by Bijou Hunter
My brain tells me to keep talking, though, because Dayton’s pampered life is anything but safe.
“I want someone to do it,” I admit, “but I don’t trust your father or Howler to make the call until it’s too late.”
“And Camden?”
“He couldn’t get close enough to JJ to make it look like an OD or suicide.”
Dayton snorts. “Where did you come up with those ideas?”
“I watch TV, Dayton. I don’t know how things work, but I know you do. When JJ’s friend attacked Daisy and Ruby, the jerk didn’t ‘move away.’ More likely, he isn’t breathing because there are rules in Hickory Creek and he broke them.”
“Mojo did make clear to the club how Bonn wasn’t to be harmed until approved by him. Of course, JJ could claim he isn’t a member of the club yet.”
“If the cops busted him and he turned on the club, do you think your dad would blow off the betrayal as a technicality?”
“You really want him gone,” he says, making me feel like a monster.
“JJ is a threat to the people who matter most to me,” I say and glance at Keanu. “I sound like a devious bitch, but that man scares me, and I’m unable to do anything more than talk big.”
“Don’t cry,” he says as I bite back the tears. “I can’t have you crying. Then Keanu will cry and then I’ll cry. You seriously don’t want to see me cry.”
“I could handle it,” I say, hugging him tighter. “I’m tough for the people I love.”
“I know you are.”
“So are you.”
Dayton studies my face for the longest minute of my life. Finally, he says, “I’ll handle things.”
Swallowing hard, I feel like shit to even have this conversation. Even so, I’ll live with the guilt because I get one life and I want to protect those who make my life worth living.
“Even if you don’t, I’ll still think you’re the best.”
“Even better than Keanu?”
I frown up at him. “Why would you ask a question with an answer that’ll make you cry?”
“I thought you were okay with me crying.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think you’ll enjoy it. I get headaches when I cry. After Anita died, I walked around with a stuffed-up nose and a headache. Wasn’t fun.”
“Let’s make a deal for tonight. We don’t talk about my business or yours,” he says, caressing the scratches on my arms from Millie. “We’ll order delivery and hang out here and pretend nothing exists outside this condo.”
I glance around Dayton’s arm to make sure Keanu is still focused on his toys. Seeing my boy’s attention elsewhere, I smile at the sexy man in my arms.
“I miss making out with you back at the Red Barn. You’d come in and we’d talk and flirt and make out. Let’s do that tonight once Keanu’s asleep. Just make out without any sex.”
“Has my dick wronged you in some way?” he asks, leaning away from me. “Why else would you punish the damn thing after all the love it’s given you?”
Laughing, I run my hand between his legs and give his dick a gentle squeeze.
“We’ll have sex later. When we kiss on the couch, I want to pretend it won’t go anywhere. Let a girl have her fantasy, will ya?”
“What’s so sexy about that fantasy?”
Thinking back to my crush on Dayton, I can’t believe how young and silly I’d been.
“Those nights when we’d fool around at the bar, I never thought you’d be mine. I like the feeling I get when I realize you’re sticking around and you’re better than I imagined. Is that so wrong?”
“Oh, sweet Harmony, you are so into me. It’s pretty sad really,” he teases, backing away and heading for the couch where Keanu joins us. “Your mom likes me, kid.”
Keanu smiles at me. “Mom likes me too.”
“Yes, I love my boys,” I say, messing with their hair.
“We’re ordering in,” Dayton tells Keanu. “What does Carl want to eat?”
My son whispers to his toy, all while grinning at Dayton. Both possessive and a little silly, these two have built a truce where sharing me isn’t the worst thing in the world.
Besides, I think my guys are getting pretty attached to each other. Keanu even chooses to sit next to Dayton when we have dinner later.
When my mind stops obsessing over JJ taking a shot at Bonn, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Sooner or later, though, reality returns and I worry about Dayton’s next move. I say nothing to him, though. He’s a man who does his plotting solo.
