“I have a question,” I say, clearing my throat.
“The skinning thing…is that part of the deal?”
Wolf doesn’t say a word as he stares at me and I don’t know how to read him. Turning to Parrish, I spot the menacing look in his eyes. It’s the perfect complement to the devious grin twisting across his mouth.
I think we’ll fit just fine.
-Nineteen-
Charlotte
Past
“Whoa,” Gabby says from beside me. Cringing, I turn to her and watch as she lowers her designer shades. Peering over the black frames, she lets out a low whistle as she stares out the window, taking in the all the bikers. Bringing her here might just be the worst idea yet. “If I can’t find a husband here at least I know there’s potential to get laid. We should crash children’s birthday parties more often,” she marvels, and I smack my palm against my forehead.
With an occasional text here and there, assuring everyone I was okay, I had successfully dodged her and my mother’s calls since my outburst at my mother’s house. I thought I was in the clear until I came home from my morning run and found Gabby sitting on my doorstep with a bag of bagels. There was no turning her away and not just because she came bearing the gift of carbs. Gabby isn’t the type to let something go, she talks everything to death and soon you’re confessing feelings you didn’t even know you had. Some say it’s a gift, I say it’s a curse because I’m the one usually on the receiving end of all her badgering.
For as similar as we are, we’re very different too.
Where she likes to face things head on, I choose to ignore them. I let them fester until the next disaster overshadows whatever was originally bothering me. It’s a revolving cycle and probably unhealthy, but I haven’t fallen apart just yet so why change things.
Anyway, we went inside my apartment and as she unpacked our breakfast, I revealed I had Connor’s birthday party today, that I didn’t have time to indulge in a psych- therapy session with her. That led to her inviting herself to be my plus one and being the girl who volunteered to pick up the cake, there wasn’t time to argue. I couldn’t take back all the things I told her, but maybe I could convince her that I was doing the right thing. That I was in control of my emotions and all that jazz. I should’ve realized she would see this as a meat market, though, and try to nail a bed mate.
“Gab, remember, it’s a birthday party for a little boy who has been through a lot,” I chastise. “Not an opportunity to find your next victim.”
“You’re no fun,” she pouts, looking back out the window. “Where did all these kids come from? And Holy Shit, these people go all out for birthday parties. Our sweet sixteens weren’t even like this.”
I glance around Nansen Park and take in all the children running around. Some of them are wearing bubble vests, other’s little leather jackets. There is a huge inflatable house made for jumping and bouncing, a clown making animals out of balloons and…is that a petting zoo?
“Well, I guess some of them have kids,” I supply. “Oh, there’s Jack,” I add, pointing to where the retired Knight throws a football to a boy who appears to be a little older than Connor if not the same age.
“Who is Jack?”
“Parrish, he’s the one—”
“Shut the fuck up!” Gabby exclaims, cutting me off. “I thought you said Bikers Against Child Abuse was hosting this shindig.”
“They are, but Jack is the man who hired the firm to represent Bishop.”
“So you’re telling me this guy Bishop is part of the Satan’s Knights motorcycle club? Char, you went to criminal justice school. That guy was probably in half your textbooks.”
I roll my eyes and reach for the door handle.
“Actually, he wasn’t, and he’s not a bad guy,” I defend, although the words sound somewhat comical even to my own ears. Jack has a reputation for being the worst of the worst. I mean not too long ago, the news reported he started a ruckus in the emergency room of Staten Island University Hospital, demanding pills. Rumor has it they’ve deemed him insane, a doctor signed off on the paperwork and everything. But I don’t judge people on what others say. They said my dad was insane too, and he wasn’t, he was just a desperate father who broke the law to save his child.
“It’s worse than I thought,” Gabby says thoughtfully.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying you, my friend, are in worse shape than I thought.”
I roll my eyes.
Did I mention Gabby can be super judgmental?
