Him visibly shattering caused her to break inside, too. To see him affected like that ripped her apart.
This was another reason she never wanted him to know. To see her strong father falling apart made it so much worse.
For months, she had tried to remain strong about what happened to her, but seeing him like this made it impossible.
“Dad,” she cried, tears burning a path down her cheeks as she rushed to him and slid to her knees, wrapping her arms around his big body as best as she could. “Dad,” she said in a broken whisper. “I’m sorry.”
She shoved her face into his neck, hiding her rush of tears in his thick beard.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again.
She heard Emma sobbing softly from somewhere behind them. Close but giving the two of them space.
Emma had to be hurting, too. However, right now Cait needed to hold onto her father and found it impossible to do anything else. She simply couldn’t let go, nor did she want to.
He’d been her rock for the last ten years. Now, she needed to be his.
Chapter Eighteen
Magnum sat at his table in his corner of Dirty Dick’s. Nina had dropped off a bottle of Jack and a shot glass, and as she moved away—drawing her fingernails over the back of his fucking neck again—movement heading in his direction caught his attention.
Two large men were working their way toward him, not looking any kind of pleased to be there.
That meant they weren’t there to shoot the shit. He wouldn’t be surprised if they were there to shoot him. Probably right in the fucking nuts.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
He hadn’t been warned that they’d arrived since the prospects working the front door no longer stopped the Angels or even announced them. They were free to come and go in their bar just like the Knights were free to hang out and drink at The Iron Horse Roadhouse.
An unspoken courtesy between allies.
He had a feeling that was about to change.
Most likely, a whole shitload of things were about to change. And not for the better.
He didn’t bother to stand and instead downed the shot Nina had poured him. “You packin’?”
Diesel only grunted and Dawg opened his cut, showing nothing tucked in his waistband.
That didn’t mean Cait’s father didn’t have one hidden somewhere else.
His gaze slid past the two Angels to his own brothers who had all caught interest in what was going on in Magnum’s corner.
He jerked his head slightly, an unspoken signal for them to relax. He wasn’t sure if they did, since he returned his attention to the two men he considered friends.
He tipped his chin toward the chairs across from him. “Gonna take a weight off?”
He guessed not when Dawg said, “Respect should’ve been given by approachin’ me first.”
“And what would you have said?”
“Know what I woulda said.”
“Yeah. That was the fuckin’ problem. Why I never did.”
“Problem for you, maybe, not for me. Forget she’s my daughter. Touched club property without fuckin’ permission.”
“One thing I didn’t forget, brother. Know she’s your girl. Know she belongs to the DAMC.”
“You were outta line.”
“Made a mistake, and I fixed it.”
“How’s that?” Dawg asked, his hands on his hips, his boots planted solidly and spread apart on the concrete floor.
“Let ‘er go,” Magnum said simply. Although, there was nothing fucking simple about it.
“Problem is, brother, you didn’t. Still got a hold on her.”
He poured himself another shot and downed it in one swallow, his lip curling at the burn. He slammed the shot glass onto the wood table. “It was short. It was sweet. Now it’s over. Told ‘er that.”
He expected Dawg to lash out, to grab a hold of him. To try to take him on. It would be stupid to do in Magnum’s own bar, especially full of Knights, even with the DAMC enforcer at his side. Those two together were a powerhouse, but they were outnumbered.
However, Dawg was a father and Cait was his daughter. Fathers sometimes didn’t think rationally when it came to protecting their kids.
He got that.
And he was surprised Dawg was keeping his shit together as much as he was. He tried to get a read off D, but it was impossible. But he figured D took Magnum touching Cait as a slight, too.
“Like ‘em young?” Dawg asked sharply.
Magnum lifted his gaze and met the same green eyes as Cait’s. “No. I don’t. Like a smart woman who knows what the fuck she wants, doesn’t play head games and’s got a fuckin’ spine.”
Diesel grunted, but said nothing.
