Page 121 of Maddox
She takes another sip before setting the glass on the table before me. Her pretty red gold hair slips over her shoulder as she smooths her hand down the MC t-shirt she’s wearing and asks, “Okay. Why are you here?”
I mean, I'm dying to ask the same. Instead, I wave my hand and say, “I guess Joey, my, er…dad was in the Smokin’ Aces club. He quit or something and now they’re looking for him. I didn’t know where else to go…”
“The Aces,” she murmurs. “That’s bad.”
At her words, a chill marches down my spine and I bow my head. “They don't want me here.”
When she covers my icy fingers, I soak up her warmth as she says, “We don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’d be surprised if they sent you out there knowing you could get hurt.”
“Maddox was so mad,” I whisper, and she squeezes my fingers before dropping her hand.
“There’s….” She pauses and I look at her sideways as she continues. “There’s a long history with the Aces but he’s a good guy.”
How does she know how good Maddox is? Is she another of his conquests?
Clearly, he has them lined up if the chick with the caterpillar eyelashes was any indication. Lilli is pretty too with her deep dark eyes and shiny hair.
My stomach twists and I pull away before standing and pacing beyond the couch. I shouldn't be wasting time on what Maddox does. It’s not like it matters in the grand scheme of things.
I may never see the tall, handsome but annoyingly gruff biker again. I don’t know him, and he doesn’t know me beyond the fact that he thinks Snake is my dad.
IsJoey my dad? He denied it but that doesn’t mean much. Besides, I’m sure there’s no coming back from this whether I’m blood related to the jerk or not.
“Let’s not borrow trouble,” Lilli says as Wolf, the hot but scary ass VP appears at the door.
“Baby girl,” he says, and she turns, her skin lighting with a blush. Hm.
His stern expression fades to something warm and I look away uncomfortable at the heat that shines just for Lilli Abernathy as she breathes, “Yes?”
There’s a weird silence before he clears his throat and says, “I’ll be a little longer. Why don’t you meet me at home.”
“Wolf?” she says but he doesn't bother to respond beyond a manly grunt and when he raises his brow, she turns to me and says, “It’ll be okay.”
She can’t know that. No one can but I appreciate her kindness when she doesn’t know me and muster a smile before whispering, “Okay.”
At the door, she touches Wolf’s arm, and he leans down, brushing his lips against her forehead.
The tender moment seems so out of place for the gruff man but when she beams up at him, I concede that there’s a bond between these two I don’t understand.
Her smile fades to a frown though when she looks back at me before Wolf gently nudges her on, and she goes.
Once she’s out of sight, he turns to me, and his frown reappears.
Bracing for the worst, I swallow past the lump in my throat and say, “It’s okay. I get it.”
“You get what?” he asks, eyeing me like I’m a fucking bug under his shoe.
“I shouldn't have come,” I mumble. “It’s too much to ask. I mean, I don’t know much but it's obvious Joey…my dad…this Ice dude, they’re the enemy. And I’m…the enemy’s daughter.”
His brows flicker as he stares at me before he sighs and says, “You’re right. You shouldn’t be here, but you are and unlike the Aces, we don’t punish women for the sins of their fathers.”
At that, hope fills my heart that I’ll be given just a little more time to figure out what to do. Maybe I can stay after all?
“Look, the clubhouse is no place for someone like you,” he says, and I bite my wobbly lip. Shit. “But, until we find Snake, you can stay at Joker’s.”
“Oh?”
I mean, I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I have to be cautious. I’m the only one who truly cares about what happens to me.
