“Cade told me about Cheyenne tonight, and it just brought up so much for me. I killed her, Dad. I let her die right in front of me. I didn’t call an ambulance. I didn’t stick my fingers down her throat to make her sick it all up. I just let her die.”

“She fucked you up. When someone fucks you up that bad, you don’t wanna save them. What you did, anyone would have done.”

“She was my mother,” I wail.

“She gave birth to you. Didn’t make her your fuckin’ mother – it takes far more than that to be a mother.”

“I let her die.”

“You set her free.”

I flinch, his words hitting me to my very core.

“Do you think that’s the life she dreamed of having?” he says gently. “It’s not. The short while I knew your ma, told me that she never wanted any of that. When you’re so wrapped up in something like that, you can’t escape it. She had no way out. She was stuck and you gave her a way out. You set her free. You truly did send her to a better place.”

“It doesn’t make what I did right,” I say in a hoarse voice.

“No, it doesn’t, but it helps you deal.”

“Did you love her?”

He pulls back and stares down at me. “Only woman I ever loved.”

“Why?”

He gives me a half smile, but it’s pained. “She was nothin’ like you described her. To me, she was Emily. Sweet, caring, loving, Emily. She didn’t do horrible things. She loved you. Heck, she loved me. The woman you speak of, that wasn’t the woman I got a glimpse of. Each time you talk about her, I lose a little part of the woman I remember.”

“Am I hurting you?”

He grips my face. “You’ve been hurtin’ me every fuckin’ day since she took you, and now, you hurt me each day you look at me with those broken eyes. You hurt me, ‘coz I wasn’t there to fuckin’ save you when you needed savin’.”

“You didn’t know,” I rasp.

“Don’t make it any easier.”

“You’re here now.”

He nods and sucks in a deep breath. He stands. Clearly, the emotions of it are too much for him.

“Never told you this, Addi, ‘coz I was too proud, but I should have told you the minute you broke into my compound and stepped into my shed.”

I give a weak giggle.

“I should have told you that I love you, and I’ve loved you since the second I laid eyes on you. Ain’t never changed, and it never fuckin’ will.”

Only a biker can use the word fuckin’ in the same sentence as I love you, and make it sound breathtaking. I smile up at him, even though I’m still crying.

“You know, I think I might just love you too, old man.”

He chokes a laugh and shakes his head. “’Nuff of this sappy shit. You’re makin’ a girl of me. You need me to get you something?”

I shake my head. “No, you’re giving me enough.”

He nods and then digs into his jeans pocket, he pulls out a fifty and thrusts it at me.

“What’s that for?”

“Food, you know, bein’ that I’m your dad and all that,” he says, using the same line I used on him the first night I arrived.

I burst out laughing, and with a grin, he leaves me to it.

Well damn.

Who knew a group of bikers really could be my happy ending?

CHAPTER 17

PRESENT

“Cade, are you home?”

I hear the female voice as I’m cooking breakfast a week later. I’ve been staying at Cade’s house the past few nights, because he decided not to go on the ride to find Jasper. Instead, he stayed behind to make sure I had protection in case he showed up. The Hell’s Knights have been gone over three days, but so far, they haven’t found anything. That bothers me more than I’m letting on. I drop the scraper I was using to flip eggs, and walk over to the front door. I see a young, beautiful woman standing behind the screen. She’s absolutely stunning. She has this long, lightly curled blonde hair and eyes that remind me of cats eyes; they’re yellow and completely out of this world. She smiles when she sees me approach, which makes me think she knows who I am.

“Hi, can I help you?” I smile, opening the screen.

“You must be Addi?”

I nod. “I am, and you are?”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, I’m Ciara.”

This is Cheyenne’s sister? My heart does a strange flip flop, perhaps in awe of how strong this girl must be to live through what she’s lived through.

“Ciara, it’s nice to meet you. Come in, I’ll get Cade.”

I turn and she follows me inside.

“So, are you enjoying being here?” she asks.

“I am. So far it’s been good.”

“And I hope Cade’s treating you well?”

I laugh. “Yeah, he’s doing a great job.”

“For a biker anyway,” she laughs.

I turn, giving her a grin. “Yeah, for a biker. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, I’m okay, thank you.”

“Ciara?”

I turn when I hear Cade’s voice. He’s coming down the stairs, looking like a dark angel, with his messy hair, light eyes and shirtless state. My heart speeds up, and I lick my lips.

“Cade, I hope you don’t mind me stopping in?”

Cade grabs his shirt from the couch as he passes it, throwing it on. He breezes past me, putting a kiss to my lips before stopping in front of Ciara. He reaches for her, and pulls her into his arms. For some reason, his actions don’t bother me at all. He’s clearly got a good friendship with this girl, and I’m happy for him. Everyone should have a good friend.