Page 4 of Badger
Fury blazed in Badger’s eyes as he turned to face me.
“So, you did get there in time.And because of you, Griz and May offered me a home, gave me a family.My life turned out pretty good, and it’s all because of you.So don’t think for one moment that I’m not grateful for what you did that day.”
“You mean murdering someone in front of you?”he asked.
I shrugged.“I never shed a tear over that man’s death.I did cry when they sentenced you to prison, though.It didn’t seem fair, when you’d only been trying to protect me.”
“I could have detained him and called 9-1-1.”
“So why didn’t you?”I asked.
“Because seeing how damn scared you were, knowing what he was doing to you, something inside me broke and I couldn’t stop myself.Once I started hitting him, I wasn’t able to stop, not until I knew he wasn’t breathing anymore.The justice system doesn’t take kindly to people solving problems with their fists.Or killing people, even if they are rapist assholes.”
“I’m glad you’re home,” I told him.“I wanted to go with Demon to pick you up, but everyone thought it would be better if I stayed here.They weren’t sure how you’d feel about seeing me.”
He reached out and gently tipped my chin up.“I never, not once, blamed you for what happened.You were a victim.A child.It’s not your fault I was sent away.”
“I’m not a child anymore.”
His lips twitched.“I noticed.”
I handed his mug to him before I did something stupid.Like kiss him.He accepted the coffee and walked back over to the sofa.He sprawled across the cushions, and took a sip.His eyebrows lifted, and he looked pleasantly surprised.
“This is pretty good.”
“I just stuck a pod in the machine.Even a monkey could do it.”
He chuckled, and it sounded a little rusty, probably because he hadn’t had a reason to laugh in so long.It made me feel good that I’d been the one to bring out that laugh, and I suddenly wanted him to smile more, to laugh more.And I wanted him to do those things with me.Along with some really naughty things I’d read about in books.I wasn’t a virgin, not after what had happened to me, but I’d never willingly been with a man before.I’d always wanted Badger to be my first, but if I told him that, he’d probably run so far and so fast he’d be three counties over before I could count to ten.
“I’m glad that Griz and May stepped up to help you,” Badger said.“I worried about you while I was inside.Some of the guys from the club came by a few times, but I had to focus on the shit happening inside and not outside.Everyone knew that, so I didn’t really get any news about home while I was locked up.I didn’t know if you’d ever overcome what happened to you, and maybe I should have asked, but I think I preferred thinking you’d gone on to live happily ever after.”
“They’ve been good to me.Dad’s been a little lost since Mom died.I know he stays busy with the club, only going home to crash for the night.I tried to stay over after Mom died, but he sent me back here.I worried that he’d be lonely in that house by himself.As far as I know, he hasn’t even looked at a woman since Mom died.He keeps those other women around for the club, but he ignores them.”
“May and Griz were together since they were just teenagers, and they wanted kids for as long as I can remember.You made their dream come true.”
“What’s your big dream?”I asked.
“Never really had a dream except to escape my home when I was a kid.I managed that by joining Devil’s Fury.The guys here are my family now.They took me in when I had nowhere to go.”
I wanted to know more about his past, about what had sent him running to this club, but I wasn’t going to press him.Not right now anyway.Maybe one day he’d open up and tell me about his life.
“So what are you going to do now that you’re free?”I asked.
“Try to stay out of trouble for a few weeks.Maybe longer.I’d rather not go back inside anytime soon, and I have parole for the next ten years.I doubt Griz will ask me to handle any jobs for a little while, not if he knows it could send me back.”
I nibbled on my lower lip.Was I about to overstep?I didn’t think my dad would be angry, but I never really made the big decisions without him.I just answered phones and handled the paperwork at one of the Devil’s Fury businesses.One of the only legit ones anyway.
“Any good with engines?”I asked.
He grinned.“I was fixing cars when I was twelve, then started tinkering with bikes a few years later.”
“I don’t know if you’ve kept in touch with anyone while you were… gone.The Devil’s Fury owns a few legit businesses, one of which is a garage.It stays pretty busy, and Dad makes sure nothing illegal goes down there.We need another mechanic.”
“Griz let you hire all the mechanics?”he asked, rubbing a hand across the scruff on his jaw.
It wasn’t a full-out beard, but it was still sexy as hell.Made me want to reach out and touch it, see if it felt soft or rough.I’d never kissed a man before, much less one with a beard, and I wondered how it would feel.
Wait.He’d asked me something.Mechanics.Right.
