“Why didn’t you tell me about who my father was when we left Vegas?”
He sighs, his fingers trailing up and down my arm blissfully. Turning my head, I look into his dark eyes, ones that are capable of love one second and putting a rifle to someone’s head the next.
“You had enough falling apart at your feet, I didn’t think letting you believe your father was the hero you thought he was a little bit longer was such a bad thing. Even if it meant you hated me, it was worth it.”
I lace my fingers with his, wanting to be touching him. This right here is why I love him. He may do the most terrible things, things that are unimaginable to any normal person but it’s the things in between that hooked me so quickly.
“Looks like we do have something in common,” I mutter. He looks at me with a puzzled look. “We both have shitty parents.”
“It’s fitting. Our dads got into each other’s pockets when we were kids, they started it all.”
“What do you mean?”
Running the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip his forehead creases. “You sure you want to hear all of this?”
I nod. As much as this is going to hurt, hearing how bad of a man my father—Lieutenant Oaks—really was I need to hear it. “I need to know what’s real and what isn’t if I have any hope in piecing things back together.”
Scratching his head, he takes a deep breath.
“Here is what I know. Every man has his price, my dad was an expert at finding that weakness. In fact, it’s one of the most useful tools he taught me. Your father’s was power; his job. My dad bait and switched clubs all around the Las Vegas area, turning the leaders of gangs and clubs into the hands of your father. Your dad went up the ranks with how many criminals he was taking off the street, some had been wanted for ages.”
My head throbs with the information, things clicking into place that didn’t before. “I remember him telling me he got Lieutenant so quickly because he followed the rules and that literally brought the criminals to his front door.” I shake my head angrily. “He was a liar.”
Zeek chuckles, “In a way, he was kind of right.”
“You said he was a murderer?” The words come out painfully.
“You sure you want to know?” He runs a hand along my spine. I nod, biting my lip to keep from bawling.
“A clean deputy caught your dad and Frank dealing one night, and your dad buried him.”
I suck in a breath so sharp I cough. Zeek slaps my back, helping me catch my breath.
“You okay?” My lips purse, and tears race out of my eyes.
“When your dad got Lieutenant, and my dad became the most outlawed club member in the west, things went sour between the department and club.”
I roll over onto my stomach, resting my head on my arms. Fixated on the wall as Zeek continues to explain how Lieutenant Oaks was an outlaw himself, and put my mother and me in danger without us even knowing it. Him allowing me into the department with a blind eye was like strapping a ticking time bomb to my chest. Closing my eyes, pieces that never seemed to make sense as I was growing up fall into place.
“Lieutenant or not, how is that enough to pay off the mortgage, Larry?” My mother slapped the bill down on the table. I was peeking around the corner, watching them carry on their fight.
“Caroline, don’t question how much money I make, or what I bring into this household. I paid it off, you should be thanking me.”
“You have been acting really strange lately, I don’t even know who you are anymore.” My mother rubs at her forehead, her voice warning she’s about to cry.
My father throws his hands out like he doesn’t know what to do.
“Caroline, I have just been,” he pauses, and looks down at the floor. “It’s not easy being responsible for so many deputies, I’m doing my best. The money came from a bonus, I thought it would be nice to pay it off so we didn’t have to worry about it.”
My mother looks up, wiping her face. “You promise?”
My father smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes, dear.”
“How could I have been so blind?” I whisper, still focused on the wall.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Zeek
WAKING JILLIAN UP THIS MORNING, her knees are rosy red from the carpet. After I fucked her into the floor, we got a shower together where we practically kissed the entre time. I never saw kissing as a needed thing before Jillian, but last night I couldn’t get enough of her tongue in my mouth, my hand in her hair. There were so many unspoken things in those kisses.
She stirs, the sheet riding down to the mound of her bare ass. I wouldn’t let her put clothes on before bed. I wanted to feel all of her next to me.
“You hungry?” I can’t help but run my hand along her bare spine, I fucking missed touching her.
“Mm, yeah, I am, actually.” The sound of sleep thick in her voice is husky and adorable.