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for my own life, the part of me that remembered him as a dark haired, wide-eyed
little boy still couldn’t rationalize it.
    I stood staring at Cal, a man who
could tell me so many stories about my father—someone who could make him
feel alive to me through the history they shared. But I couldn’t risk the
exposure of opening myself up further to him.
    “I don’t know what your relationship
with the Sinners is like now, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone
that you saw me,” I told him, trying to keep any fear out of my tone. I wasn’t
entirely successful and he didn’t miss it.
    “You got trouble?” he asked, his eyes
sharpening like a hawk’s.
    Great. I’d gone from flying under the
radar to getting the attention of an MC president. “I can take care of myself,
but I left home for a reason and I’d like to leave it at that,” I requested
firmly.
    “Your father and I had a code to watch
each other’s backs. I’ll always feel guilt for what happened to him, always
wondered if I’d seen the signs that maybe I could have helped. But I sure as
hell can keep my end of the bargain when it comes to you. You have the full
protection of this club,” he said firmly, shocking me. I knew what that meant
and it was no small promise or one to be taken lightly. “We’re no longer
aligned with your dad’s club, like I said it went to shit without him and
there’s some fucked up mother fuckers running it now,” he added scornfully.
    I couldn’t have agreed more. After my
father died, Jake and his henchman Victor had somehow clawed their way to the
top. I had always assumed that the club was so consumed by grief at my father’s
death that they hadn’t been thinking clearly. I still didn’t understand it.
    “Obviously you’ve got a reason to
guard yourself close, when you feel more comfortable you can tell me exactly
what happened,” he said firmly. “Meanwhile, anyone fucks with you they fuck
with us,” he glowered before his expression lightened. “And something tells me
my boy won’t mind keepin ’ an eye on you,” he added
with a mischievous smile that looked just like his son’s.
    I blushed, unable to look at Cole.
    “She’s already keeping me busy, Pop,”
Cole said with a chuckle, earning a narrowed glance from me. “Let’s get your
apartment sorted darlin ’,” Cole suggested while
heading toward me.
    I nodded, still feeling tongue tied.
“Thank you,” I said simply to Cal, unable to say anything else.
    “You got it,” he replied firmly. “I’ve
got some more photos and some damn good stories when you got a mind to hear
them,” he said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.
    “I’d like that,” I replied hoarsely,
as Cole put an arm around my shoulder and started guiding me outside.
    Cal gave me a chin lift as he stood
braced against the pool table watching us leave.
    I let Cole take my hand in his as he
led us to his bike. I was completely shell shocked not only at everything that
Cal had said but that Cole and I had known each other when we were children. What
were the odds that we would meet randomly but then share this type of history?
My capacity for trust was severely limited but there was a large part of me
that wanted to trust Cal and Cole, to believe that Cal had loved my father and
was still devoted to him. I tried to get a grip as we roared off toward my
place, focusing on the need for a long, warm shower and a change of clothes.
Beyond that I couldn’t focus on much. I could sense Cole’s contemplative mood
as well, as the warm breeze slid over us on the ride.
    Cole pulled up to the curb and swung a
leg over his bike while holding a hand out to me. He kept a hold of my hand as
he led me to my door, gesturing for me to stay outside so he could check out
the place before returning to gesture me inside.
    “I’ll be back soon,” he told me simply
when he established that I was safe.
    “What?” I asked, confused.
    He grasped my neck and squeezed it