Forty Five - Dayton
I doubt JJ felt the shot to the head.
The roofie I slipped in his beer knocked him out before I maneuvered his gun in his hand, leveled it against his head, and helped him pull the trigger.
A good investigator might question the scene, but we don’t have those around Hickory Creek Township. If it looks like a suicide, the cops rule it as one.
My dad visits me the day after Howler finds JJ dead. While Harmony is at work and Keanu’s at daycare, Mojo comes by the condo. Even knowing we’re alone, he checks out the bedrooms.
“Paranoid?” I ask him.
“Did you hear about JJ?”
“Is that a real question? Everyone’s heard about it. He was Howler’s son and under the club’s protection. His death is big news.”
Mojo studies my face. “Rumor has it that he killed himself.”
“JJ was a complicated guy.”
“I wouldn’t know. He never had much interest in spending time with me.”
“You sound real broken up about that,” I say and yawn.
“He was a squirrelly fucker, and I don’t see the point of wasting time getting to know one of the millions of Howler’s bastards.”
“Yet you would have let him in the club if he jumped through enough hoops.”
“That’s the theory anyway.”
My dad falls silent and takes a seat at one of the kitchen stools. I use the silence to think back to JJ’s expression when he opened the door for me. He was clearly waiting to see if I’d accuse him of taking a shot at Bonn. That’s when I knew he did it.
I hadn’t accused him, of course. We enjoyed a beer and talked about those hoops the club expected him to jump through.
I wouldn’t be surprised if JJ knew deep down how Howler would never come through in the end. When Howler eventually did him wrong, JJ had two choices – let it go or fuck up everything Howler cared about. Not a tough decision for a man like him.
Dad taps his fingers on the kitchen island and says, “I was around twenty the first time I killed someone I knew. We weren’t tight, but I’d seen him grow up. His name was Ryan, and I beat his head in with a tire iron. He wasn’t the first guy I killed, but his death messed me up a little. It felt too personal.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“You know why,” Mojo says, holding my gaze.
“What I know is I’ll do what needs to be done to protect my family and the club. Is that what you’re talking about?”
“I guess it is.”
“Since we’re having a heart to heart, let me ask you something. Are you ever planning on retiring or will you make Camden wait until he’s an old man?”
“Just spitting that out without a care in the world, are you, boy?”
“It’s what everyone is thinking, but no one has the balls to ask. My balls feel fine, so let’s put things out on the table.”
Dad doesn’t answer immediately, and when he does, he dodges the heart of the matter. “Howler isn’t ready to step down.”
“I didn’t ask about Howler.”
“As a man, I’d stick around until my last fucking breath. I got no interest in walking away. As a father, I should give you boys your time to rule. As the Brotherhood’s president, I know it’s a young man’s game. I’ve felt that clock ticking since Kirk Johansson handed over the Reapers to his kid. The expectation from Memphis is that my turn is coming soon.”
Tapping my fingers on the
counter, I hadn’t expected him to be so honest. I take a minute to get my thoughts in order.
“If you go out now, you look strong,” I finally say. “If you wait until you’re pressured out, you’ll look like an old man grasping for his former glory.”
“What will I do with myself if I’m not running the Brotherhood?”
“Run other shit, I guess. Maybe Mom will give you a job.”
“Funny, asshole,” he says, tossing one of Keanu’s LEGOs at me.
“Or you could be the guy that makes deals for the club. The ambassador to Memphis or something. Still around but handing over the day to day to Camden. It’s what I’d do if I were you.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to spend my entire life doing the same shit. When my kids get grown up, I plan to figure out something to keep me and Harmony entertained until we’re dead.”
“So, that girl’s the real deal, huh?”
“Well, yeah, that’s why I mentioned Harmony and me being together until we’re dead.”
“And you’re cool with another man’s kid?”
Sighing, I’m so fucking sick of people pointing out how Keanu’s not my biological son.
