As I walked through their apartment, I gazed at the few pictures that were set out. The place wasn’t decorated much, almost as if it were a passing-through point and not much more. But the few pictures that did manage to get into frames and onto tables and shelves all held one person.
My daughter.
“I always keep a go bag filled with mine and Cheyenne’s stuff in case of emergencies. Usually, it’s just to go see my sister in Santa Barbara. But it’ll work now in a pinch,” Summer said.
I picked up the picture on her nightstand and smiled softly to myself. I felt a strong, unexplained connection to the little girl in the photo. I wasn’t sure if that was because she was my daughter, though, or if it was because we had the same eyes.
And lips.
And facial structure.
“She’s got your stubbornness, too,” Summer said.
I set the picture down. “You ready to go?”
She thumbed over her shoulder. “Just gonna get our toiletries and we’ll be good to go.”
I heard her backtracking into the bathroom and packing her things before she called out to me.
“Tanner?”
I gazed in her general direction. “Yeah?”
She poked her head out. “Her name’s Cheyenne.”
My heart stopped in its chest. “What’s her middle name?”
She swallowed hard. “Rae.”
Rae.
Cheyenne Rae.
“Rae” was a family middle name of mine. It was my mother’s middle name, our dog’s name, my grandmother’s first name, and my great-grandmother’s middle name as well.
“You—you named her—”
Summer cut me off as she came out of the bathroom with a toiletry bag packed. “No reason to be nostalgic. Just because you haven’t been around to be her father doesn’t mean—”
“You didn’t really give me a choice in that, Summer.”
She didn’t look at me as she shoved the smaller bag into her bigger one. “Cheyenne’s at a sleepover. We’ll have to go get her, unless you think it’s safe enough for her to just go stay with my sister or something. She’s a detective now, you know.”
My eyebrows rose. “No, shit! I bet your parents hate that.”
She giggled softly. “Enough to disown her. Neither of us have spoken to them since we both graduated.”
I took a step toward her. “What happened to you? You know, after I graduated? We were supposed to meet up and—”
She zipped the bag closed, cutting me off again. “Will we need to go get Cheyenne for this?”
I studied the profile of her face. “Why don’t you want to go get her? Do you not want me to meet her or something?”
She slung her bag over her shoulder and turned to face me. “Look, it’s nothing personal. A lot of things happened once my family figured out I was pregnant, and it’s all so convoluted and I just—”
She breathed a heavy sigh, so I took her bag from her shoulder. “Let me help, you look exhausted.”
She shot me a look. “Just what every woman wants to hear.”
I rolled my eyes. “I see you still like to twist my words.”
“Then, maybe you shouldn’t make such stupid comments.”
I walked out of her room. “Why do you not want to go get Cheyenne?”
She kept gathering things as we made our way for her front door. “Because it’s her eleventh birthday today. She’s at a sleepover, and she’s gonna be so disappointed when we have to go get her.”
I whipped around. “She’s eleven today?”
Her eyes met mine. “Yeah. Today.”
I licked my lips. “You don’t want me to tell her who I am, do you?”
“If you could just keep it to ‘I’m a friend’ for now until I can get sorted through things, I’d really appreciate it.”
I turned my back to her and reached for the doorknob. “I’d make a good father, you know. Even now.”
“Trust me,” she said with a heavy sigh, “that’s not the issue.”
I wasn’t sure what the issue was, and it angered me that there was even an issue. She was the one that ditched me after my graduation ceremony, not the other way around. She was the one that stood me up when we were supposed to run away together, not the other way around. And now, I had to stand back and watch while my own daughter thought I was nothing more than a family friend?
She’s still the woman raising your child. Be kind.
“About damn time,” Brooks said.
He ripped the bag away from me and dropped it onto the back of his bike. He started strapping it down as much as he could while I quickly introduced Summer to the guys. She shook their hands and I tried to communicate to them to talk as absolutely little as possible.
And I was glad that they got the hint.
“Where’s your daughter?” Finn asked.
Summer gasped and I shot him a look. “She’s at another location. Summer, myself, and Brooks will go get her. Everyone else needs to get back to the clubhouse.”
Porter quirked an eyebrow. “Brooks?”
He nodded. “Do what he says. Do you have an address, Tan?”
Summer cleared her throat. “I’ll talk him through where she is. Just follow us.”
After getting Summer onto the back of my bike and linking our Bluetooth headsets up within our helmets, she talked me through how to get to this house Cheyenne was at. But other than her feeding me directions, the ride was pretty quiet.