“Look around you,” I dare. “All this is happening because of Jack. He’s the one who brought Bikers Against Child Abuse into Connor’s life and he’s the one funding Bishop’s defense. That has to count for some kind of good, don’t it? I mean, I don’t see anyone from the Richmond County Country Club standing up for an innocent little boy. Maybe you should leave your judgments in the car, especially if you’re looking for a husband.”
I don’t give her a chance to reply as I turn and slide out of the car. Closing the door, I glance around the park, trying to spot Connor in the crowd of children. A car pulls in behind me and I spin around to see it’s Schwartz. Climbing out of his Range Rover, he tips his chin in my direction and moves to the back seat. Curiously, I watch as he opens the door and pulls out a brand-spanking-new Mongoose bike with a big green bow attached to the handlebars.
“What’s that?” I ask as I make my way towards him.
Setting the wheels down on the pavement, he shrugs his shoulders and shuts the door.
“I didn’t like the look of the bike outside the Clemins’ house. The chain was rusted and the vinyl on the seat was peeling,” he replies, shoving his hands into his pocket. “It’s from the firm.”
“Right,” I say, trying to hide the smile on my lips. “Well, that was very thoughtful of the firm. Connor’s going to love it.”
“Good, I docked your share out of your next check,” he grunts. I wouldn’t mind contributing, but I know Schwartz is just pulling my chain. The man is desperate to keep his reputation of being a dick intact. “Where is the kid?”
“I’m not sure, I just got here.”
“Char, the cake,” Gabby calls from behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I watch her nearly drop the cake as she gets a look at my boss. Schwartz suddenly stands tall beside me as he reciprocates her interest.
“Who’s this?” he questions, removing his hands from his pockets.
Oh, for the love of God.
No.
Just no.
“I’m Charlotte’s cousin, Gabriella, and you must be the stiff suit.”
“David Schwartz,” he corrects.
“Nice to meet you, handsome,” she replies, blatantly ogling him. “You know those spiffy shoes of yours are going to get filthy. Who wears loafers to a park?”
“A lawyer.”
“A stupid one.”
“Gab!”
“What? Those shoes cost more than my rent. He’s going to destroy them.”
“I’m sorry, she doesn’t get out much,” I explain to Schwartz. To my surprise, he doesn’t look all that perturbed by the insult. His lips quirk slightly as he steps forward, taking the cake box out of her hands.
“I know a guy who shines shoes,” he retorts before tearing his eyes away from Gabby’s boobs. “Come on Charlotte, let’s go find the boy.”
“What about the bike?”
“Babs, you got that right?”
“It’s Gabby,” she sneers.
“Whatever, grab the bike.”
She looks at me and I suppress a smile.
“You heard the man, Babs,” I tease, shrugging my shoulders as she gives me the finger.
We make our way towards the picnic tables and Schwartz gives Six-Pack the cake. That’s when I spot Connor, sitting at one of the wooden tables with Mr. and Mrs. Clemins. He doesn’t make any attempt to play with all the other kids and that breaks my heart. I start for him just as he lifts his head and I smile at him. Maybe I
imagine it, maybe my heart sees what it wants, but I swear his eyes light up once he sees me.
“Charlotte!”
“Hi, buddy,” I say, kneeling in front of him. “Happy birthday.”
“Thanks,” he replies.
“There’s an awful lot of people here who came to celebrate with you, did you meet all the kids?”
“Six-Pack introduced me to some. Those two boys over there, playing with their dad, are Eric and Robert. And over there, the boy playing football is Danny.”
He diverts his eyes away from the kids and stares aimlessly at the inflatable bouncy house. There’s a sadness that radiates from him and I assume it’s because every boy here is playing with his dad.
“I offered to play ball with him,” Mr. Clemins explains, drawing my attention away from Connor to look at him. He shakes his head sadly and Mrs. Clemins tousles Connor’s hair gently, giving him a reassuring smile.
“He’ll play when he’s ready,” she says.