“Harmony is my woman, and that makes him my kid. Blood doesn’t mean shit. If it did, JJ might be alive and well.”
“Fair enough.”
“Don’t blow shit off,” I mutter. “This thing with Harmony will last, and that means you’ll treat her with respect. The kid too. Not because you’re my president, but because you’re my father. If you don’t respect them, then don’t expect to be invited to family get-togethers.”
“Watch your threats, Dayton,” he warns, glaring at me.
“If you weren’t willing to threaten your father over Mom and your kids, then you aren’t much of a man. I’m just doing what you’d do.”
“Fine, but don’t be surprised if the kid grows up to resent you for not being his real dad.”
“Every kid grows up to resent his parents,” I say, holding his gaze.
“I did right by you.”
“Yeah, you did. In the past. Of course, how you treat my woman and kid isn’t in the past.”
“Got it,” he says, standing up. “Once Howler gets over his self-pity about JJ, I’ll talk to him about changing club leadership. The Brotherhood needs a fresh look, and everyone knows who should take over.”
“Yes, they do.”
I show him to the door where he pauses. “I’m glad things are working for you, Dayton. People were beginning to think you’d turn into a fucking lush.”
“Yeah, people tend to think what I want them to think, so good to know my bullshit fooled them.”
Dad grins and gives my shoulder a hard pat. “Tell your woman to invite me over sometime for dinner. I’ll play grandpa to the kid.”
Watching him walk down the hall, I get a weird heat in my gut. Fuck me, if I don’t want to crawl into my room and hide away until Harmony and Keanu return home.
I killed JJ without blinking an eye. I stood up to my dad and got a little fatherly pride in return. Another badass would let that shit roll off him. He might down a few beers and drown his emotions. Hell, he might take a long ride to clear his thoughts.
What I need is for Harmony to say she loves me and then Keanu to tell me about his day with Carl. I need soft and safe because outside of this condo, the world doesn’t offer much comfort even for a spoiled fuck like me.
Forty Six - Harmony
JJ’s suicide is all anyone in Hickory Creek Township can talk about for the last few days. Conspiracies abound, but the preferred one is that someone from out of town came to settle a debt. I never offer my ideas when anyone asks. My mouth remains tightly shut because I don’t trust myself not to sound relieved by JJ’s death.
The one person who doesn’t gossip about it is Dayton. He never mentions his cousin’s name. When anyone around us brings up the topic, Dayton puts on his stoned expression, so no one will expect him to contribute to the conversation.
Dayton seems unaffected by what he did to JJ until the night I arrive home to the condo with Keanu after work. At first, I think the place is empty, though I saw his Harley parked in the garage.
“Where’s Day?” Keanu asks me.
I smile at how he’s shortened Dayton’s name. No doubt he thinks it sounds close to what Elle calls her father.
“I don’t know. Is he taking a nap?”
Keanu runs to the master bedroom and peeks inside. He shakes his head and runs into the room to check the bathroom I assume. The little guy races out.
“In my room?” he asks Carl while barreling toward the second bedroom.
I grin at how Keanu now understands the room belongs to him, and we’re going to live here. He’s still a little confused by how he won’t live in the trailer anymore once our boxes come over.
Appearing from the bedroom, Keanu has a helicopter in his free hand. He’s in love with the toy since Dayton bought it at the store. The thing cost less than five bucks, but Keanu is so protective of the toy that he won’t even let Elle hold it.
“He’s not here,” Keanu says, looking confused.
“Maybe he went to Camden or Bonn’s condo. He’ll come home soon.”
A disappointed Keanu sighs. He waits all day to see Dayton since the hunk can’t get his ass out of bed before ten.
Walking around the condo while I check the pot roast I started the night before, Keanu goes to the balcony door. He knows there’s a special lock Dayton installed so our boy wouldn’t get outside. Looking through the door, Keanu jumps up and down.
“Day!” he yells, tapping on the door.
