of it for now.
“I need air,” she mumbled and turned to head out onto the balcony.
Before she could take two steps, he snagged her wrist and stopped her. He took her open hand and held it against his crotch. “Know you like this and what I do with it. What you do with it. You want more of that, it needs to remain attached to my body. Call your fuckin’ mother and make up a goddamn story so she doesn’t go screamin’ to Dawg.”
He released her, stiffly moved away from her and snagged her car keys off the coffee table, giving her his broad back. “Gonna find a store. Better have called her before I get back. You don’t leave this room, you don’t unlock that fuckin’ door for anyone. Get that shit fixed, Cait.”
He jerked the door open, and slammed it shut behind him.
Cait stared at the door for the longest time. Then she called her mother.
She made up a story about Magnum she hoped her mother would believe. But knowing her mother, she doubted it would satisfy her.
Her mother made her opinion known, several times, that Magnum was too old for her, that he was close to her and Paul’s age, and was probably trying to take advantage of her.
Cait did her best to convince her she was wrong, but the more she tried, the more frustrated she became. So, as soon as she could, she ended the call, sat on the balcony and while waiting for Magnum to return, let the warm sunshine soothe her.
Magnum: A Dark Knights MC/Dirty Angels MC Crossover Page 16
