Reverence: MC Romance (The Davis Chapter Book 3) (2 page)

The grill sizzled as my dad threw on four steaks. To the left, I could hear the Murphy kids playing. Our fence was just high enough to keep our backyard private just like Dad preferred.

"All right, how do y’all want your steaks? Gage?"

My brother looked up from his phone. "Bloody, twitching."

He nodded. "Can do." He pointed the tongs at my mother. "Lita?"

She looked up from tossing the salad. She gave Gage a disgusted look. "The opposite as his. I want to know it's dead."

"You got it, sweetpea." He gave my mom a wink. Those two were still so in love after twenty-five years.

Before he could ask me, I swallowed the chips I had stuffed into my mouth and held up a finger. "Just a sec," I managed. Once my mouth was empty, I looked back up. My dad had his arms crossed so that his old-style font that read
Devil's Branch
 on one arm and
Motorcycle Club
 on the other were in line.
 

"Medium, please."

"You got it." He turned back to man the grill.

It looked like something out of a dull, ordinary story. If it hadn't been for my tattoo-laden brother and father, we would’ve looked like any other family on our street. We all knew better, though. My mother didn't have the typical ol' lady look of the tight t-shirt and hotpants, but she was just as much a part of the club as my father. My brother was being groomed to take over the top spot, if he could get his temper under control. His best friend and club brother, Ty, had the same issues with anger. Those two could’ve been twins.

So, Angel," my father spoke to me but kept his focus on the grill, "How's the first semester going?"

"It's going well. Big change from high school, but in a good way, you know?"

He took a pull from a beer. "I do not. Got sick of high school during my junior year and called it quits. Something you won't be doing with your schooling."

"I know, I know.” My father constantly drilled me to stay in school and graduate.

My mom jumped in, "Any new friends?" She was never as good at covering her true intentions up like my dad. I could hear what she was really asking in her voice. She didn't mean girlfriends. I wondered if she and my father had planned it, or if she thought our family dinner would be a good time to jump in with her concerns.

My mind jumped to Romero right away. He was new, and we were far more than just friends. Things between us were heating up more day after day. I tried to think of a night when he hadn't spent the night at my dorm or we crashed at his place. It was just so damn hard to pull myself away from him, even though we both knew the danger.

I rolled my eyes at my mother. “No new boys, if that’s what you mean. Don’t worry, though. I’m making friends.” Before my dad could jump in, I added, “And I’m staying out of trouble.”

He smile. “And that’s the way it’s going to stay, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, because between me and your brother, we got enough trouble in this family.”

Mom shook her head. “Ain’t that the truth.”

 
After dinner, while Gage and my mother carried all the dirty dishes inside, my dad sat down beside me.
 

He let out a sigh as he sank into a chair across from me. Some days he could fool you with just how young he could look. I saw every year on his face that day. He had something on his mind; something he didn’t want to talk about in front of the rest of our family. I didn’t know exactly what it meant, but my guard was up anyway.

“Whatcha thinkin’, Daddy?”

He finished off the beer that was in front of him. “Work shit.”

When your father was the president of an outlaw biker gang, that statement could mean any number of things. Drugs, violence, and all kinds of bad shit.

“There’s a new club in town that’s got me a little more than itchy.”

I nodded like I was hearing his griping for the first time. The truth was I knew all about the Rising Sons. More than
he
did, probably. I was much deeper on the inside than anyone realized. I could probably rattle off all the members who held ranks, and I knew the history of the Sons. If my father knew just
how
I knew all of that, he’d probably have a mini-stroke.

I knew he was just venting, and it was best to let him speak without interrupting; just nod at the right times. “I wouldn’t care if it was a new club, but they ain’t. They’re expanding territory up from Bakersfield. Spreading themselves so thin is a stupid move, and it ain’t the only one they’ve made. They’re so fucking cocky. I can’t stand that shit. Know your place, goddamnit.”

“Yeah.” I was barely hanging on. My mind was torn between the family I loved, and a man on the other side of the coin that I was quickly growing to love, as well.

He stared off, looking for answers in the horizon. “Something’s gotta be done.”

My eyes went wide, but I covered up with a bored look before he turned to me. He gave me a half-hearted smile. “Know what I mean?”

I appeased him, even though there was pain in my heart. “Yeah. I gotcha, Daddy.”

His voice changed as he spoke, “Julie, I’ve been meaning to talk with you. Your mother and I are just so proud of you going to college. We really do want you to have a better life than we have.” It sounded like he was pushing off the worry of his work. I was glad for it. His earlier words were a little too ominous for my liking.

“I know that, Dad.” I loved my mother, but he and I were closer. Ever since he had rescued me from a bad situation with a high school boyfriend of mine, my father and I had shared a special bond. He and I could always talk honestly with each other, and I respected that. My thoughts changed slightly after his next statement, though.