I see a hand reach out and tug the slider open. Keanu hurries outside, and I hear him telling Dayton how we couldn’t find him.
Walking to the balcony, I am a little nervous about what kind of mood Dayton might be in. Or if he’s been drinking all day.
“Hey,” I say softly, coming out to where he sits in a chair with Keanu on his lap.
Dayton’s expression reveals nothing. He takes my hand and tugs me closer. Per the routine, he checks my arms for new scratches. Finding none, he nods.
“Good day?” Dayton asks.
“Yeah, it was. Are you okay?”
Even nodding, Dayton avoids my gaze and focuses on Keanu who tells him about how he ate fish sticks for lunch. I watch them smile at each other, both seeming in a good mood. Of course, Keanu isn’t faking his smile.
Dayton remains too quiet for the rest of the evening. No suggestive comments to me, and he doesn’t even cop a feel when Keanu isn’t looking.
By the time Keanu is tired and ready to climb in bed, Dayton looks ready to do the same. He rests in a chair, watching Keanu fall asleep. I stand at the door watching them both.
I don’t know what to do with a depressed Dayton, assuming that’s the emotion he’s feeling. I’m used to him angry, cocky, hungover, and even silly. This silent routine is new.
Climbing into his lap, I kiss him gently. “Keanu loves you so much,” I whisper. “Almost as much as me.”
“It’s not a competition,” Dayton murmurs, fighting a grin.
“If it were, I’d kick his little butt.”
Dayton finally smiles. “My dad came by today to give me a pat on the back for dealing with JJ.”
“And his approval made you feel like a dick.”
“I am a dick.”
“But not like how he is.”
“No, I’m a different breed,” he says, leaning his head back on the wall. “He wanted me to know it’s okay to feel bad about doing what I did.”
“It’s okay to feel any damn thing you want,” I whisper and nuzzle his throat. “No one owns your feelings, and they don’t have to make sense.”
Dayton wraps his arms around me. “I always knew I would finish him. The moment he walked into my life, I knew how he’d leave. Is that the kind of man you want around your boy?”
“I always knew you were a bad man, Dayton. What
I’ve learned these last few weeks is just how you’re much more than your reputation. You’re sweet and funny and loyal and a romantic and capable of loving in a way I never thought anyone would love me. The fact that you love Keanu too makes you better than even my wildest fantasy.”
Dayton smiles at me, and I spot his usual confidence in his rich brown eyes. Even in the dark room with only the ocean nightlight illuminating his face, I know he’s shaking loose of the melancholy he felt all evening.
“The day I saw you with Keanu,” he whispers while his fingers tease the back of my neck, “and I knew you were worth locking my dick in my jeans for was a Thursday. You were wearing a tie-dye skirt and a Bananarama shirt. I remember because I had to look up what the fuck Bananarama meant.”
Giggling, I press my mouth against his shoulder to keep from waking Keanu.
“You were so beautiful, and I saw how much you loved that kid. Shit, the look on your face was amazing enough for me to wait for you.”
“I’m glad you did, stud.”
Dayton’s fingers slide down my back and wrap possessively around my hip.
“That outfit you wore back then wouldn’t be good for camping.”
“What?”
Dayton grunts and nips at my ear. “I lost my tribe,” he growls. “I’m all alone in the woods. I need to breed.”
Laughing, I cover my mouth while he stands in an easy motion. Once we’re out of Keanu’s bedroom, I pretend to pound on Dayton’s chest.
“Let me down, you beast.”
Dayton only growls, having regressed into full Big Foot mode. He doesn’t find his words until after he’s nearly chewed my panties off, and bred a little beast into my womb. For a bad man, he sure knows how to pamper a woman.
Forty Seven - Dayton
Bonn and Ruby’s wedding is a small affair with twenty people in attendance. Neither of them is decked out in anything fancy. Ruby wears a dress. Bonn has slacks and a buttoned-up shirt but no tie. This is the kind of wedding I can respect. No pompous flare bullshit.
