“Whoa,” Miller said. “Where the fuck is Eden right now?”
“In the apartment above the garage. I have two prospects at the door.”
Miller nodded. “Okay. I want to talk to her. Right now. Let’s move.”
Trev rushed forward and shut the door as Miller opened it. “Miller, look at me. She got fucked up last night by some guys. Something with a shooting at a tattoo shop. The guys knew us when they saw the letter and the picture. She’s terrified. She got the letter from Griffin right around the time he died. She doesn’t know…”
“You didn’t tell her?” Gaige asked.
“No,” Trev said. “I didn’t know what the hell to do.”
Miller nodded again. “Well, then it’s time to deliver some really bad fucking news, isn’t it?”
__
seven.
Eden rummaged her way through the cabinets and found a glass and poured herself some water. This was not the homecoming she had expected to have. She thought her father would have come through the door and grabbed her. Lifted her up, hugged her, spun her around. He would have welcomed her into the clubhouse, demand protection from the club, and life would be good. Then she could see her mother - her real mother - and that’s when the world would feel right again.
The door opened and Eden stood up from the table.
Three men came through the door.
One was Trev. The other was about Trev’s height and build, Trev’s age, making him way too young to be her father. The other guy was tall, wide, and had age to his face. But his patch read President.
“Miller,” she whispered.
“She knows your name,” Trev said.
“State the fucking obvious some more,” Miller said. He pointed to Eden. “You’re Eden. You claim to be Griffin’s daughter?”
“Not claim,” Eden said. “It’s the truth.”
“Sit down.”
“No.”
Miller turned his head.
Trev came forward and walked to Eden’s chair. He pulled it out a little more. “Don’t fuck with us, sweetheart. We’re your last hope to get out of this shit alive.”
“What shit?” Eden asked.
Miller pulled out a chair and turned it around. He straddled it. The other guy, Vice President, stood with his arms folded. Eden looked over at Trev.
“Something’s wrong,” she said.
“Yeah, there is,” Trev said.
“You said Griffin sent you that letter about a year ago?” Miller asked.
“Yeah,” Eden said. She slowly sat down. “Why?”
“What took you so long to respond?” the VP asked. “Why now?”
Eden looked at the VP and said, “Because the only person I could trust in the world was murdered last night. And when the guys saw the letter and picture, they wanted to hurt me bad. I had been thinking about it for a long time, wondering what to do. Going back and forth. Yeah, I wanted to meet my mother and father, sure. But then again, they gave me up for adoption. Why?”
Miller looked at Trev and nodded.
“Ah, shit,” Trev whispered. He then crouched down. “Listen, Eden, we need some information and then we can talk about your parents. Okay?”
“Trev,” Miller said.
“Hold on,” Trev snapped.
“What do you want from me?” Eden asked.
“The guys that attacked you,” Trev said. “What did they look like?”
“Everything black. Black leather jackets. Black masks on their faces. Steely eyes. I’ll never forget his laugh. A rough laugh. I can’t describe it but I’d know it if I heard it again.”
“The leather jackets,” the VP said. “Did they have any writing on it?”
“No,” Eden said.
She watched as Trev looked at Miller. They were talking with their eyes. Then they both looked up at the VP.
“Shit,” the VP said. “Let me go make a call and see what I can do.”
He left the apartment and Miller slowly rose up.
“What now?” Eden asked.
“I’m going to go outside and have a smoke,” Miller said. “And Trev here is going to talk to you about something.”
“What?” Eden asked.
“Thanks, Miller,” Trev said.
“Hey, you stuck up for her. She’s your problem now.”
Miller walked away as Eden’s mouth fell open. When he left the apartment, Trev slithered into a chair.
“Listen…”
“You stuck up for me?” she asked.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. They were talking about what to do with you. You don’t understand…”
Eden lunged forward out of her chair and into Trev’s chair. Her arms were around his neck. She couldn’t believe she just did what she did. Better yet, she couldn’t believe the way it felt when Trev put his arms around her. She broke away, just enough to look at him.
“I warned you,” he whispered. “You have to be careful near me. I’m about to break your fucking heart.”
Eden grabbed for Trev’s hand and slid it up her body. “Then be gentle.”