SHADES: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series Book 3) (24 page)

“She didn’t
move
. She
died
,” Skylar snapped.

“I didn’t know. They never fuckin’ told me.”

“I was put in the system. Five different foster homes. One after another.”

“I’m so sorry, kid.”

“I’m not your kid.”

“You are. I know you’re pissed, but you
are
my kid.”

“You’re nothing but a sperm donor to me. That’s all you’ll ever be to me.”

“Baby girl don’t say that. I’m sorry. For all of it. But I swear to God, no one ever told me she died. I tried to find you both when I got out.”

“Apparently not very hard. Not hard enough.”

“Baby, you have to understand. We didn’t have computers back then. I couldn’t just do an internet search for her.”

“You could have found me. You didn’t try hard enough.”

“I’m sorry. I thought she left me. I thought she wanted nothing to do with a loser like me. I guess a part of me figured you’d be better off without me fucking your life up.  Better off without me.”

“Well, you were wrong. I wasn’t better off.”

“I’m so sorry, Skylar. Forgive me, please.”

He stood there, looking truly hurt and devastated and yes…sorry. But her anger went deep. Suddenly she found herself flying at him, her arms swinging back to hit him. He grabbed her forearms and held tight while she wailed and ranted and let out twenty-five years of hurt and anger and resentment.

He just held on tight, until finally, she collapsed against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight, and they both sobbed, their heads bent together. They cried out all the years of pain and loss.

His hand rubbed her back and stroked her hair. “Forgive me, my baby. I’m so sorry.”

****

Shades leaned against the wall outside the door. He’d heard Skylar’s raised voice and some of the things she’d said to Undertaker, and his heart broke for her. He wanted to burst inside, take her in his arms and comfort her. But deep down, he knew they had to work this out between them, a father and a daughter.

But swear to God, if she was broken by this, he’d tear Undertaker apart, even if it meant his crew would jump him for it. And then he’d spend the entire night holding Skylar, and getting her through this, preferably somewhere far from here.

They were in there a long time. Shades didn’t move from his place by the door. He’d promised her he’d be waiting right there, and that’s what he would do. He’d be right there when she needed him. And she would need him; that much he was certain of.

He watched as whatever meeting had been going on in the room down the hall broke up, and a couple dozen brothers strolled out. Some turned and gave him a curious look, their eyes taking in his cut, but they either knew what was going down, or they knew better than to stick their nose in.

They all turned and wandered downstairs. Shades only recognized a couple of faces. He’d been to numerous chapters around the country, but for some reason he’d never been down here before. The two he
did
recognize he recalled having met at a rally in Gulfport a couple of summers back. The rest were all strangers, but brothers just the same.

Finally, after almost an hour, the door opened, and Shades straightened from the wall, turning to see Undertaker standing in the door and motioning him inside. As Shades moved through the door, his eyes immediately sought out Skylar’s. Her eyes looked red from crying, but she managed to give him a tremulous smile.

“You okay?” he asked, his concern for her grabbing him by the heart as he moved toward her and took her face in his hands, turning it up to his.

“I’m okay,” she replied, her hands coming to his waist, her fists closing on his tee like she didn’t want to let go.

Shades turned to Undertaker, a man he’d yet to be introduced to and asked, “We done here?”

Undertaker nodded toward his desk. “No, we’re not
done
here. Sit down. Both of you.”

Shades eyes returned to Skylar’s searching hers for any indication that she wanted him to get her out of there. Because he’d do it, and to hell with what Undertaker wanted.

“It’s okay,” she murmured and pulled free to turn toward the desk. He pulled one of the chairs out for her and she sat. Then he sat next to her. Undertaker sat behind the desk.

“My daughter told me about the Devil Kings.”

That surprised Shades, and his eyes flicked to Skylar. “Did she?”

“Yeah. You got a plan on that?” Undertaker’s eyes bore into him.

Shades’ eyes locked with Skylar’s as he answered. “Keep her out of their reach. They don’t fuckin’ touch her.”

“Exactly. So I’m thinking the best place for her is right here. I can keep her safe better than you can.”

Both Shades and Skylar turned to him and exclaimed at the same time,
“What?”

“You heard me, Son.” Undertaker glared at him as he picked up a two-way radio and barked, “Mooch, get in here.”

“Yeah, boss,” broke through the static and Undertaker tossed it back down on the desk.

Skylar looked at Shades with a panicked expression. Her hand reached out to clutch his. “Don’t leave me here.”

Hell, no, he wasn’t leaving her here. “I won’t, baby. I promise.”

Undertaker ran an aggravated hand over his beard and glared at Shades. “Maybe it’s time you and I have a talk.”

Shades nodded and turned to Skylar, bringing her hand to his mouth for a kiss. “Go wait downstairs with Ghost, baby. You’re father and I have some things to work out.”

“No, I’m staying right here. The two of you aren’t deciding my future. Don’t even think it.”

“Sky, I need you to do what I say.” Shades dipped his head, staring into her eyes. Something must have clicked, because she swallowed, looked between him and her father, and then surprised him by actually obeying him. She rose to her feet.

“All right. But don’t be long. I want to go home.”

“Darlin’, you are home,” Undertaker clarified with a look that told her she’d better not argue.

Shades watched her move toward the door, and then it slammed shut behind her. A moment later, the brother that Undertaker had summoned came through the door, shaking his head as he looked back down the hall. “She slammed right into me. Didn’t say a fuckin’ word.”