“She’s barely a woman.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, brother. You’ll always see her as your little girl even when the rest of us don’t.”
“Old enough to be her father.”
“Reason why I never approached,” he told the man only a couple years older than him.
“But still got what you wanted. Back-doored us, thinkin’ we wouldn’t find out.”
“Surprised she told you,” Magnum muttered.
“She didn’t.”
Magnum lifted his head and stared at the man before him. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. Fuck. Fuckin’ cunt was a thorn in my goddamn side for years. Cait moved in, thought I’d be done with ‘er. Gets off on fuckin’ with me an’ screwin’ with my relationship with Cait. Bitter ol’ bitch is still pissed she couldn’t buy me off an’ get me out of Cait’s life. Cait don’t know it, but Regan offered me five hundred K to walk away.”
Fuck.
“To me, my daughter’s worth way fuckin’ more than a half mil. Got me?”
“Yeah,” Magnum breathed.
“Got my blood runnin’ through her goddamn veins. The only good that came outta me stickin’ my dick in that selfish snatch.”
Magnum’s eyes slid from Dawg to Diesel and back. “Fucked up. Wanna make it right. Don’t want issues for my club. Don’t wanna fuck up our clubs’ alliance. Will pay whatever price you think’s fair for stealin’ what was yours.”
“Said was. Thinkin’ you mean is. You touchin’ her didn’t change that. She still is DAMC property.”
“Normally, that fuckin’ price would be the ultimate one,” D answered. “But she begged for your life.” He yanked out a chair, flipped it around and settled his large bulk into it backwards. “Also don’t wanna fuck up the alliance between the clubs. It’s strong. It’s needed. Between the Knights, the Angels and the Fury, we control the west.” He glanced up at Dawg and ordered, “Sit down.”
Dawg reluctantly pulled out the chair next to his club’s Sergeant at Arms and straddled it, too. They were ready to deal but weren’t going to relax while doing it.
Magnum’s asshole was also tighter than he liked and would remain that way until they left or he stopped breathing. Because one or the other was going to happen. He just didn’t know which.
“Told me what you did,” Dawg said.
Jesus fuck. How many details did she give him?
“Asked you for help and you helped her.”
Magnum breathed a touch easier.
“Shoulda come to me,” Diesel grumbled. “My job to take care of all that shit. Pissed she didn’t. Explained why. Don’t like it but get it. She was gonna go elsewhere, better she come to you. Still don’t like you not comin’ to me with it. Again, considerin’ that a lack of fuckin’ respect.”
“And you know that ain’t true.”
D’s dark eyebrows rose. “Yeah? Got Dawg’s girl comin’ to you instead of me an’ you not comin’ to me with it? Seein’ that clearly as fuckin’ disrespect. Then you fuckin’ touch ‘er? Huge lack of respect, brother. Wouldn’t do that shit to you.”
“Don’t know ‘til you’re faced with it.”
D leaned forward over the back of the chair. “Bullshit. Stepped on my toes,�
� he jerked his head at Dawg. “Stepped on his. Hard to forgive, brother. Really fuckin’ hard.”
Dawg regarded Magnum as he said, “She came to you ‘cause she trusts you. Came to you ‘cause she thought you’d do the right thing. The right thing for her. Not our clubs. Made a sacrifice you didn’t have to make. Made a decision that could’ve started a fuckin’ war. In one way, gotta respect that. But gotta remember she’s my fuckin’ little girl. Mine. That’s what’s makin’ this difficult. Wanna thank you an’ kill you at the same fuckin’ time. Goddamn lucky she loves you.”
Magnum’s heart squeezed at the last part. “Told you that?”
Dawg scowled. “So many fuckin’ times never wanna hear it again. Gonna hear it in my goddamn sleep. Only reason you don’t have a hole between your damn eyes right now. She’d never fuckin’ forgive me an’ not losin’ her when I only got ‘er a few years ago. She’s mine. Nobody’s takin’ her from me. But willin’ to give her to the right man.”
