“I didn’t look at the file other than to find the address on the top page of it. It had the studio warehouse and this place right on top, along with your phone number,” he explains and lets out a heavy breath. “But Cy, he dug deep in a short amount oftime. It’s not hard for him when he’s onto something. He found someone else had also been looking into you.”
“What?” I breathe. I didn’t like the sound of that.
Dagger nods, not wavering as he keeps going. “I sat down with my Prez and Cy as he told us this. Hammer made a call since we knew who the hell it was to find out why they were looking into you.”
“Who was it? I don’t get why?—”
“What do you know about your dad?” he asks, interrupting me.
I frown at his question, not liking this at all. “I don’t know who my dad is.”
“That’s why you told me about the baby. You said you didn’t need anything from me, but you wanted me to know I was going to have a child. You were giving me the option to know our baby,” he says so matter-of-factly, it’s uncanny how he remembers everything.
I swallow nervously, feeling my throat tightening, my breathing becoming unsteady.
“I never knew who he was. My mom never told me,” I whisper.
“You don’t have a close relationship with her,” Dagger states, nodding.
“You can say that considering I don’t want anything to do with the vile woman,” I snap and suck in an unsteady breath. “Growing up in my mom’s house, it wasn’t easy. No, it was a total nightmare. If it wasn’t what Rena Ray wanted or about her, she’d throw a fit. I can’t tell you how many times I walked in on her giving blow jobs to random men. Or her bouncing on them with their bare ass on the couch I had to sit on. The older I got, the more she hated me. She couldn’t just lock me away. The men she brought home would eye me up for size, some even tried. . .” Ishudder at the memory of it all. It’s a part of my life I refuse to think about.
“Any of them succeed?” Dagger growls, eyes blazing with fury.
“More than one would get into my room,” I answer, shakily. “She would be passed out when they did, and they’d laugh. The one time I told her, she slapped me across the face, calling me a slut for spreading myself and inviting them to my bed.”
“Stupid cunt needs a bullet in her head.” The harsh bite in his voice gives me pause. “You talk to her at all?”
“She calls, and I refuse to answer. I’ve learned there’s no point in blocking her number, considering she doesn’t get the hint and calls from other numbers. Doesn’t even matter if I change my number, somehow she seems to find the new one.”
It’s a blessing I was able to keep her from posting comments of any kind to any of my social platforms. If I could have kept her from finding out I was a music artist, I would have. She thinks because I have music out there that she’s entitled to the money I make.
That’s not happening.
“Right,” Dagger grunts and shakes his head.
“Why do you ask about her?” I whisper, unsure if I want to know the reason behind this.
“We have a charter out in Colorado. That’s part of the intel that Cy shared about you, that’s where you’re from. They were the ones who were looking into you.”
I swear my heart stills in my chest at the mention of the Devil’s Riot Charter there. Weakly, I ask, “Why?”
“Your mom went there looking for Boxer, Grinder’s dad. They found out about you and were looking into you,” he says gently, though I could see the tick of the muscle in his jaw. “Grinder’s the President of the charter there, and he’s your brother.”
“What?” I stare at him wide-eyed and unbelieving.
“To say Boxer not knowing about you is hitting hard, and they’re pissed. Both of them. Grinder’s older than you, by ten years, and is not happy with the revelation of not being able to be in your life. One thing about my club, about my brothers, there’s nothing any of us wouldn’t do to protect our families. To make sure those we care about are safe.”
My mind is reeling over the information that Rena went to my dad. More so about the fact I have a brother. I never thought of it before. I always thought of the man who was supposed to be my dad and didn’t know about me. I hadn’t dared think further on the thought.
“Why would they care about a woman they didn’t know about?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“They care because they’re not douchebags or bitches who think of only themselves.” Dagger’s answer comes out through gritted teeth as he reaches for me, shifting me up off the couch and onto his lap with my legs straddling either side of his waist. “Growing up, that’s what I dealt with. Up until I couldn’t take anymore and joined the military. Did what I could there, got out, found my brothers, and haven’t looked back. My family consists of my brothers who take my back without question. They might not be blood, but they’re family no less. I’d kill for them as they would for me.”
I liked that he had this. Has his brothers. The way he’s spoken about them over the weeks we’ve spent together, I know he’s telling the truth. He never went into detail about his family like he just did, but what he did share, I was able to put the pieces together.
“I’m glad you have your brothers,” I tell him, cupping either side of his face in my hands.
Staring into his eyes, seeing past just the dark brown of them, I lean in, my lips pressing into his.
