“Hailey’s asking for you, Alex. She’s sick and she wants her daddy, her bed, and her toys. Whatever you have going on, you can work around us like you always do, but I’m bringing her home.”
Arguing was futile, so I didn’t object. Besides, if Hailey was asking for me, there was no way I could deny her. “Alright. See you guys in five.”
I crept down to the basement, but Sasha was still asleep. Hoping she’d stay that way for at least another day or two so I could figure out what to do, I slipped back into the living room and waited to greet my family.
***
Sasha
I awoke to the sound of the door opening. Expecting Tap, I was surprised to see a dark-skinned woman wearing a thigh-length flowery dress. She stepped inside like she had a purpose but stopped short when her gaze landed on me. Her eyes widened as she looked me over.
“Hi,” I said, giving her my friendliest smile as I tried not to gawk. She was gorgeous, and her face held the kind of timeless beauty that made it impossible to guess her age. “I’m Sasha. Are you… related to Tap?”
I was hoping against hope that she was his sister and not his wife. After everything we’d shared yesterday, if I found out Tap was married, I’d have to swear off men forever. After I killed him. No married man should ever flirt the way he was flirting with me.
Then again, maybe he was just being nice, and I’d misread all his signs.
“Tap?” Confusion furrowed her brow for a moment before a smile tugged at her lips. “He gave you his biker name.”
She made it sound like a big deal, but I was far more concerned with whether or not I was lusting after a married man. “Yes.” I shrugged. “I guess?”
“I’m Doris. How do you know my son?”
Not his wife or his sister, she was his mother. I could live with that. Hell, I could dance over the moon at that. Trying not to appear too relieved, I focused on her question. “I… uh…” He hadn’t told her about me. I was a quick learner, and rarely made the same mistake twice. My big mouth had already gotten me into trouble once when I blabbed to Havoc about Tap being a stripper, and I wasn’t going down that road again. “You should probably ask him.”
She leveled a glare at me. “Maybe I should, but I’m asking you.”
I’ve faced off with a lot of hardened criminals over the years, but I hadn’t ever been confronted with the likes of Doris’s mean mug. Sitting a little taller, I reminded myself that I was an officer of the law who’d been trained for conflict de-escalation and resolution. Surely I could hold my own against the glare of one angry mother. “Tap’s done a lot for me and he values his secrets. I won’t betray his confidence. Not even to his mother. I’m sorry.”
Something that looked like admiration sparkled in her eyes as she nodded. “Do you know how long you’ll be staying?”
“No. That’s up to Tap as well.”
She frowned and still managed to look beautiful. I needed to find out what kind of anti-aging serum she was using and buy stock in it.
“Have you been upstairs?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know the code to the door.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh. Sounds like I need to have a discussion with my son.” The determination in her eyes made me pity the fool who dared challenge her. If she was going after Tap with that look, I hope he knew how to dodge and run. “Will you at least tell me what happened to you?” She gestured at my face and the visible bruises on my legs and arms.
Doris seemed frustrated about being left in the dark, and with a son like Tap, who could blame her? As much as I wanted to shine a light on what had happened, it wasn’t my place. If Tap hadn’t told her my story, I wouldn’t either. “I can’t. It’s better if you don’t know. I’m sorry.”
She sighed. “You sound just like him. Can I get you anything? Water? Lunch?”
I picked up my empty glass from beside the sofa and held it up. “More water would be amazing.”
She took my glass and disappeared through the door, only to return moments later with a refill.
I thanked her and she left again.
I went to the restroom to brush my teeth and evaluate my appearance. My eye was no longer swollen, but today it looked like a tie-dye design of olive green, mustard yellow, and shit brown. Not my best colors. The bruising on my jaw had mostly faded, but my arms and legs still looked like someone had taken a meat tenderizer to me. I rotated my shoulder a few times, happy that the pain was practically gone.
Since I didn’t know whether or not I should get my stitches wet, I hadn’t bothered with a shower yesterday. Today, I felt grimy and gross, so I said, ‘to hell with it’ and undressed. The shower head had a massage setting, so I turned the water as hot as I could handle and let it work the soreness and tension out of my body.
I’d grabbed a towel and started drying off when there was a knock on the bathroom door. Wrapping myself up, I called out, “Come in.”
Tap entered, holding a clean pair of shorts and T-shirt. “Hey. How you feelin’?” I could have been imagining it, but I swear his gaze kept trying to drop down to check out my body.
