Page 116 of Devil's Dilemma

“So,” Rufus starts to sum up, “you never fully trusted him, but there was nothing to suggest why. You put the doubts on the back burner, and nevertheless, you gave him his patch.”

“Some of the distrust may be me looking in hindsight,” I admit, then remember what had come up at one of our churches. “Wraith, the VP of the mother chapter in Tucson warned Demon to watch him, but as Skull settled in as a member he said and did all the right things.”

“What did Wraith pick up on that you didn’t?”

I shrug. “I can’t answer that. I know Demon kept a close eye on him after Wraith raised his concerns, but he was the model member.” I raise my eyes toward Rufus. “We never fuckin’ suspected anything close to the truth.”

Rufus nods. “Did Skull know there was an undercurrent of distrust?”

“We didn’t discuss it in front of him. I can’t tell you whether he picked anything up.”

“Okay. Moving on. When did he approach you, Melissa?”

I raise my hand. “Mel doesn’t know the implications of the timeline. I’ll say this first. It wasn’t long after he patched in that he said he had a woman he’d like to bring around the club. See if she liked us, and if we were going to accept her.”

“That the usual way you do things?”

“Not normally, but then, Colorado doesn’t have many old ladies. Pal arrived with his woman, Jay, Buzz has been married to Sindy for years, same with Bomber and Hellfire with their old ladies. But going by the other clubs, when members find a woman they like, they’re prepared to walk through hell and high water for them, even offering to give up their patch if the club doesn’t vote them in.”

“So what Skull was proposing was different?”

“He was a new member, fresh to the table. Didn’t think too much of it at the time. But if Mel hadn’t liked his new brothers, or we didn’t take to her, it might have made him reconsider getting deeper into a relationship with her. In a way it seemed sensible to check her out, and for her to see if she liked the lifestyle.” I glance her way, but she doesn’t seem hurt, just interested.

In fact, she speaks up for herself. “That’s the way he sold it to me too. Though, to me, he said he’d leave the club if I didn’t like it.” She pouts, then adds, “Which was just another one of his lies.”

“Yes,” Rufus surmises, sparing a glance of sympathy toward his daughter. “If Melissa hadn’t worked out, his intention was probably that he’d move on to another woman who was more suitable.”

I glance at Mel quickly. Her father’s gotten to the heart of it. Her face has gone tight, but I think she’s already accepted she was the means to Skull finding out more about the club.

“Looking back,” he addresses his daughter, “does this fit the facts as you saw them then?”

Mel takes over. “Yes.” I reach for her hand, it trembles. “He targeted me as he thought I was someone who’d fit. I was not a person anyone would be suspicious of meeting. It was an odd coupling, as he was so much younger.”

“Appeared to be,” I put in tersely.

“Well,” she shrugs, “his appearance worked. What woman wouldn’t be flattered that a younger man wanted her?”

“Any man in his right fuckin’ mind would want you, Mel,” I growl, vowing I’ll spend the rest of my days making her believe it.

I notice a hard look has crossed her dad’s face as he realises how little self-confidence she has, and how much Skull weakened even that.

“He inveigled himself into your life. You brought him to meet us.”

Mel nods. “He led me to believe it was serious.”

“Your mom and I thought it was.”

Rufus hasn’t seen serious yet. Just wait until I can demonstrate how much I feel for his daughter. Now, though, is not the right time.

“Tell me about getting pregnant.”

I can see Mel’s shifting a little awkwardly in her seat, uncomfortable addressing the topic in front of Rufus, so I wink at her. “Well, you see a man has…”

“Pyro!” she gasps.

Her dad chuckles. “I don’t need that level of detail. Though I do need to ask some personal stuff. Who was responsible for contraception?”

Mel’s now bright red. I send her a chin lift of encouragement, while wishing I didn’t have to listen to this. But if it gets to a court, she’s going to need to become immune to discussing the private details of her life.

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