“Okay, I’ll go. But when the gang she fucked over figures out she’s here and comes to kill you both, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I told her and turned to leave.
“What the hell is he talking about, Dani?”
“Grant, wait,” Dani pleaded. “It’s nothing, Grammy.”
“It doesn’t sound like nothing.”
“It’s not what he says. He’s got it all wrong,” she lied, and just like every other time before, my mother believed her.
“See, Grant, you’re wrong,” my mother said as if her word was final.
“I’m not, but I’m not going to stand here and argue with you. I’m leaving. Are you coming with me or not?”
“Yeah,” Dani said. “Give me a minute to change.”
She went into her room and came back a few minutes later dressed in oversized clothes with her hair tucked up into a baseball hat.
“Is that your idea of a disguise?” I asked as she followed me out to my truck. Something about the way she looked seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
She scoffed. “It’s worked for me so far.” She stopped beside my truck and hesitated before opening the door. “Where are you taking me?”
“To the clubhouse,” I said and waited for her to make her decision. I wasn’t going to play her games, and she seemed to understand that, because she nodded once before she opened the door and climbed inside.
“What is it you want to know?” she asked.
“Just wait until we get there. That way you don’t have to explain it twice.”
“Wow. Aren’t you worried I’ll use the time to come up with a lie to get myself out of this?”
I huffed out a laugh. “You could try, but there’s no way you’ll be able to bullshit your way out of trouble this time. My mother is the only one who consistently falls for your crap. I don’t care one way or the other about what happens to you, but your best bet is to be completely honest.”
“You must care a little bit if you’re helping me.”
I shook my head. She was unbelievable. “Let’s get one thing straight right now. I’m not helping you. Finding you and bringing you to the clubhouse is about me, not you.”
Her face scrunched in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“I know you don’t. But you will.”
Thankfully, she remained quiet for the rest of the drive to the clubhouse. She was probably trying to figure out what we knew and how much she should say even though I told her to be honest. She’d never listened to me before, so I didn’t expect her to when it really mattered.
Instead of parking in the forecourt and taking her in through the front doors, I drove around to the back and used the rear entrance to escort her inside the clubhouse and down the stairs to the basement.
I gestured to a chair inside one of the rooms. “Have a seat. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” With that, I closed the door and locked it, laughing to myself when I heard her start to protest.
“You can’t lock me in here!” she yelled.
“I can and I did,” I laughed.
Then, I went upstairs and knocked on Copper’s office door.
“Come in.”
“Hey, Prez. So, uh, I stopped by my mother’s house a little bit ago, and well, Dani was there. And now she’s downstairs in our basement,” I blurted.
“You sure don’t sugarcoat shit, do you?” he asked and got to his feet.
I shook my head. “Sorry, Prez. I’m still a little shocked that I actually found her, and now she’s here.”
