by Zoey Parker
Her face changed, softened. “Are you her mom?”
“No. So she’s here?”
“Yeah. Who are you?” Just then, the girl was brushed aside. A man took her place at the door, and he was much bigger and more intimidating than she was. I felt my resolve weaken, then reminded myself again of why I was there.
Holy hell, I realized. He was her father. There was no denying it. They had the same eyes, steel gray, and the same nose and cheeks. She was his.
“Are you Gigi’s father?”
“Like my friend here asked, who the hell are you?” He had a menacing growl to his voice.
“I’m her teacher. I’m Jamie Hollis.” I raised my voice to be heard over the voices inside.
“Miss Jamie!” The sound was music to my ears, and tears sprang to my eyes when I saw Gigi running toward me. I bent, scooping her up into a bear hug.
“Oh, sweetie! We missed you so much in school this week!” I held her, breathing her in. She was safe. My heart was so full of relief I could hardly think straight.
I stepped into the clubhouse, not caring whether or not I was welcome, and looked her over. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“Fine.”
“Nobody hurt you?” I heard her father scoffing, but I kept my eyes on her. I didn’t care what he thought of me, or what he thought of the way I thought of him. As far as I was concerned, he was scum.
“No. They’re all pretty nice. Especially Traci and Erica.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I wanna go home.”
“I know you do, sweetheart.” Only your mommy’s not at home, honey. My heart broke for her. She was safe, but where was Rae?
I stood, facing Gigi’s father. “You know my name. Who are you?”
“Gigi’s father. Or so they tell me.” He sneered, looking me up and down.
I cringed a little under his gaze, then reminded myself who was the teacher and who was the criminal. I squared my shoulders and faced him down.
“That’s great. Did you have a name before that, though?”
He snorted. “Lance Richmond.”
“Looks like you have a problem, Lance.”
“You don’t know the half of it, Jamie.”
I didn’t like the way his eyes bored into me, like he was trying to see my thoughts. I turned my head away, breaking eye contact. Gigi tugged at my hand.
“I’m playing a game with Erica and Traci.”
“You go over there and play, then.” I smiled, patting her on the head. She hurried back to the coffee table, where a board game had been spread out. One of the two girls playing with her was the one who answered the door. I turned back to Lance.
“What’s this all about?”
He shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, lady.”
“Was this the first time you met Gigi?”
“Honey, this is the first time I ever heard of Gigi.”
“Don’t call me ‘honey,’ please.” The words fell out of my mouth without me thinking about them.
“Sorry. Miss.”
That was better. “So you didn’t even know she existed?”
“Nope. I hadn’t seen Rae since I dumped her. She was starting with the needle. I don’t do drugs, none of my people do drugs.” He looked serious. I appreciated that, at least.
“So, then what? Nothing from her for all these years? Not even a child support payment?”
He shrugged again. “I can’t explain it either. I’ve been thinking about it all week, God knows.”
“She’s been here all week?” My eyes went wide.
“Yeah, and she’s still alive. Go figure.” He rolled his eyes at my shock.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you would have taken care of her all week is all.” He hardly looked the type. The only word that came to mind when I looked at him was “dangerous.” He was a dangerous man. His tall, broad body could inflict pain if he wanted it to. His mouth could easily curve into a smile or a snarl. His hands were big enough to squeeze a person’s throat until they stopped breathing. He had a coldness to him, an insolence. And he was the leader of the most dangerous bunch of people in town. How could I think otherwise?
Then again, his daughter was happily playing Candy Land in the middle of the clubhouse. It was all too bizarre for words.
“What’s next, then? I guess you haven’t found Rae.”
“Good guess. She’s a ghost.”
I shivered at his use of the word—I had already wondered to myself if she wasn’t maybe dead. Who knew the sort of people she was mixed up with? They were likely capable of anything.
“I went to the house today. Still empty and dark,” I said.
“Yeah, we’ve been keeping an eye on the place, too. Otherwise, I’ve been asking her dealer friends to contact me if they find her.”
I shook my head. “Rae’s been clean for ages. I don’t know that she relapsed.”
He sneered. “Please.”
“It’s true. She was proud of herself for it. She does drink, though.”
“Once a junkie, always a junkie. Especially with heroin.” He sounded like he knew what he spoke of. I decided not to ask how he was so well-acquainted with it.
“Well, none of them have seen her, I guess?”
“Nobody has any idea where she is. Most of them act like they don’t even know who she is.”
“They might not. I’m telling you, she’s trying.”
“Sure.” He shook his head. “She’s doing a great job, isn’t she? Leaving her kid here.”
