Reverence: MC Romance (The Davis Chapter Book 3) (9 page)

Faith put her hands on my shoulder, but I shoved them off. She tried to get me to listen. “Julie, you’ve got to calm down. We’re not keeping you prisoner here. You wanna take my keys and head back up to Davis? Be my guest.”

Faith stood up and motioned toward the door. “You think we’re keeping you here? That would be understandable if not for everything we’ve done for you. We’ve taken you away from danger, and we’ve promised you safety. You’re the daughter of a rival club president, and we took you in as one of our own. Do you think we do that with every girl comes in off the street?”

My heart rattled inside my chest. There was no controlling my pulse. I knew Faith was telling me the truth, but my mind didn’t want to accept it. Even if my father was a bad man, I didn’t think his poison had infected my brother. I didn’t think my brother would stoop to such levels for the club. My father had always told him that blood family came first. Of course, he’d told me the same thing and then tried to trade me for weapons. I thought Gage was better than that.

Raven stepped in front of the bed but stopped short of blocking the door. “Julie, I can promise you we’re only here to help you. I know this is confusing and scary. Believe me, I put on a brave face, but I’m terrified that my baby is going to grow up without a father. I’m scared to death that he won’t even make it back to kiss my stomach one last time. I’m sorry if we gave you the impression that we aren’t as scared as you. Faith has almost lost Bear more times than she can count. I watched Gunner’s brother die defending those that he loved. Don’t think you’re alone. That’s
exactly
why we’re here.”

 
Both women stood, watching me. I took in their words, trying to force my mind to understand them. It wasn’t just a choice between love and family anymore. It was a choice between
families
.

I saw my phone sitting on the nightstand. It was flashing, letting me know I had another text. After recognizing my thumbprint, the screen came to life. I had two texts from Romero.

Romero: Things all quiet up here. Love you and hope you are safe.

Romero: We think they are trying to flush you out. Julie, don’t reply to family.

I looked to Raven. “You’re really sure?”

She nodded. “My source is pretty damn reliable. Think about it. Is this something your father might pull?”

James “Captain” Capriani was a fan of smoke and mirrors. He loved toying with his enemies any way that he could. Even when he knew he could attack and win outright, sometimes he toyed with them, letting the pressure build. It sounded exactly like something he’d do. I sunk back down into the bed. Before applying to Raven, I banged out one to Romero.

Julie: All well in Bakersfield. Please come back to me when this is all over. Love you.

Faith and Raven watched me. I hung my head. “I’m sorry. I freaked out, and I shouldn’t have done that. I’m usually strong, but that text got the better of me.”

Faith moved away from the door and sat beside me. “Honey, you don’t have nothing to apologize for. This is a little beyond your everyday stress, so I think anyone would be entitled to have a little freak out. We really are here for you.”

It took them talking me down, but I felt a little more calm. “What do we do then?”

Raven shook her head. “Nothing at the moment. The D.B.s are probably rallying their troops from around the area. Same thing we did.”

I had already tried pleading with Ty and Romero, but I was still going to give it a go, “Is there anything we can do to end this without bloodshed?”

The shock of seeing my brother’s text had made me rethink things. I had been thinking about everything in black and white. If anything happened to my father or Gage, my mother would be a wreck. After hearing what Faith had been through, I didn’t think my mother could handle losing one of her boys.

Before either woman could reply, I added, “I think I could solve this, actually.” An idea was forming in my mind. It was dangerous, but I’d rather put myself in harm’s way than risk more lives.

Faith could see the wheels turning in my mind. “Just what are you thinking, girl?”

I smiled even though I really had no idea if I could talk some sense into the old man. “Just give me a chance to call my pop.”

Even after reading Romero’s texts, I was still nervous to call my father’s phone. If it kept ringing until his voicemail kicked in, I thought my heart might give out for real. I was getting sick and tired of the deception and the games.

Raven and Faith weren’t too confident, but they did give me the room to myself, so I could speak with him. Of course, I had only told them half of the plan. They wouldn’t have liked the other half one bit. It didn’t matter. If my father agreed to the plan, everything work out just fine. If he didn’t answer, though…

 
With one ring before voicemail, the phone clicked. “Well, well, well. Look who decided to show her face.” My father’s voice sounded completely in control; almost as if he had been expecting my call. Maybe if I had taken Gage’s bait, I would call my father’s number, anyway.

“Look who rose from the dead.” My voice sounded completely in control, too.

“So you don’t even believe your own brother anymore. What’s happened to you, Julie?” He didn’t even sound like my father. He sounded more like a hostage negotiator. That was fine, because we were going to bargain.

I made sure my smile came through in my voice, “Daddy, I could always tell when Gage was lying. I’ve known what I was getting for Christmas every year since I was ten.” It took every bit of focus to keep my heart beating slowly. “Why don’t we cut the shit, huh?”