“She won’t come out and say it out loud, but your mother’s worried.” He raised his hands to cut me off. “I know it’s a bit silly, but you know how she is. Ever since things with Aaron, she has this weird thing about you finding a good man. She’s actually had me on the case since the beginning of summer. She just sensed something different in you, I guess. I don’t know why.”

My heart started beating harder as he spoke. I didn’t like the direction that the conversation was going in. He was right; my mom never spoke out loud about my relationships, but it was clear that she was butting in. Had she found out about Romero and me? Had she lied to my father or told the truth, knowing what that could mean? I couldn’t think of the right words, so I had to let him go on.

My dad looked visibly uncomfortable. His hands twisted against each other. “There’s…There’s a new guy rolling with the D.B.’s. He’s a little younger than I’d like, but I guess your mother knows more about him than I do. She says he’s a good guy with a good heart. I absolutely fucking hate the idea of setting you up with somebody, but the thing is: Harris is connected. From everything I hear, his pop is high up in the military. We give him what he wants, word is we’ll have access to all the munitions we’ll ever need.”

What? What the fuck?
Was I understanding my father right? Was he really trying to pimp me out for some guns? That was exactly what this sounded like. “Dad, what the hell are you saying?”

My father recognized the tone in my voice. He softened his own and raised a hand as he said, “Now hear me out. This isn’t some Hajeeb Indian arranged marriage bullshit. Really, I just need you to string him along for a few months until we can start getting the shipments rolling in. After that, we can buy them off with money or drugs or whores or whatever.”

I was too stunned to move. Or to come up with a response. No wonder he was talking so low; if my mother knew my father’s real plans, she would’ve slapped him across the face with everything she had. It was almost inconceivable. No matter what he said, he was trying to marry me off. He was trading his only daughter for some guns. Every tiny bit of respect that he had clawed out of me over the years collapsed into a dusty heap of rubble and memories.

Had everything he’d done as a family man been in service of the club? Had he been waiting for the moment when he could use his young daughter as a bargaining chip? Was he Captain twenty-four/seven, or did he have brief moments where he was a loving father? In that moment, I suspected that he was nothing but a solider for his stupid fucking motorcycle club.

He was staring at me, probably because I was staring off into space as the image of my father crumbled in my mind. “Julie? You ok? I know this sounds bad, but it’s for the family.”

“
Which
family, Dad?” I spat the words at him.

His expression didn’t change. Maybe he knew I’d react like that. “Ain’t no difference between the two. You know that.”

I stood up from the table, suddenly feeling the California heat on my skin. “Right. Is that why you’re whispering all of this to me? Is that why you don’t want Mom to know? Or maybe it’s Gage. Maybe my brother—a Brancher— would recognize that you aren’t even pretending to be my father in this moment; your a
pimp
.”

My last words came out somewhere near a scream, and my father stood up. His expression finally changed. He was pissed. He leaned forward with a clenched jaw and fists. “Julie, keep your fucking voice down. I’m not pimping you out, goddamnit. I’m forging an alliance that will guarantee that you never pay a cent to go to that uppity fucking college.”

My heart froze for a moment. After all his talk about me graduating and being something important, he shattered all of those ideas with a single sentence.
 

He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I know this is a shock, but I know exactly how much school is going to run you. String this dude along for a few months, and it won’t cost you a dime. I promise you that.
 

 
My mouth dropped open, and I could only stare at the stranger in front of me. He sounded like a salesman instead of my father. Romero was running through my mind. Even if I wasn’t dating someone, I wouldn’t subject myself to…to whoring myself out. Did my father see all women as commodities? Did he use my mother in the same way?

I needed Romero. I needed to see him. I needed to feel his comforting arms around me.

“I have to go,” I said it as I turned away from my father. I couldn’t stand to look at him for one more second without going crazy.

I passed through the kitchen, my mind a million miles away.
 

“Yo, sis. Feel like giving us a hand?”
 

I ignored Gage and ran for my bedroom. After grabbing my purse, I headed for my car. I didn’t text Romero until I had backed out of the driveway.
 

Meet at our spot, ASAP.

My eyes were in the rearview mirror because I was sure my dad would come after me. Whether I wanted him to or not, I wasn’t sure. I think part of me wanted him to chase me down and apologize; for him to tell me it was a stupid idea and that he was sorry. Another part of me didn’t want to see my father ever again.

As I pulled up to a stop sign, my phone vibrated between my legs.

You got it. There in 15.

Just seeing a response from Romero eased my heart, but not as much as I would’ve liked. We had a problem; a major one. Things between Romero and I were complicated enough, but I had no idea they were about to get even messier.