“Your kid, too.” I watched as he winced.
“Yeah. Mine, too.”
She looked happy enough. I couldn’t help but smile, watching her laugh with the girls. I hadn’t seen her like that at school. She was always so serious. A funny thought crossed my mind. There, she only had to be a kid. She didn’t have to worry about her mommy, or how she would eat, or where her winter clothes were. She could relax for once and be a kid.
“What are you going to do with her? I mean, let’s say you never find Rae. Let’s go worst-case scenario. She went off on a binge and OD’d. It happens when people relapse.”
“Right.”
“So what are you going to do? She can’t grow up here, obviously.”
He eyed me up and down. “You said you’re her teacher?”
“Yes.”
“And you care so much?”
“She’s sort of my special student.” I couldn’t help admitting it.
“I guess she’s lucky to have somebody who gives a shit about her.” He sounded grudging in his praise, but I would take it. I got the impression he didn’t give praise freely.
“I do. I want what’s best for her.”
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing. I’m not putting her in any foster home.” He sounded adamant.
“What makes you say that?”
“I grew up in one.” His grim tone told me everything I needed to know. I knew better than to press the subject.
We stood side-by-side, watching Gigi play. It warmed my heart to see her looking happy. How bizarre, a little girl looking happy in a place like that. Beer signs on the walls in bright, glaring neon. A bar along one side of the room. A pool table, a pinball machine—all right, she might like a pinball machine. Dart boards. Sofas, chairs, a big-screen TV. I thought I saw a video game system on a shelf. All right, she’d like that, too.
Still, it was a very adult place. The people I watched walking to and fro, from one room to another, were tough, scary-looking men. They weren’t the type to mess around with. They were dangerous. And a seven-year-old was in their midst.
I couldn’t let things go on that way.
I turned to Lance, reminding myself to be determined. “I want to take her home with me.”
His eyes went wide when he turned to me. “What?”
“I mean, come on. She doesn’t need to be here. I’m sure you don’t want her here—why would you? You have your…business to take care of. You need to let her go with me so that she can be in a more wholesome e
nvironment.”
He blinked once, twice, then burst out laughing. “A wholesome environment? Where the hell did you come from? I didn’t know they made them like you anymore.”
My cheeks burned. “I mean it, though,” I insisted. He wasn’t going to get me to back down. “She belongs in a home with somebody who cares about her. I know her, I care about her. We have a good relationship. She’s comfortable with me—you saw the way she ran to me earlier. You have nothing to worry about.”
He looked me up and down, like he was considering my offer. I had hope for a minute there. I stared intensely, hoping to convince him with the strength of my conviction.
My heart sank when he shook his head. “No way. It won’t happen. She needs to stay here.”
“But why? It makes no sense!”
“She’s my daughter, and I’ll decide what makes sense for her.”
I sighed in exasperation. It was like talking to a brick wall.
Chapter Four
Lance
She was tough. I had to give her that. No way she was backing down so easily. I sort of admired her—she cared about the kid. People who cared about kids had my respect. I had known enough people who didn’t give a shit about kids to know good people from bad people.
No way I’d give her the kid, though. She was mine. There were things a parent didn’t do.
She put her hands on her hips, and her green eyes burned into me. She wasn’t just tough. She was gorgeous.
“What do you plan to do with her, then?” she asked me, spitting the words out.
“Oh, I don’t know. Virgin sacrifice?” Her eyes went even wider, then narrowed. I snorted. “Come on. Relax. She’s my kid. I’m not taking her around on the back of my bike; she’s not sitting on meetings. Hell, the guys are even watching their language around her.” I snickered, looking out over the room. “The toughest sons of bitches you’ll ever meet, but put a kid in the room and they don’t know what to do with themselves. It’s actually pretty funny. It’s worth having her around just to see what she does to them.”
“Cute.” Jamie wrinkled her nose, sarcastic. “Keep her here as a science project. Great idea, Dad.”
“Oh, relax, okay? Jesus. You’re not the one who had her dropped her off on the outside with a note telling you she was your kid. I didn’t know she existed until Monday morning. I had to find something funny. Otherwise I would have gone crazy before now.” I wasn’t lying. At first, I had no idea what the hell to do with the kid. It was Erica and Traci who really took care of things. They fixed up a room for her upstairs, with her own private bathroom. They were the ones who bought the board games and toys for her. They even went over her school work with her, since her books were in the backpack with a few bits of clothes and stuff—the girls took Gigi to the store to buy new clothes and everything. They were a lifesaver.
It hadn’t been enough to make us all comfortable with having her there, though. Over four days, we had gradually warmed up. Even the toughest of my guys softened up when she was around. It was interesting.