That is, until Brooks sped around us and slammed on his brakes.
“What the fuck?” I murmured.
“What’s he doing?” Summer asked as she clung to me.
I tried my hardest to keep myself under control, but it had been years since I’d felt Summer touch me. Or cling to me. Or generally press herself against me. She smelled so different, and looked even more different after all these years, but the warmth of her embrace and the tender touch of her hands hadn’t changed one damn bit.
It worried me when Brooks pulled off to the side of the road, though. And I wondered what the hell he had seen.
“Tan, can you hear me?” Brooks asked.
I nodded. “Yep.”
“I can, too,” Summer said.
“Good, this will go quickly, then. Are we close to where Cheyenne is?” he asked.
“Not particularly. We’ve still got about fifteen minutes to go,” she said.
“Is that good?” I asked.
Brooks revved the engine of his bike. “We’re cruising into a part of town that’s heavily policed by guys on our payroll.”
Summer flinched. “You guys have police paid off around here?”
I snickered. “It’s not what you think. We pay some of the officers to keep an eye out for—”
“Ahem,” Brooks said.
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll tell you more about it later.”
Summer sighed. “Always with the secrets.”
“Anyway,” Brooks murmured, “she’s in a very safe part of town. Nothing will happen to her so long as she stays there. She’s there all night, right?”
“Right,” Summer said.
I nodded. “Then, we’ll come pick her back up at whatever time you were originally going to get her, and you can take the evening at the clubhouse to wrap your head around everything before we bring Cheyenne into the picture.”
“Whatever you guys think is best. I’m flying blind right now,” she said.
Brooks looked at me and I nodded. “Lead the way back to the clubhouse. We’ll get Cheyenne in the morning.”
But as we sped off down the road, Summer became apprehensive.
“Are you sure this is necessary?”
I clicked my tongue. “More than you realize.”
“Because I’ve been taking care of myself for the last decade on my own, essentially. I can handle myself.”
I nodded. “I’m sure you can, but right now we can’t take any chances.”
“Who’s coming for us again? I mean, who threatened us or whatever?”
“The Black Flags.”
She pressed her head against my back. “The rival crew, right.”
“I know you don’t get it, or maybe you don’t even believe me, but these men are fucking ruthless. You have no idea how bad these guys are.”
She snickered. “Yeah, I really do. I worked at The Body Shop well before they showed up, and then some. Remember? I survived, though. I’m here with you instead of in a grave somewhere. I got my money and I got out, just like I always do.”
I turned the corner and the clubhouse came into view. “Look, I know you can handle yourself. All right? It’s one of the many things that attracted me to you when we were teenagers. But Chops is ruthless. And if there’s a word stronger than ruthless, he’s actually that one. He has no soul, believes women are nothing more than disposable property, and he’s already killed two of our members.”
“Holy shit,” she whispered.
“Don’t go to the clubhouse!” Brooks yelled in our ears.
Summer screamed as I took a hard left, getting off the road. “What happened? What’s going on?”
Brooks peeled off in the other direction. “Cole said he spotted Black Flags about half a mile out. They’re riding in formation, and they’re strapped.”
“Shit,” I hissed.
“What does that mean?” Summer asked as she trembled against me.
I eased my way down back roads until I approached the clubhouse from the side. “It means I need to get you inside and somewhere safe before I load up.”
“Load up? What do you mean, ‘load up?’”
I shook my head. “Just listen to what I say and stop asking questions. Your life depends on it right now.”
She sniffled in my ear and it killed me inside. She deserved so much better than this. Maybe it was a good thing she walked away from me all those years ago. I mean, I never had a future. I hated the hell out of school. I knew I’d never go to college and sit at some desk all day scribbling my signatures on papers and shit.
Maybe she was better off without me.
“Look out!” Summer shrieked.
A bullet whizzed by our heads and she ducked down as I skidded to a stop at the side of the clubhouse. I dropped it to the ground and practically threw Summer over my shoulder, our helmets still on our heads. Gunshots rang out and bullets zoomed past us so closely that I felt their wind rushing against my leather jacket.
Then, we burst through the doors of the clubhouse to see Archer and Finn pointing guns at us.
“Oh, my God!” Summer exclaimed.
I practically tossed her to Finn. “Get her into my room back there and lock her in.”
Finn turned toward the hallway. “Will do.”
“What?” Summer asked. “You’re not locking me anywhere, you son of a—”
And just before she was done cursing me up and down, another bullet ricocheted toward me and shattered the window from which it entered.
Before it grazed my calf.