Hold the fuck up. Were they there to negotiate with him and not neuter him?
Cait’s father wasn’t done yet. “Not sure that’s you.”
“It’s not.”
Dawg tipped his head back in surprise. “Was just a hole to dip your dick into?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Love her enough to let ‘er go.”
“Fuck,” D grunted, scrubbing a hand over his short dark hair.
“Wanna explain that?” Dawg growled.
He didn’t. He was done talking about this whole fucking thing. “Like you said, almost old enough to be her father. She’s young, needs to live her life and find happy elsewhere. Give you grandkids. That’s not what I’m lookin’ for.”
Dawg stared at him and he stared back. Not one of the three of them moved a muscle. “She say she wanted babies?”
“Even if she said she didn’t, know she’d eventually regret it if she didn’t.”
“Yeah,” Dawg said softly. “Was always good with the girls. A natural. Don’t want kids, gotta respect that. At my age, don’t want any more myself. But,” he rapped his knuckles on the table, “if Emma wanted another one, I’d give it to her. I’d give her anythin’ she fuckin’ wanted. Maybe that’s the difference between you an’ me, brother. So, maybe you don’t love her like you think. Maybe it’s good you ended it. ‘Cause the man who gets her needs to fuckin’ love her more than I do. That’s gonna be hard to beat.”
“Hard to fuckin’ beat a father’s love,” D added, his eyes narrowed on Magnum, searching.
Magnum kept his face neutral. “Hard but not impossible.”
“A good man will die takin’ care of his woman, his kids. Not even think twice about it,” Dawg said. “She said you could’ve died.”
He pressed his lips together. Instead of answering, he poured himself another shot and downed it.
“That’s sayin’ somethin’,” Diesel mumbled, watching Magnum’s every move.
“Actually sayin’ a lot,” Dawg added. “Wouldn’t say who drugged her and...” Dawg shook his head. “And did that shit to her. Didn’t need her to. Put two an’ two together. Just want to make sure whoever it was, who I’m thinkin’ it was, was who you took care of. Otherwise, we’re gonna make sure it’s done.”
“Those two motherfuckin’ Gallos?” D asked him, his normally loud voice low so no one overheard them.
“Yeah,” Magnum grunted.
“Both of ‘em?”
“One was harrassin’ her, the other did...” His gaze slid from D to Dawg. “What Cait told you.”
“What ‘bout the video?” D asked.
“Deleted what I found on the one’s phone. Deleted it off her phone. Deleted it off mine. Not sure if there’s more out there. Best guess is yeah, there is.”
“Not likin’ that,” Dawg said.
Magnum tilted his head. “Did what I fuckin’ could, brother.”
D nodded.
So did Dawg. “Got that. Appreciate that. Disrespected us by not approachin’, but gotta thank you for handlin’ that shit how you did. Didn’t have to, but you did. Figure that’s worth a little leniency.”
Magnum kept his eyes from rolling. Well, thank fuck for that.
“So, we’re good?” he asked the two men.
“No, we ain’t good,” Dawg answered. “My girl loves you an’ you got a thing for her. Somethin’s gotta be done ‘bout that.”
Magnum’s pulse thumped in his ears. “Like what?”
“You know what,” D grumbled. “Got an exec meetin’ next week. Gives you time to figure shit out. Gonna act like you didn’t back-door us. You want ‘er, you approach. We vote. If we all say ‘aye?’ Then you do whatcha gotta do at your own table. You figure it out.”
Magnum cocked a brow at Dawg. “Really want me callin’ you Dad?”
Diesel snorted. Dawg’s mouth dropped open like a dead fish and he blinked a couple times before snapping it shut. Instead of answering, Dawg grabbed the bottle of Jack and drank directly from it.
“Thinkin’ that’s a no.”
Dawg slammed the whiskey bottle on the table and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, before pushing out a loud breath. “Know I wanna be called a granddaddy someday. Not wantin’ to rush that but with a man like you, your age... “
“Like I said, she wants me, she gets me, nothin’ else.”
