Page 161 of Heir

“And what if they haven’t given up? You know why they’re looking for me.”

He nodded, his eyes hardening. “Yeah, Kai told me. Gemma, you should have told me as soon as you knew what was going on. How could I have protected you if I didn’t know what was going on?”

I looked back down. He was right. I should have told him.

“I was ashamed,” I said, my voice barely audible across the table. Then I met his blue eyes.

His brow was furrowed. “Why, baby girl? It’s not your fault.”

“I know that. But I was ashamed of my own family. I mean, how could she do that to me?”

“Because she’s fucking greedy and lazy, and she cares about no one but herself.”

“She cares about Kenton.”

She cared more about Kenton than she did about me.

“Maybe so, but that’s only because they’re so similar. You know you don’t bear the responsibility for her actions, don’t you?”

I took a deep breath and nodded slightly. But it was sometimes hard not to think if I had done better, maybe she could have loved me.

But even I knew that was stupid.

“Are their things still at the house?” I asked. I was sure the King’s Men were keeping an eye on the place.

Blue confirmed this when he nodded. “Yeah. Everything.”

The waitress came back with our teas. I smiled in thanks and took a huge sip.

“Look,” Blue said when the waitress left. “I’m monitoring some members of the Savkin Bratva right now. I’m sure some of them will slip and we’ll figure out where your mom and Kenton are hiding out. Maybe we’ll find more answers. They’re moving pretty quietly, and we don’t know what they have planned right now, but once we figure that out, and where the fucking pakhan of the Bratva is hiding…”

His fist clenched before he stopped himself, almost as if remembering that he was talking to me and not one of the club brothers.

I took another sip of my tea, not saying anything. I got that he was trying to protect me, but keeping things from me didn’t seem like the best way to go.

Kai was just as closed-lipped when it came to club business, and I understood that, but I wished they would tell me more about these things, especially when it involved me.

Our food came out. The waitress, a pretty brunette with blue eyes and tan skin, brought me a refill of my tea and smiled at us, her eyes lingering on Blue. I wasn’t sure if Blue noticed that, though I wouldn’t be surprised. He had been a bit of a player growing up.

Lunch took on a lighter note, and Blue caught me up with all the things he had been doing with the club—the nonviolent stuff, at least, and about his mom and how she was doing in Florida.

I wished I could do the same, but I didn’t really know how to tell him about Kai and me, and the things that happened between us… well, they were a lot more intimate than I was comfortable sharing with Blue.

It was why I was so happy to connect so well with Emmy and Ryleigh at the bar. And hopefully we could build on that and I could have more friends.

That would be nice.

Blue’s phone vibrated on the table when we were done and waiting for Kai to pick me up.

He frowned and stood. “I gotta take this. Stay here.”

I nodded and watched him walk outside to take the call. I looked around the restaurant, that wasn’t very busy this time of day. My fingers tapped on the table.

Blue and Kai had made an agreement that they didn’t want me to be out of sight of either one of them.

I still don’t know why Mom and my uncle were so adamant to get me to go back, considering they couldn’t put my virginity up for auction anymore.

I was getting a headache from all this thinking and stress, and I probably drank a little too much iced tea.

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