I smirked. “Youarescared of my father.”
“Honey, in a fight where I was tryin’ to kill him, I’d take him on without hesitation. It’d be close, but I could take him. Knowing I can’t kill him or even hurt him too bad, he’d kick my ass six ways to Sunday. Add to that he’s protectin’ his daughter? Yeah. I wouldn’t stand a chance and I ain’t too proud to admit it.”
“So, when do we leave?”
He studied me. “I’m not going to talk you out of this, huh?”
“Sorry, babe.” With an unapologetic grin, I turned his words back on him. “We do this together or not at all.”
His grin was magnificent. The times I’d seen him with Gunnar or around the clubhouse, I’d only ever observed a fierce scowl or indifference on Knuckles’s face. With me, he was different, and it warmed my heart. I had the feeling he didn’t smile often, and I was glad I could give that to him. “I’m gonna have to watch my step around you. You’ll never let me get away with anything.”
“You tore up about that?”
“Nope. Just keepin’ it in mind for when I wonder how I ended up in a situation I’m not really comfortable with just to see you smile at me.”
“Funny. I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
He shrugged. “I suppose there are relationships built on worse.”
“Look. I’m sorry if I was a bitch before. When you pulled me out after Dillon…”
“Yeah, honey. I know. And it’s not somethin’ that will ever happen again.” He gave me a stern look. “We’ll find another way to satisfy the kill. One that doesn’t get anyone hurt.”
“There was more to it than that. The guys I targeted I already knew were guilty as sin.”
“I was right. Wasn’t I?”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I was punishing myself for getting Gunnar in trouble. For not speaking up and admitting it was me. But most of all, for not bringing everything to my mom. My dad would have been the one in prison if I’d gone to him when Robert first hit me. I was too ashamed because Dad knew something was off with the bastard and forbade me to see him.”
“Which was Cain’s mistake. Not yours.”
“Huh?”
“Honey, I didn’t get to raise Pippa. Have never raised a child or been around them. Of any age. But even I know you do not forbid a teenager from doing something. It will backfire every fuckin’ time, and you’ll be in an even worse mess than you would be if you’d just let them do it so you could mitigate the damage.”
“I still should have known better.” I shook my head. “The really funny thing is, before dad wouldn’t let me see Robert, I was thinking about breaking up with him anyway. He was always mean-spirited. But I was bound and determined I would be the one to decide if I wanted to see him or not. Not my father.”
“You’ve not even tried to find your own happiness since that night. Have you?” Knuckles’s expression was blank, but he reached out to brush my cheek with his thumb.
“I figured if Gunnar had to wait, then so would I. Besides, I was too busy making sure men like Robert were taken care of.”
“The punishing yourself stops now, Hannah. You and Gunnar are both free now. And you’re both absolutely gonna live your best lives.”
Chapter Eleven
Knuckles
If there was ever a more satisfying feeling than flying down the interstate on my bike with Hannah at my back, her arms wrapped around my middle, her cheek pressed between my shoulder blades, I didn’t know what it would be. Her grip tightened as we leaned into a curve, her body moving perfectly with mine. We’d been on the road for a little over four hours, headed toward Beth’s place just outside Terre Haute, Indiana.
The woman thought she was clever, hiding in plain sight in a suburban neighborhood. Of course, I doubt anyone around her knew of her drug trafficking scheme. Or that she’d sold her daughter to a human trafficking ring to secure safe passage and exclusivity from Nashville to the prison in Terre Haute.
I’d called Gunnar before we left, letting him know I was handling the Beth situation. He’d wanted to come, but I’d convinced him to stay with Pippa. She needed Gunnar more than I needed him for backup, especially with Hannah riding shotgun and Hawk, Tiny, and Inferno with me. Besides, this was personal between me and Beth. She’d betrayed me, used our daughter as a pawn, and nearly gotten Pippa killed in the process. That wasn’t something I could forgive. Ever.
We’d left the compound at dawn, after I’d made a few calls to set things in motion. Neither Torpedo or Bohannon were happy about me going behind their back and arranging this trip, but fuck ’em. I respected both men and was grateful for them helping me out when they did. But I didn’t need their permission. They might have thought I did, but they were wrong. And as soon as this run was done, we were going to have a chat about changing the guard. I was ready to take my fuckin’ club back. Right now, though, I had more pressing matters. Like dealing with the woman who’d hurt my daughter.
We rolled to a stop in a small roadside park out of the way of the main traffic flow. Tiny wasn’t with us. As the road captain, he’d brought a cage with a trailer on the back to haul our bikes. The big, black F-250 would be memorable if seen with the bikes, but if it was parked in an ATV park, not so much.
“You guys are about fifteen minutes from your target. Everything still a go?” Tiny was the biggest mother hen I’d ever met. God help him if he ever had a woman as fierce as Hannah.