“Yeah. Not likin’ that. Wanna claim my girl, you’ll do what you gotta do to make her happy.”
He didn’t like being pushed like this. He didn’t like it at fucking all. It was going to be his decision and no one else’s. Not even Cait’s. “Wouldn’t give a fuck your grandbabies would be brown?” He needed to be sure about that before he made any fucking decision.
He needed to hear it. Because if there was any goddamn doubt...
Dawg surged to his feet and growled, “You’re a stupid motherfucker if you think I would.”
Diesel also pushed out of his chair with a grunt, but didn’t say a word.
Dawg rapped his knuckles on the table again. “You know where we’re at. Know whatcha gotta do. Now up to you to decide. She worth it or not? She is? You do it the right way. She’s not? Then...” The man’s nostrils flared, he tilted his head, then spun on his heels heading toward the bar’s front door.
As Dawg disappeared, Magnum sat back, crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his gaze to Diesel’s. “Don’t want bad blood between us, brother. We gotta good thing here, don’t want that fucked up.”
“Yeah,” D grunted. “Still goddamn torqued she didn’t come to me to handle it.”
Magnum jerked his chin toward the closed door. “He’s why.”
“Yeah, get that. Still ain’t right.” D tilted his head. “Didn’t just step on his fuckin’ toes, you fuckin’ crushed ‘em. He’s lettin’ you slide. Didn’t hafta. Remember that.”
With that, D turned and lumbered through the bar, his huge bulk disappearing out the door.
Magnum sat back and wiped his hands down his face. He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved on how all that went or pissed that he was being pushed.
He didn’t like being pressured. Not at fucking all.
He’d sent her a text. Gave her an address. Gave her a time.
She wanted to feel hopeful but was feeling sick instead. Her stomach churned, her mouth was bone dry, her pulse raced, and her knee bounced under the table at the diner he gave her the address for.
It wasn’t in Shadow Valley and it wasn’t in Knights’ territory, either. It was out in the country where most likely an Angel or a Knight wouldn’t accidentally show up.
But when he walked through the door, she spotted him immediately. Not only because he stood out due to being darker than everyone else in that diner. Not because he outsized all the occupants. Not because he wore a Knights cut over a snug cream colored long-sleeved thermal shirt that made her want to rip it off him and lick him from waist to throat.
No.
It was his larger than l
ife presence as he moved his bulky body toward her sitting in one of the booths.
His expression was unreadable and that didn’t help her nervousness.
He’d said a final goodbye that Saturday a couple months ago after the retreat.
He’d said a final goodbye again about a month ago in the parking lot at the fundraiser.
Would this third time be the last “final” time?
She hoped to hell not.
She knew something happened a few days ago between him, her father and Diesel, but she didn’t know exactly what.
She only knew Dawg and Diesel came home in one piece, and when she demanded an answer from her father, he stated they’d settled some things.
Settled some things.
She had no idea what. She only knew right now the two clubs were still allies. Which was a huge relief.
Even so, she’d sent Magnum one single text after the day they talked to him.
One single word.
Sorry.
She didn’t expect an answer but she’d gotten one a few minutes later: Same.
But that was all she got. Only enough to break her heart all over again.
Was both of them being sorry enough to change anything? No. But she had to respect the fact he was protecting her and also himself by letting her go. He knew she’d regret not having kids down the road.
He was right. She would.
She loved him but she also wanted children to love. She had thought long and hard over that single issue.
Yes, she loved him.
Yes, she wanted him.
Did she care his life revolved around being the Sergeant at Arms for the Dark Knights MC? No.
Did she care about their age difference? No.
Did she want to give up her choice to have children? Also no. And that was the problem.
Every time one of the ol’ ladies in the DAMC sisterhood got pregnant and she got to finally hold that baby? Her heart melted and her motherly instinct pulled at her from deep inside.
Magnum: A Dark Knights MC/Dirty Angels MC Crossover Page 24
