Another moment passed between us, with him deliberating over something and then he let out a huge breath, curved his palm around my neck and pulled me to him in a hug. “Thank fuck,” he uttered, softly.
Shit, first J going all sensitive on me and now, Dad too. And then, out of nowhere, everything slammed into me at once. Relief, gratitude, joy, anger; I felt it all and then some. It unfurled within me, and I was overwhelmed to the point of tears. I started crying and Dad’s hand lightly brushed over my hair, soothing me, and this made me sob even harder.
We stayed like that for what felt like a long time; him calming me with soft reassurances and me clinging to him in a way I never had. I had needed him to be this father many times in my life and he had never come through for me, but this time I felt a shift and it affected me; I let my guard down a little and that was liberating.
Eventually, my tears dried up and I let go. “Thank you,” I said, quietly, looking up into his eyes to see a mixture of concern and love.
He nodded, and brushed his thumbs across my cheeks, wiping away my tears. “Madison, I know you and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, and I fuckin’ know I can be an asshole sometimes, but I’m workin’ on it. I’m sorry that you and your mother were put in that situation today; that you had to witness what you did. And I’m fuckin’ worried about you, worried that this will send you back to that hell you were in after that motherfucker beat the shit out of you.”
Well, fuck me. Marcus Cole was going all emotional on me. It was time to put his mind at ease. “You don’t need to worry about me, Dad. Yeah, that was a fucked up situation, and seeing Nix killed was not on my bucket list, but you know what? I’m happy it’s done because it means you guys can get back to concentrating on club business and we can all breathe easier now. And as far as me losing the plot? It’s not going to happen. I’m stronger now and I have all of you to back me up. This time around, my eyes are wide open and I’m seeing everything in a different light,” I assured him, and then, needing to lighten the mood, I winked at him and said, “I’m not good at asking for help, but I’m working on it, just like you’re working on not being such an asshole.”
He threw his head back and laughed, and it was so good to see my Dad loosen up a little. “Okay, sweetheart, it’s a deal,” he agreed, “Now, let’s get back inside to the party. We’ve got some celebrating to do.”
The party lasted into the early hours and I was exhausted by two am. It had been a great night though, catching up with everyone after being away for the past couple of years and watching the boys shed the tension that they had obviously been feeling. Even Scott let loose a little and I watched with interest as he flirted with a woman I didn’t know. This was out of character for him; to my knowledge, Scott didn’t usually put the hard yards in with the ladies, he just scored whenever he felt the need.
As I watched him, he caught my eye and smiled. It was a dazzling smile, one that Scott didn’t often bring out. He was far too serious, and shouldered too much responsibility as far as I was concerned. I smiled back and then went looking for J.
“There you are,” he said, as I walked into the pool room. The club had three pool tables and J could often be found in here; he loved playing pool and was pretty good at it.
I was taken aback by the woman who was next to J, leaning over the table getting ready to take her shot, tits falling everywhere and ass barely covered by her animal print mini skirt. J had obviously been about to help her take her shot and their closeness sent a rush of jealousy through me. My fists clenched, and my face flushed with a burning heat. It stopped me dead in my tracks and all clear headed thought escaped me. A primal need to stake out my territory took over, damn the consequences.
“What the fuck?” I snapped at J.
Irritation spread across J’s face and he stepped away from the skank and came towards me. “You’re kidding, right?” he demanded, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me to the side.
I yanked my arm out of his grip. “No, I’m not fucking kidding!” I yelled at him, but my eyes were focused solely on the chick who was now looking me up and down as if I was the shit on the bottom of her shoes. “Who is she, J?”
His lips pinched together and I could tell he was fighting to remain calm. “She is no one, and you need to settle the fuck down,” he warned me.
My head jerked back to look at him. “And you need to stop telling me what to do.”
We glared at each other, neither saying a thing, but my mind was racing. How dare he tell me to settle down! I threw my hands in the air and madly declared, “I’m out of here, I need some space.”