Chapter 2

Two

The dull blue light of the computer screen hurts my eyes. My head is throbbing from looking at the report over and over again, but I need to get as much information as possible. Every time I look something up, it seems there are more and more secrets underneath.

Usually, I wouldn't spend so much time in front of the computer, but I need to know more about her. The one mistake I made while working on the force...

Sitting back in my worn leather chair, I press my fingertips to my eyes and press down hard, trying to get some relief. The words are starting to merge together on the screen.

It didn't take me very long to find out about her, even when using facial recognition software. What is taking me so long is trying to find out where she went wrong in her life. After all, if she's the mother of my child, I need to know about all her skeletons in the closet.

Her name is Addison Murphy, but the group she hangs out with calls her Baby. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand how she got that name. She's only twenty-one years old. That means she lied to me about her age. She told me she was twenty-one when I first met her.

The minute I saw her standing on the porch of the Eve's Fury clubhouse, I recognized her. I don't think she saw me, though. If she did, she didn't show it. I'd expect her to pass out or something like that. It's what I wanted to do, especially when I saw the baby in her hand--a little boy with my hair and eyes. He's just the right age, it looks like, to be mine, but I'm not sure. I have to be sure.

I've been digging into Addison's past for the past few months, trying to find anything that would point to the child not being hers or, even worse, not being mine. So far, I've come up with nothing but the fact that it most likely is. She doesn't have much of an online presence. No Facebook or Instagram. The only up-to-date photos I have of her are the ones that come out when the club does any of their community service work. For a group that is supposed to be full of badass biker women, they all seem to have good hearts.

I'm not really concerned with what she's doing nowadays. I'm more worried about what she was doing in her past.

When I first started on the force, I was paired with Riggs. He was my partner and the man who was supposed to be teaching me everything I wanted and needed to know. I thought everything was on the up and up when he told me that he knew of a place where the off-duty officers let off a bit of steam. I'd been working non-stop for nearly a year straight at that time and wanted to fit in more with the rest of the squad. I'm not really for parties, but I let Riggs talk me into it.

They took me to this upscale house, got me boozed up, and shoved me in a room. I wasn't expecting a woman to be in there with me. Especially not one that looked like my every wet dream come to life. Addison took my breath away that night, and it feels like she's yet to give it back.

I've always had a bit of a pillow princess kink. I want to be the leader in the bedroom, want to command my partner what to do and how to do it, want to be the teacher, but I never had the chance to act out any of my fantasies. I'd let that secret slip one night while Riggs and I were in the middle of a stakeout. Compared to his fantasies, wanting to play Daddy seemed a little bit tame.

I figured it'd be a fantasy I'd take to my grave until Addison opened her mouth, and she was everything I'd wished for.

I asked her if she was a working girl, asked her if she really truly wanted to be there. Even in my inebriated state, I did everything I could to make sure that she was a willing participant, but she played her role so well. She made all of my dreams come true until I found out the next day that it was really a nightmare.

Turns out she was a working girl, and Riggs had gotten me to break the law by soliciting a prostitute. It made me sick to my stomach, but for Riggs, it was the one piece of leverage he needed to keep me in my place. After that night, things began to change. I saw him for what he really was.

Nothing but a scumbag with a badge pinned on his shirt.

Scrubbing my hand down my face, I shake off the fatigue and lean forward once again to go through the same page of information I've been looking at. Her father was Adam Murphy; based on the file, he was in and out of the holding tanks for public intoxication. There are a few assault charges in his jacket, but nothing big time. I also found a few CPS cases about his daughter, Addison. Apparently, she'd gone to school a few times with fresh bruises, but he'd always manage to explain them away. Nothing more was ever done for her.

She must have run away; something more must have happened to get her on the streets working. My brain is on overdrive as I try to put the pieces of the puzzle together; the only problem is I don't have them all.

"Hardy!"

I jerk in my seat and my head pops up just in time to see a well-crafted paper ball come hurling in my direction. I bat it away before it makes contact. My eyes settle on Riggs, who is sitting across the space next to his new partner, both of them laughing at me.

"What the hell are you focusing on so hard? We're detectives now; we don't need to work so hard," Riggs jokes, and I scoff at his indifference. That's his life; he coasts by here, and for some reason, no one ever calls him out on his bullshit. I wouldn't be surprised if he had shit on everyone that works here just to make sure he never got in trouble himself.

"Don't worry about what I'm doing. Focus on yourself. Don't you have a case or something you need to be working?" I ask, dragging my gaze back down to the computer screen. I can hear him getting out of his seat and quickly close out of the documents I have open on my screen. Unfortunately, federal funds don't cover much in terms of new electronic equipment. There's still one photo of Addison open when Riggs makes his way to my desk.

"Ah, back on this girl again? I'm sure we can get her charged on something so you can spend some extra time with her," Riggs jokes and slaps my back. He likes to think we're still friends, but my skin sizzles just from that one touch. I don't want anything to do with the man, but I have no choice with who works in the same building as me.

"Don't fuck with her." My eyes dart up to him. A threat if I ever issued one. His eyes go wide, and he puts his hands up in a mock surrender. "Easy, big boy. I'm not going to mess with your little pet. I just know you've been stuck on this girl for a while. All I wanted is to help you out a bit. Grease the wheels if you may."

Finally, the window closes out and locks down my computer before I get out of my seat, standing nearly toe-to-toe with Riggs. "I don't need the fucking wheels greased. You leave that girl alone. She hasn't done anything." I snarl at the man, but the grin doesn't leave his face. He and I have gotten into it in the past, but he knows he's got me over a barrel. I'm not going to do anything that would make him blow the whistle on my past transgressions.

"Just leave me the hell alone, Riggs." I mutter before I step by him and toward the exit.

"I don't know what your obsession with that girl is, Hardy. She's not that hot if you ask me."

I let the words roll off my back. It's a lie. Addison is beautiful. But I'm grateful he doesn't find her attractive. I'd rather keep her as far off his radar as possible for as long as I can.

I push the door open, but the tension in my chest doesn't dissipate. I need to cool out, need to let go of some of this anger floating around inside of me, and there's only one thing that seems to do that nowadays.

I have to see Addison.