Page 53 of Contracted to the Bikers

“I’m not alone. And I won’t back down to Briggs. If you truly want to keep Jessy and me safe, and protect your reputation and stay out of jail, there’s only one thing you can do.”

He looks at me hopefully. “What? I’ll do anything.”

“You can testify against Briggs for me.”

Chapter 21

Cruz

To say I wanted to punch Sloane’s ex would be an understatement. I hate the sniveling weasel on sight, and the more he speaks, the less I like him. It’s only out of respect for Sloane that I resist the urge to wipe that smug, self-serving expression from his face. That and Jessy calling me her dad. That makes me want to do her proud and be the kind of dad she deserves. She sure as shit drew the short straw with her biological one.

Connor reluctantly agrees to Sloane’s plan. Whether that’s because he’s actually grown a spine or because he rightfully guesses I’d gladly force him to comply, I don’t know and I don’t care.

I’m in awe of Sloane’s calm, unruffled demeanor. She doesn’t raise her voice or lash out at her ex, though there must be so much she wants to say to him, so much pain. She focuses on the case, on taking Briggs down.

Only when Connor has finally gone, tail between his legs, does she finally let down her guard. We’re in our meeting room where we moved to discuss a plan in private. From the other room, I can hear that the bar is busy, the muffled sounds of music and laughter drifting through. I pull her close, breathing in her familiar smell.

“You were incredible. You’re incredible,” I murmur into her hair, kissing the top of her head.

She melts into me. “I still can’t believe it…” Her voice has that shell-shocked tone of someone still processing.

“You don’t believe him when he says he didn’t know?” Rook probes gently.

She shakes her head, pulling away from me slightly. “No, I believe him. Connor is spineless, but he’s not a total bastard who would willingly put his daughter in danger.”

“Then what can’t you believe?”

She shakes her head, thinking. “I’d like to say I can’t believe he only came back to save his own ass, but that’s not true. I’m not surprised.” She lets out a small, humorless laugh. “No. What I can’t believe is the fact that I ever married him. That I ever thought he was the man I should spend the rest of my life with.”

I smile at her wryly. “We all make mistakes. Rook lost his virginity to Janine, thought he was in love.”

Rook scowls at me, but there’s no real annoyance in his expression. Sloane looks at Rook, who shrugs and holds his hands out.

“As in Janine? The woman who came in here a few weeks back with her girlfriend?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

I click my fingers and grin. “The very same.”

Sloane laughs and the sound is music to my ears. Rook smiles, gladly accepting the teasing if it makes her happy. “In my defense, she didn’t know she was a lesbian at the time. We were all young, and she was the cool older woman whose father was a member of Iron Vale. She was the one who got us all into the club.”

“So you slept your way to the top, Mr. President?” Sloane teases, opening her mouth in fake shock, pretending to clutch her pearls.

This sets us all off, providing much-needed relief. Rook shares a story about the girl I dated in my early twenties, who set fire to my stuff and totaled my bike after I hooked up with a club girl.

“You cheated?” Sloane asks, not judging but a little surprised.

Rook shakes his head, chuckling. “Nah, Cruz here might be a bit of a ladies’ man, but he’s no cheat. Just hard to tie down. They weren’t official.”

Sloane frowns. “She obviously thought otherwise.”

“We’d only been on one date! We didn’t even kiss because I was dating the club girl she said I cheated with!” I explain with a laugh.

This revelation sets us all off laughing again. When Boone appears, he finds us practically hysterical with laughter.

His mouth quirks with a surprised smile. “What did I miss? What’s so funny?”

We’re laughing too hard to respond for a second. Sloane clutches her stomach, breathing deeply as the laughter subsides, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. She shakes her head. “The guys were just cheering me up about my shitty past relationship by sharing some horror stories of theirs,” she says, her voice light and breathless. When she’s finally able to speak properly, she asks, “Where’s Jessy? Is she okay?”

I notice the flash of guilt she always gets when berating herself for not being there for her. I wish she wouldn’t judge herself so harshly, that she’d understand that having a brief moment of reprieve doesn’t make her a bad mom.