That should be enough for me, but as I look back at Connor and watch him stare longingly at the other children, I remember being the girl sitting quietly in the school cafeteria while all the other girls talked about what they would wear to the father-daughter dance.
“You know I always wanted to go in one of those things,” I say as I tip my chin to the bouncy house. “They say you’re never too old to live out your dreams.”
He turns to me.
“Have you ever gone inside one? I hear they’re lots of fun.”
“No,” he says. “Do you just jump?”
“You jump and when you fall, you pick yourself back up and jump some more,” I reply, pausing to play my own words back in my head. “Like life,” I continue. “You know, I think that’s the best part.”
“Falling?”
“Scrambling to get back up,” I say. “You don’t always get it on the first try but when you finally do, you feel incredible, like you can do anything.” Drawing out a sigh, I rub my hands over my thighs and rise to my full height. “Maybe next time.”
“I’ll jump with you,” he blurts, standing from the bench. A smile breaks out across my face and a sense of victory washes over me.
“You will?”
“Sure,” he says sheepishly, turning to Mr. And Mrs. Clemins. “Is that okay?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Clemins replies.
Holding my hand out for Connor to take, I glance over my shoulder and spot Gabby standing next to Schwartz and Jack. They all seem to be in deep conversation until Jack meets my gaze. He watches curiously as Connor tugs my hand and starts pulling me towards the inflatable house. I wink at the crazy biker before giving Connor my undivided attention. We climb into the house and Connor turns to me.
“What do we do now?”
“We jump!” I say taking his hands in mine.
Together we bend our knees and jump. We jump and jump until our hands part and we fall. Connor’s little body bounces against the bottom of the inflatable and I watch in awe as a grin spreads across his face. He’s beautiful when he smiles, and I wonder if he has his dad’s smile or his mom’s.
I continue to jump as Connor struggles to stand and when he falls again, my heart skips a beat. My own words sound in my ear and they blend with the sound of his laughter as he pushes himself to try again. I jump again and this time my glasses fall off my face. Connor thinks that’s the most hysterical thing and breaks out into a fit of giggles as we both try to grab my glasses. Fitting them back to my face, I fall on my back as he stands on his two feet. His eyes go wide as he pushes his fists in the air and cheers.
“I did it, Charlotte! I got back up!”
He has no idea the weight those two sentences carry, and I do my best not to cry as I watch him jump for joy.
“Come on,” he encourages. “Get back up!”
I don’t want to.
I want to lay here and memorize the sight of this little boy as he enjoys being a kid and the more I stare at him, the more I wonder how many other children are going through what he is. Then Connor holds out his little hands for me and I shake the thoughts from my head. I can’t help every child, but I can help this one and that’s enough for me. That’s everything. Sliding my hands in his, I let him pull me to my feet.
We jump and we fall.
We get back up because that’s what happens.
Life knocks you down, but never for long.
We stand tall and we realize we’re stronger than we give ourselves credit for.
My phone rings in the back pocket of my jeans and I release his hands, bouncing as I fall onto my back.
“Look how high I can jump,” he exclaims as I breathlessly reach into my pocket to retrieve my phone.
“Go, Connor, Go!” I cheer, trying to catch my breath. I wait until his little feet are in the air before tearing my eyes away to look at the screen. Noting it’s an unknown number, I quickly swipe my finger across the screen and lift the phone to my ear. The motor from the compressor attached to the inflatable makes it hard to hear and I shout over it, greeting the caller.
“Hey,” Bishop’s gruff voice sounds, but that’s all I make out. I cover my other ear with my hand as Connor continues to jump, trying to muffle the noise.
“I can’t hear you,” I shout.
“Can you hear me now?”
“Not really,” I say, continuing to hold my free hand to my ear. This is a big moment for this father and son, and I don’t want anything ruining it for them.
