Turning away from him, I drop my head, staring at the floor. I don’t want to answer his question, but I won’t lie to my brother. He should have the truth. “When you called to tell me about Granddaddy, I snapped after we got off the phone. I sent over what I had been working on to my boss, Luka, followed by my immediate resignation. The time I thought I would have with our granddaddy was gone. Realizing that broke my heart and made me aware of just how miserable I was.”
“Why do I feel like there is more to it than that?”
Before I can think better of it, I give him the rest of why I left my job. “So, I was also having an affair with Luka.”
“Your boss,” he repeats, though not in question.
I nod without looking at him, shame burning my cheeks. “After what happened to me, I didn’t allow myself to get close to anyone, but Luka and I were working long hours, and it just happened.”
“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Maddox interrupts me, holding a hand up. “I don’t need to know about your sex life.”
“Fair.” A small smile curls on my lips as I slowly spin back to face him. “Maddox, I really don’t want to sell my half of the ranch. I can help, I have money in savings, forty-five thousand, we can use it?—”
“There’s more to it than just buying you out. Not too long ago, the CEO of an oil company approached me. They want the land, and they’ll do anything in their power to get it. A partnership with the Fallen Demons doesn’t just provide the working capital needed to turn this place around, it also grants us protection.”
“So, we’re doing this together?”
“It’s what Granddaddy wanted.”
Now that everything was out in the open, it was time to start really healing our relationship and move forward with our lives.
CHAPTER NINE
Shadow
“DNA test results show none of us to be the father,” Nightmare announces, comically doing his best to impersonate Maury, making several of our brothers laugh.
As amusing as it may be, I’m not in a laughing mood. It doesn’t matter that I’m relieved to know none of us is the father, that bitch came here claiming her kid was mine. I’ve never fucked a woman without a condom.
I get not everything is a hundred percent, but still, her showing up here the way she had doesn’t sit well with me. She’s up to something, and I want to know what it is.
“Have you noticed her trying to do anything?” I ask, directing my question toward Tormentor and Phantom.
“Other than trying to act like the queen around here? Nope,” Phantom answers.
“She’s been trying to tell the saddle bunnies she’s gonna be your ol’ lady. We put a stop to that,” Tormentor adds grimly. “Since she couldn’t keep her mouth shut when it came to being out of the room we’re keeping her in, we’ve refused to let her out. That woman tried to offer to suck my dick this morning.”
“Said I could fuck her ass,” Phantom adds with a grunt and visibly shudders.
“That bitch is nuts,” Nightmare grumbles. “Considering the test results, what are we gonna do with her?”
“We’re gonna find out what the hell she thinks she’s playin’ at in my clubhouse,” Lucifer growls. “Tormentor, get the prospect to bring her here. I want the damn truth out of her.”
“You got it, Prez,” Tormentor says, getting to his feet and leaving church.
“I’ve been able to see her movements over the past months since she’s been gone,” Dread announces. “Marcy is stupid when it comes to covering her tracks.”
“What did you find?” I ask.
“She’s been spending a lot of time up north in Blackcreek.” Dread leans back in his seat, hands behind his head, looking relaxed, though we all know he’s anything but. “I’ve looked into Marcy’s family; they moved there after she turned eighteen. She stayed behind instead of going with them. When we kicked her out, that had been the first time she had gone to their place. Marcy has been staying with her folks there until she came back to town. She’s been staying at The Ridge Hotel until she checked out the other morning before coming here. According to her accounts, she’s broke and doesn’t have a job.”
“So, she thought she could take advantage and think we’re all a bunch of stupid fucks. She figured she could put the blame for getting knocked up on one of us,” I snarl, pissed beyond measure.
Because of her, I’d left Della alone at the hospital and haven’t heard from her. I knew she was back home, still I’d told her to call me. I’d have given her a damn ride. That was two days ago. Two days of not seeing her. It didn’t matter I’d only spent hours around her. She was back home and consuming my thoughts, unlike anyone else has before.
When we finish this shit up, I’m going to head out to the ranch and see her for myself. This is something I decided over the past few days. I’m going to find out what it is about her that draws my attention.
It has to be more than the attitude. When she was younger, little mousey Della never caught my attention as she does now, not like this. She’s changed a lot in the years, and damn if the thought doesn’t go straight to my dick. She’s something else, and I want to learn everything about her.