“Sounds good to me, JuJu.” That old nickname sounded menacing now.

As I sat on the guest bed in the belly of the beast, I wished more than anything for a glass of water. My throat was parched, and I knew that clearing my throat would show a sign of weakness. I couldn’t do that. I had to remain strong as I squared off against my father.

“You need Harris to get those guns, and you need me to get Harris. Since your connection with Blythe has dissolved, you’re shifting the club in a different direction. Am I missing anything?”

My dad didn’t say anything for a few seconds. It was a nice bit of confidence boost for me. “Just a detail here and there. For the most part, though, I’d say you’ve got the nuts and bolts.”

“Good.” It had been a roll the dice because I wasn’t sure if my father was going to take over the drug business or not. Maybe that had something to do with the details. Either way, I had an upper hand.

My heart pounded harder, and I silently cursed it. “I’ll come back on the condition that you call off the search. I know you’re not just looking for me.”

“Damn, girl. Must’ve been listening a little harder than I ever gave you credit for.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I must’ve been. I know how much you despise the Rising Sons. The one thing that I don’t know is why. You curse their name all the time, but rarely give a reason. You bitched and moaned about that informant or whatever, but what did they do to you? You may not be president of the company, but you are a president. Companies adapt when competitors come into town. What was your plan to adapt?”

“My plan,” I hear him keeping his voice under control, “was to make sure we had a monopoly again. No offense, but you don’t know the first fucking thing about running a club. If I can eliminate the competition, there’s no need to change how things have always been.”

I heard that speech before. It was in a slightly different form, but the content was the same. My father likes the way things were and hated change. He complained about too much electronics on cars, how music sounded like machines fucking, and how the Internet and smart phones were ruining my generation. He ran the Devil’s Branch the exact same way. He’d always be president, and things would always be done how he instructed.

“So were you just playing nice until I turned eighteen and became legal? Was this all just one long game? You figured if you raised a pretty daughter who felt like she owed you something, someday it might come in handy.”

He laughed. It sounded cocky and disturbing. “Honey, it’s just business. We have a deal?”

“We’ve got a deal.” I checked my watch. “See you around dawn.” I hung up the phone.

At that moment, my plan felt holier then Swiss cheese. There was so much being left up to chance. I knew my father well, but I didn’t know the president of the Devil’s Branch nearly as well. He sounded like a man willing to do anything to make a buck.

I knew neither of them would get it. Maybe they would think I was double or triple crossing—I had lost track of who thought I was on which side. Faith and Raven were standing in the kitchen when I came out. The second I came into view, they turned to me.

Both women had a huge stake in my plan. Faith wanted her man home. The two of them had been to hell and back, and I got the idea that all she wanted was to spend quiet evenings next to him.

Raven wanted the father of her child. She wanted to bring that baby up with his or her father teaching it right from wrong. As much as any outlaw biker can, anyway.

There’s a lot riding on me, and I wasn’t going to take anything away from those women, any of the other Rising Sons, or any more of the Devil’s Branchers, either. I could end it all before it began if I gave myself up.

“He agreed. I told him I’ll be back up there by morning. Raven, I know you’ve been through a lot, but you mind driving me back up? If you don’t want to, I’m sure I can rent a car somewhere. You’ve already done so much.”

“Are you kidding?” Raven slapped her hand down on the counter. “Of course. If you can get Gunner back here to sleep beside me tomorrow night, I will do whatever it takes. Whatever. It. Takes.”

I like Raven, but I was the one doing whatever it took. There was no need to sour the relationship, though.

“Wait a goddamn minute.” Faith’s voice sounded harder than I’d ever I heard it. I didn’t even think she was capable of getting angry. “You’ve already ridden four hours today. I’m not having you riding another eight in pitch black through the godforsaken desert. If anything were to happen to that future Rising Son, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

Faith dug in her purse and pulled out keys. “I offered you my car, and I meant it. She,” Faith pointed at Raven, “isn’t going anywhere for a few days. You, on the other hand, better get your little butt up to Davis and get this thing resolved. Make sure all three of us get to see our men come home.”

She tossed me the keys, and I snatched them from the air. “You have my word, Faith.”

The BMW drove smoother than any car I’ve ever even ridden in. It was almost midnight by the time I started heading north, but there wasn’t a bit of sleepiness behind my eyes. I had far too much to think about to start dozing.

At first, I had my home address plugged into the GPS. Not long after I started, though, I changed my final destination. It would take me four hours to get to Davis, giving me just a few hours before my meeting with my father. Anything could happen, and there was no way I was going to chance never seeing Romero again.

The miles ticked off as I got closer and closer to Davis. I didn't think of it as home, at least not my parents’ house. It was hard to imagine ever stepping foot in that place again. I might have to, if circumstances came down to it, but I wouldn't enjoy it one bit.