Page 2 of Nova

"Don't try my patience, kid. You don't have enough hair on your balls to bow up to me like that." I circle them, their eyes following my every move. Breaks my fucking heart seeing kids caught up in the gang lifestyle, guided by the wrong people, idolizing thugs as if they were gods. Both out here on the streets trying to play the part of a man before their balls have even dropped. "Look around you." I spread my arms wide. "Since you two want to act like men, maybe we should show you what we do to men who trespass on our property and attempt to steal from The Kings." I choose my words, trying to strike enough fear in them to do some good. The youngest of the two finally finds his voice. "Trent, man. I don't want to die," his voice trembles.

They don't know it, but I have no intention of harming either one of them. They are just kids for Christ's sake.

"We won't come back here again. I swear," Trent's buddy adds, looking at me with pleading eyes.

"Where do you live?" I question them, my arms crossed over my chest. They look at each other for a moment before Trent himself speaks up.

"Bellview apartments over on 34th Street."

"Is he your brother?" I question, seeing a little resemblance. The kid nods. "I'm going to assume your parents have no idea where you two are?" I raise my brow, and Trent lowers his eyes to the ground, giving me the answer I was looking for.

"They know you go around sporting gang colors?"

"No," Trent says.

"I'm going to take a guess here that you aren't even a part of a gang." Again, their faces prove that I hit the nail on the head. "Not smart kids. Wearing those colors will get you killed by not only rival gangs but the gang you are falsely representing." I breathe slowly through my nose. "Everest."

"Yeah?"

"See to it these two get back home," I tell him.

"You got it." I stay rooted in my spot and watch Everest lead them out of the shed, then follow as we cross the property. While the two kids climb into the cab of Everest's truck, I stop him.

"Do a little investigating. Find out if their family needs assistance in any way. Prevention starts at home." I clap him on the shoulder. Everest does a lot of volunteer work with inner-city youth. If they want it, he can help them seek resources and hopefully get those two off the streets before something happens and they end up altering their lives forever. "I'll stick around until you get back."

Forty minutes later, Everest returns, and Riggs has been filled in on what went down. Leaving the clubhouse on foot, I walk back to my bike parked down the street. I'm running on two hours of sleep, and two cups of coffee Josie brewed for me while I waited at the clubhouse. Throwing my leg over my bike, I fire up the engine. With the sun rising at my back, I head home.

My ass is dragging by the time I get home. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and bacon frying puts a little pep in my step as I enter the kitchen, finding Piper at the stove cooking breakfast while she bobs her head to the music playing from her phone sitting on the countertop.

How did it go from me taking care of her to my daughter taking such good care of me? I toe my boots off, sit them on the rug near the patio door, and listen to her hum to the music. I watch her, taking in how happy she is this morning, almost afraid to blink because if I do, she'll be a grown woman. And I don't think my heart is ready for that yet.

Piper looks at me. "Hey, Daddy."

I smile at her. "Mornin', Bean."

Piper looks so much like her mother. Tall, slender, long dark hair. The resemblance stops there. My blood turns cold at the mere thought of Madison. She was the one woman I tried having an actual relationship with. She seemed to be okay with my way of living and didn't mind the weeks I spent away working on offshore rigs. I worked on a 14/14 rotation. I was gone two weeks then off two weeks. In my twenties, it suited my lifestyle. I wasn't tied down to anyone and had no responsibilities aside from myself and making sure my grandparents were doing well.

Three months into our relationship, I came home to find her screwing some piece of shit in my bed. I decide to commit to one woman, and she screws the shithead in the apartment next to mine. Within a week, she had disappeared. I heard she left town with a stranger passing through. I'd all but forgotten about her until she showed up months later, with a crying baby in a car seat. That very day changed the course of my life. Of course, I allowed her to stay with me, but two days later, I woke up to find her gone, leaving my daughter behind. I had no idea what to do. No clue about taking care of a baby. Funny how things work out. My daughter has been the best thing to ever happen in my life. She gave me purpose and direction. Piper keeps me grounded.

Walking past her, I pause, kissing the top of her head.

"I hope you're hungry." She flips the bacon, then cracks an egg in the same skillet. "Everything okay?"

"Starving," I admit, then add, "I'm good, baby girl. Just tired is all. It's been a long mornin'." Striding across the kitchen, I grab the mug sitting beside the coffee maker, filling it to the rim. "So." I take my coffee to the kitchen table and relax. "Semester tests start today, right?" I slump down on the chair, stretching my legs out in front of me.

Piper retrieves two plates from the cabinet. "Yeah. I'm exempt from all of my exams except biology," she rolls her eyes and begins to plate the food. "One lousy point. That's all I needed to get out of that one." She crosses the kitchen, placing breakfast on the table, sitting across from me. The two of us fall silent for a moment. As I lift a bite of food to my mouth, I glance across the table. I can tell my daughter wants to ask something by the way she's poking at her food and biting her lower lip.

"Spit it out, Bean." I grin, popping a piece of bacon into my mouth.

"A few of my friends are going to Grand Isle this weekend, and I was wondering if I could go?"

"Piper, we've talked about this before."

"It's only for the day. Come on, Daddy. Please."

Shit. I don't know how other fathers do it, but I'm finding it very hard to let go and let my little girl, who is not so little anymore, spread her wings. I pinch the bridge of my nose and lean back in my chair. I'm not sure if it is delirium from the lack of sleep or the fact that I don't want to stifle her spirit that has me considering her request, but I am. Piper is a good kid. A straight-A student, and never gets into trouble. "Which friends do you want to go with?" I ask and her eyes light up, hopeful that my inquiry will lead to the answer she is looking for.

"Sara, Heather, Dylan, Troy." There is a short pause. I know she's going to say his name, and my insides cringe. "And Colton."

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