Page 117 of Devil's Dilemma

“He was,” she says, after taking a deep breath. “He used condoms. One night he didn’t, and we got away with it. The next time, well, you know the rest.”

“Was there any discussion about using them or not? Did he give you the choice?”

Mel shakes her head. “It was, er, in the throes of passion shall we say? He forgot, and I, well, I didn’t notice.”

“Tell your dad what happened the next time,” I prompt. “Skull’s reaction when he realised.”

“It was when Beef got patched over. We’d both had a few drinks at the party which followed, well him a lot more than me. When he realised what he’d done, he became angry when I refused to consider the morning-after pill.” She wipes her eye which is clearly watering. “He said something about bad timing and walked out. Stayed away all night but came back the next morning and said he’d come to his senses. Then not quite two weeks after that, he was gone.”

Now it’s Rufus’ face that’s gone red. “He wasangry?” He leans forward. “Did he hurt you, Melissa?”

“Only with words,” she says fast. “He was more annoyed with himself than me.”

“Hold on.” I motion to them both to give me a moment. “He mentioned 'bad timing'? Did he explain that at all?”

She shakes her head.

Rufus sits back. “Could be he already knew his assignment was ending. This is a man who in his real life already has a woman and child. Of course, he didn’t want to take risks with you. Yet, down to his own stupidity, he did.” He pauses and breathes deeply trying to get himself under control. I realise then how hard this will be as a father representing his daughter, and how difficult it must be to separate his professional interest from the personal one.

“He didn’t need Mel just for sex,” I explain. “He could, and before he got with Mel, did, get that easily from the club girls.”

Rufus looks at me sharply. “You have women hanging around your club?”

I come clean. “We have five sweet butts, club whores.” At his thinly veiled expression of disgust, I explain, “Whether or not we’re into legal or illegal shit, we like to keep club business close. By having women who depend on the club, we can keep it in the family, if you like. They are there for the benefit of the members and for what they get out of it. And before you ask, they’re there voluntarily and free to leave at any time.”

“And what exactly do they get out of it?”

“Board, lodging, pocket money, and bikers who give them a good time. If they didn’t enjoy what they do, they wouldn’t stay.”

He seems slightly appeased.

“You said Skull went with these women?”

“Yes, when he was first patched in. Though not from the time he met Mel.” I’ve confirmed that. I asked them. “He wouldn’t have been thought any the worse of if he had an old lady and used the whores too. Not that anyone in our club does that, but in others? Well, it’s considered part of the lifestyle. But the fact is, Skull did not.”

“He was, however, stepping out on his wife.”

My shoulders rise and fall. “What we saw was a man who committed to his ol’ lady once he found her.”

I notice Mel’s still holding the water she’d been given an hour or so ago and hasn’t touched it. Leaning forward, I take the glass out of her hands and place it on the desk in front of us. “You okay, darlin’?”

She gives a small rise and dip of her head. I send a pointed glare toward her father.

He takes the hint. “Let me get a few more details, then the two of you can get some rest. Just talk me through what happened when Skull disappeared.”

“Mel was a mess,” I speak for her. It’s hard for me not to choke up as I take my mind back to those initial days. “We didn’t know whether he was dead or alive, whether he left voluntarily or had been taken. Club took the decision to go on lockdown, that means bringing everyone in who might be a target so we can protect them, family as well as club members. When nothing happened, it seemed the most likely scenario was that he’d had an accident, and we just hadn’t found him.”

“You reported him missing?”

“To the cops, yes. Mel found out she was pregnant. Skull had known it was a possibility, but he never checked.” At this point I’m speaking through gritted teeth. “I stepped up, at first because he was my brother, and then, well, I’ve always held Mel in the highest respect. My feelings grew and changed as we spent more time together.”

Rufus looks from me to Mel, then back to me again. “Your relationship…” he starts, pauses, then continues, after coughing to clear his throat, “you became close… physically?”

“No,” I say fast. “Not that I didn’t want to, can’t deny that. But Mel was grieving, she needed time to come to terms with her man’s disappearance. We moved slowly, until the point came when both of us were ready to take the next step. But events interfered with that. Mel and I became…” I’m equally at a loss as to how to admit to him I’ve fucked his daughter, “close, only very recently.”

His eyes widen a little as though he hadn’t expected that. “Because, four and a half months later, Skull turned up?”

I raise my chin in confirmation.

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