“Hold on,” I tell him before drawing the phone away from my ear. “Connor,” I call, diverting his attention to me. “Come here,” I goad, crooking my finger. Still jumping, he makes his way towards me and glances at the phone in my hand.
“What’s wrong? Do we have to stop?”
“Just for a little,” I tell him, smiling as I hold up the phone. “Your dad is on the phone.”
As soon as I mention his father, his eyes go wide and he drops to his knees. It’s in that moment, as he reaches for my phone without hesitation, that I know for certain Bishop and Connor are going to break my heart into a million pieces.
All this time, I’ve been telling myself I’m only doing what I wish someone would’ve done for me when my father was incarcerated, but the more time I spend around these two, the more attached I become. Where does that leave me when this is all over? When they’re together again and they no longer have a need for me.
Swallowing, I push those thoughts away from my mind and cover his hand with mine.
“You won’t be able to hear him in here because of the compressor, so we have to go outside…” My voice trails as I think about all the people outside. If anyone finds out about this, I’m fucked. “Hey, when we go outside, we’re going to go around the bouncy, so no one can interrupt the call.”
Where no one can see you on the phone.
“Okay,” he says quickly and starts to crawl anxiously towards the exit.
“Connor, wait,” I call.
I’m about to hell him he can’t tell anyone about this when he lifts his head and those blue eyes find mine.
So full of hope.
So full of innocence.
I can’t taint that.
To hell with the consequences, I won’t ask this little boy to lie.
“Wait for me,” I rasp, smiling at him. His grin comes to life again and I crawl around him.
I climb out of the inflatable first, holding out my hands to help him jump down. Without looking around, I take his hand and move out of sight. Once we’re in the clear, I lift the phone to my ear.
“Are you still there?”
“Yeah,” he mutters. “Why are you out of breath?”
“We were jumping around,” I answer. “I’m putting him on now,” I add quickly and hand the phone to Connor. He stares at it for a second before taking it from me and pressing it to his ear.
“Dad? Is it really you?”
This moment is worth all the consequences in the world.
Connor lif
ts his head and a frown ticks the corners of his mouth.
“I can’t hear him,” he murmurs.
I bend to his height and take the phone, placing it on speaker before handing it back to him.
“Try now,” I whisper.
“Dad?”
“Hi Bud,” Bishop replies hoarsely. The emotion is evident in his tone and paired with the way Connor looks at me with shock, my eyes fill. “Happy birthday,” Bishop continues.
“Daddy, it’s really you.”
“Yeah, Bud, it’s really me.”
“When are you coming to get me?”
“Connor…I…soon, buddy. I’m trying my best.”
“I miss you,” Connor whispers, his lower lip quivering slightly, I wrap my arm around his shoulders. Fighting my own emotions, I give him a squeeze.
“Oh man, Connor, daddy misses you too,” Bishop rasps. “So damn much.”
“I don’t understand,” Connor cries. “Are you working? Is that why you’re not here?”
Bishop doesn’t say anything at first and I touch my hand to Connor’s cheek, wiping away the few tears that have fallen.
“Remember what I told you the last time we saw each other? That your dad is working on making his way back to you?”
He nods.
“You said that’s why he sent his friends to make sure I’m safe.”
“That’s right. Your dad sent an army of people to surround you until he can be here with you.”
“Is that right, daddy?”
“Yeah, Buddy,” Bishop finally replies. “That’s right. Listen to me, son, I want you to pay close attention to what I’m saying, can you do that for me?”
“Yes.”
“I love you,” Bishop cries. “I know I didn’t say it as much as I should’ve and I never really showed you how much either, but that’s going to change, okay? I promise you that’s all going to change.”
There is no stopping the tears.
Not after I hear Bishop say those words to his son.
Not after I hear the emotion in his voice.
Not after I wipe the tears from his son’s face.
“I love you too, daddy.”
“There’s something else…” Bishop starts.
“What?”
Breaking The Chains (Satan's Knights Prospect Trilogy) Page 15
