Page 20 of When You Stayed
Jameson’s gaze slid over to Killian who had his brows drawn in. Did he know that I was using his daughter as a pawn? Even if he did, I didn’t care. There was a reason I was now sitting in this chair and he wasn’t.
Johnson somehow found another sweet treat to chew on while asking. “What do we do if we see him meeting with someone while we’re out and about?”
“Be discreet.” I explained by spreading my hands on the table. “Take pictures if you can and report it as soon as possible. We know he’s talking to someone; we just want to know who benefits from us not changing leadership for three months, and why.”
A text lit up my phone. I recognized that it was Yeti, one of the older members that had been a part of Killian’s regime.
Yeti: I gotta wolf cub up here.
My stomach tensed as I texted back quickly.
Me: Which one?
Yeti: Oldest. She’s drawing quite a few eyes.
Me: Why is she here?
Yeti: You know I don’t know that. I already tried talking to her, she handed me a basket of cookies and hugged me. I couldn’t kick her out after that.
Fuck.
“Everything okay?” Killian asked, taking a sip from his beer.
I glared at my phone, unsure how to reply. It was one thing to pull Royce aside and chat with her about the video, to which Killian seemed to barely agree. But it was something else entirely to have his daughter be seen in the club after the rumors about her video began circulating. I’d need to get her out before her father caught wind of it, or else he’d take that shit out on the prospects who likely had no fucking clue she was his daughter and completely off-limits.
“Yeti has a situation upstairs that I need to go address. I’ll be back.” I slid out from my chair and glanced over at Johnson. He already knew that meant he needed to step in and keep things going. I didn’t have an official vice-president yet, but some of the men around the table were still hoping Killian would take up that role so he stayed as a connection to the new members and old. It would be smart, and while I respected and trusted him, I also wanted to begin my own legacy.
Johnson began talking about the outposts as I jogged up the stairs and pushed through the door leading from the cellar. The music blasting in the club hit me first. It was a low, melodic beat that was familiar but not. Like a remix or something. I liked that it was different from the classic rock or other modern shit the guys always picked.
Men wearing leather cuts were huddled around the two pool tables in the main room. A few were sitting on the couches, Sweetbutts were in men’s laps. Bunk bunnies that I’d seen around were tucked under the arms of a few members. I bypassed people, and the ease in which I did was a relief. My balloon of anonymity was about to pop as soon as it became public that I was the one leading this club instead of Killian.
The second he stepped on the floor, he drew people to him. The women were smart enough to stay away. After he’d been married for well over twenty years, no one even tried to approach him in that way. Killian was a faithful man, like my father and Jameson were. They didn’t touch any woman who walked through those doors, never had.
Someone shouting had my head swiveling. I needed to locate Killian’s oldest daughter. I should have known she’d be over by the Alexa touchscreen. She was leaning against the counter with her heart-shaped ass swaying in a pair of jeans that drew my gaze. I forced my eyes up, like I always did. No matter how badly it burned that the mennext to her hadn’t stopped staring, or that one of them looked like he was two seconds from touching her.
The two members hanging near her tried to talk to her, but she seemed focused on finding a song to play, like it was a jukebox.
“Royce.”
She ignored me, swiping her finger over the screen. Jay, one of the members drooling over her, flicked a quick look at me before stepping closer so I could hear him.
“We got her. We’ll make sure she’s out of sight as soon as her pops comes up.”
Jay was going to get his ass beat after I got Royce out of here.
“No need, she’s leaving with me.” My tone was sharp, and my patience was practically gone. She still wasn’t turning around. “Royce.”
“I’m looking for a song, Ford,” she yelled over the music while focusing on the screen. Jay laughed into his beer while the other member, Zane, seemed to also think it was funny.
It wasn’t so much that they were standing too close to her, it was that I didn’t have the time to sit here and play whatever game this was. Which was the reason my hand shot out and why my fingers curled inside the back pocket of her jeans and yanked her away from the counter.
Her back was against my chest within seconds, her hair against my nose.
I unfortunately inhaled, and a memory I was sure had been buried, resurfaced.
We were kids in elementary school. Maybe eight or nine…“We’re stuck as gym partners, Ford. I know you’re not my biggest fan, but I’ll stay out of your hair if you stay out of mine.”
“Your hair is always in the way,” I said snidely, uncomfortable with how happy I was that she was my partner.