“You think she’s unhappy here?” I asked. “Go over there and play for a while. You’ll see. She’s fed well, she has fun. We’re even trying to help her keep up with her school work. You should be able to tell if we’re doing a good job…Teach.” She scowled at me, like she could have ripped my head off and been happy about it. I couldn’t help picking at her—it was too much fun watching her flip out. She always tried to hide it, like she couldn’t let go of what was inside her. I wondered how much fun it would be to break down that icy wall around her.
She took my advice and went over to the middle of the room, where Gigi was kicking Traci’s and Erica’s asses at Candy Land. They started talking, and I heard Jamie asking the girls questions. I knew she would be impressed with them. They didn’t look like the smartest girls in the world—because they weren’t—but they had a strong instinct when it came to kids. They liked taking care of Gigi, too. I even thought I saw a little shade getting thrown Jamie’s way. They were jealous of her tightness with Gigi.
I grinned to myself, even though female drama usually got on my nerves. Who the hell had time for it? I left them to it, pouring myself a drink before I went back to my office. I had to think things over.
Flash followed me. “Who the hell is that?” he asked, whispering until we were alone.
“Gigi’s teacher.”
“What, complaining that she missed school?”
“Worried, more like.” I watched through the half-open door. Jamie and Gigi laughed together, and Jamie hugged the little girl. “I think she really cares about her. A relief. I didn’t think anybody did before she came here.” I knew what it felt like to have nobody care about me when I was a kid. I didn’t know my daughter, but I didn’t want her to feel that sort of pain.
“And she came here for her? What, did Rae tell her where she was taking the kid?”
“I don’t think so. I think she figured it out. She wanted to find her.” I heard the admiration in my voice. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t think people like her actually existed outside of movies and TV shows. People who cared about other people. She walked into the clubhouse like she belonged there. She wasn’t even afraid. I had to give her credit for that.
“What’s she gonna do? Tell the police Gigi’s here?”
“I should fucking hope not. I already told her I don’t want the kid in a foster home. You know that’s where they’ll throw her.” Then I thought about it and relaxed. “No, she won’t do that. Because she wants her.”
“So why not give her over?”
“I can’t do that.” I couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t that I loved the kid, that I felt an instant bond with her the minute we met or anything like that. She was mine. Nobody took what was mine. And I wanted what was best for her, too. Foster care wasn’t best. Being with her teacher wasn’t best. She needed her father. If we were her family, that was the way it was gonna be. She could do worse than us.
“You’re always the one who says you don’t want any complications. Here you are, pulling one into your life. What’s up?”
“I can’t tell you why. You would understand if you were me.” I finished my drink. Gigi and Jamie were still at it out there, laughing, starting a new game with the girls. The girls still looked a little chilly toward Jamie. I grinned.
“Traci and Erica don’t like her very much,” I muttered, nodding.
Flash laughed. “Yeah, well, she’s a different kind of girl. They don’t know what to do with her.”
That was the truth. She was as different from the girls who hung around the clubhouse as night and day. She was smart as hell, for one thing. A teacher had to be smart, I guessed. They probably thought she was a snob, like she thought she was too good for them. She dressed in nice clothes, didn’t wear a lot of makeup. There were earrings in her ears that I would have bet were real diamonds.
“She’s hot,” Flash admitted.
“Yeah, she is. I’m not blind.” I wanted to take her the second I laid eyes on her. It was just a basic need. I didn’t have to think about it. It was just there. She was fucking gorgeous, hot as hell, her body begged for me to touch it. My hands wanted to feel her curves. I shoved them in my pockets.
“Are you gonna let her take the kid?”
“Hell no.”
“You know she’s not gonna leave without her.”
That gave me an idea. “You’re right. She won’t leave without her.” A smile spread over my face.
“What’s that mean?”
“What’s what mean?”
“I know that smile.” I glanced over at him, and I saw through his goatee that he was frowning.
“Nothing. I just know what to do now.” I opened the door to the office, going back out to the lounge. The girls and Gigi still played their game, just about at the end of it by then.
“Candy Land is a fun game, but it sure does take forever to play sometimes.” Erica rolled her eyes at me, still smiling like she
was having fun. I laughed.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Gigi didn’t seem to care. She was having a great time. I couldn’t help smiling at her. She was a smart kid—I had the feeling she could handle games much harder than Candy Land. She had a sort of real wisdom, too. She rolled with the punches. Like when she met my guys, she didn’t flinch. Once she got over missing home and being scared, she treated life at the clubhouse like it was no big deal. I sort of admired her for that.