“Feisty little thing, ain’t she?” Undertaker commented, his eyes falling to his desktop. “Come on in, Mooch.”

“She’s not staying here.” Shades wasted no time laying that out as Mooch walked across the room, folded his arms and leaned against the credenza against the wall to the right.

Undertaker leaned back in his chair and studied Shades. “Butcher told me about you.”

“Yeah, what did he say?”

“He said you want to make her your ol’ lady.”

“That’s a done deal. She’s mine.”

“Maybe she is, maybe she’s not.”

Shades surged to his feet. “You think you can stop me from seeing Skylar, think again!”

Undertaker stood just as fast, planted his palms on the desk and shouted back in his face, “I think I can stop you from seeing next week.”

The two stared each other down, neither willing to back down. Finally, Undertaker straightened and snapped, “Sit down. We got more to discuss.”

“We’ve got nothing to discuss until you understand she’s mine.”

“We’ll see,” was all Undertaker would concede as he sat back down. “I don’t like this shit with the DKs. That’s gotta be dealt with. And I mean fuckin’ now.”

“Agreed.”

“This is the safest place for her.”

“I’m not leaving her. Just fuckin’ get that out of your head. She may be your daughter, but she’s my woman.”

****

Ghost sat at the bar. A while ago, a couple dozen brothers had clomped down the stairs and were now busy drinking at the bar or playing pool. Skylar’s boot heels clicked angrily across the floor as she headed toward where Ghost was sitting. He turned his head to look at her.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

She stopped, crossed her arms over her chest and threw her hip out. “No! They think they can just boss me around! Decide my life! Screw that. Arrg! Men!”

Ghost’s brows rose sarcastically. “Yeah, so men suck. Guess there’s nothing left to do but pull up a stool and pick a liquor.” He nodded toward the shelf of assorted bottles on the wall behind the bar.

She plopped her butt on the stool next to him.

“So? What happened?” he pressed.

“He’s my father.”

Ghost nodded and bumped her shoulder with his, grinning down at her. “Tough break, kid.”

“Don’t make me laugh, Ghost. Not now.”

“I think now’s the perfect time for you to laugh.”

She tried to hold back a grin.

“What did he say?”

“Said he was in prison and didn’t know my mom had died. They never told him. He told me he figured she didn’t want anything more to do with him after he was sent up for so long. He said he tried to find her when he got out.”

“Do you believe him?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. I just wished he’d tried harder, you know?”

Ghost wrapped his arm around her and pulled her up against him. “It’s too late for him to have a relationship with that little girl that you were, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have some kind of relationship with him now.”

She nodded. “I suppose. It’s just…”

“What?”

“It’s hard to let go of that little girl…for so long she wanted her dad. Waited for him to come for her.”

“That little girl is gone, sweetheart. She grew up into a strong, beautiful woman. A woman who finally found the father she wanted for so long.”

She nodded.

“Give him a chance. He might surprise you.”

“He’s already trying to control me.”

Ghost huffed out a breath. “Come on, darlin’, now
that’s
gotta come as no surprise.”

****

Undertaker stared at the door that Shades had just left through. Then he leaned back in his chair. “He doesn’t back down. I’ll give him that.”

Mooch looked over at Undertaker and grinned. “He’s every bit the stubborn hard-headed brother you ever were.”

Undertaker let out a grunt. “Yeah, and where’d that get me? Doin’ ten to fifteen with no parole. That’s not the life I want for my daughter.”

“What that
got you
was Chapter President,” Mooch corrected.

Undertaker looked down at his desk, his eyes taking on that vacant quality of a man lost in his past. “And look at all I lost along the way.”

“Past is done and buried. Future’s what counts.”

Undertaker looked up at his VP and nodded. “That’s what I’m worried about. Her future.”

Mooch straightened. “That’s a worry for another night. Come on, old man. You’ve got a daughter to introduce to the club.”

A smile pulled at Undertaker’s mouth. “I do, don’t I?”

****

Shades came down the stairs and moved straight to Skylar’s side. He stood behind her barstool, one hand coming down on her hip, the other resting on the bar, caging her in. He signaled the prospect behind the bar for a beer and kissed the side of her neck, whispering in her ear, “You all right, baby?”

She nodded. “You?”

“Will be when we get out of here.”

“Um, Shades, about that…”

“Yeah?”

“My father wants to show me New Orleans.”

“What?”

“New Orleans. When I told him I’d never been here before, he insisted.”

Before Shades could respond to that, Undertaker came down the stairs, Mooch on his heels. He stopped at the end of the bar and called to the one woman—a short blonde—that was bartending with the two prospects.

“Marla, do that thing that calms me down with the glass and the alcohol.”

Grinning at his joke, she set a short glass in front of him and filled it with a shot of whiskey. He slammed it back and set it back on the bar. Then he turned, cleared his throat and called everyone’s attention.

“Got an announcement to make. Listen up, y’all.”

Shades twisted to look back at him as he closed a hand over Skylar’s nape. She had also twisted on her stool to look at her father.

“This pretty gal is my daughter,” he announced nodding toward her. “Her name is Skylar.”

There was a murmur among the crowd, and Shades realized that this came as a shock to most of them.

“Come here, Skylar,” her father ordered.

Skylar’s eyes came to Shades, and he nodded. She slid off the stool and slowly approached her father. When she got within reach he pulled her close, looping his arm around her shoulders. “We lost track of each other, but that’s done now. She’s family, and you’ll all treat her with the respect she’s due. Understood?”