Chapter 9

Iwas amazed by how quickly I'd adjusted to living in an MC compound…and losing my virginity. After we broke the seal, so to speak, Cash and I spent most of the day in bed together. We only had sex twice more—because he'd been worried about me getting too sore—and spent the rest of the time talking about anything and everything. With the exception of the one thing I was too chicken to mention. Cash had refused to pull out every time we'd had sex. And it seemed almost as though he was trying to get me pregnant…unless it was just stuff said in the heat of the moment. I hadn't worked up the courage to ask, though.

I'd learned that his road name was his childhood nickname, not too far off from Cassius. Since Cash was already really darn cool, he'd convinced the guys that he didn't need a new name back when he finished prospecting for the club—another thing he'd explained to me. I was impressed by the fact that he managed their auto shop and was in awe of the classic car restorations he'd shown me that his friend Dom had done.

Someone brought up a tray of food around noon, so we hadn't left his room until dinnertime. When my stomach growled, he'd dragged me out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen, and we'd found a dozen people seated at the tables, digging into three large pans of lasagna and piles of garlic bread. Sharing a meal had given me a chance to get to know several of Cash's club brothers and their old ladies—a term that my sister had explained was in no way meant to be derogatory, even though it sounded like it to outsiders.

Seeing how these big, strong men catered to their women convinced me that she was right. And made me hope for a day in the future when Cash and I were as in sync as the other couples we'd eaten with.

All that time together yesterday—plus those days in Aspen even though we hadn't really talked then—was like stringing a bunch of dates back-to-back. It made me feel as though we'd been together for much longer than the week since we'd met. And I was already falling head over heels in love with Cash. Not that I'd said those three little words out loud yet. It was way too soon for that. But I had reached the point when I trusted him enough to ask for what I needed.

Shifting in his embrace so I was looking at him instead of the show we were watching while cuddled up in bed together, I murmured, "I want to see my mom and dad."

He stroked his thumb across my cheek. "You sure you're ready for that?"

"I want to make sure my mom is okay. She was completely in love with my dad, and I don't know how things went down with him when she left Aspen." I heaved a deep sigh. "And if I'm being completely honest with myself…even though my dad made such terrible mistakes and I'm so, so pissed at him, I still love him. I'm not ready to forgive him. I'm not sure if I ever will be, but I'd like to see him. Especially if my mom kicked him to the curb." I stopped for a second and swallowed hard, pushing back the tears threatening to spill over. This whole situation was an emotional roller coaster, but I knew I could take these steps with Cash by my side. "Besides, I'm not sure how many opportunities I'm going to have to see my dad without bars between us."

"I get why you feel like it needs to be now, and I'm willing to arrange it, so long as you understand that the meet would have to happen here," he reminded me.

"Yeah, I figured." I stroked my palm up his bare chest. "You've made it very clear that I can't leave until you guys find Bickle, and I have no desire to get caught by someone who wants to kill me."

"No fucking way will I ever let that bastard get his hands on you," Cash growled before dipping his head to capture my lips in a deep kiss.

It took me a minute to catch my breath when he finished. "I know you won't let anything happen to me."

"Damn straight." He twisted around to grab his cell off the bedside table. "And that includes your dad pulling any shit that hurts you during your talk. I'm gonna be there to make sure he doesn't fuck up any more than he already has."

"Okay." No way in heck was I going to argue with that order when I wanted him by my side anyway. Seeing my dad for the first time after finding out what he'd hidden from me was going to be hard.

"I like when my sunshine is agreeable." He gave me another quick kiss, then tapped a few messages out on his phone. "Mac gave his okay for your parents to drop by to see you. Do you want me to set it up with your dad? Or do you want to ask?"

I didn't want to talk to my dad until we were face-to-face. I needed time to figure out what I wanted to say and to see his expression when he answered my questions. "You, please."

"Before that," Cash stopped for a second as he leaned forward and shrugged out of his cut. "Need to make a statement that can't be missed, sunshine." He slipped my arms through the holes of his vest, and I felt the weight of the leather as it settled on my shoulders. "What's that?"

"You're mine."

His possessive words stuck with me as we made our way downstairs. My dad had agreed to come over right away, so I hadn't needed to wait long.

Nobody was in the large area, not even at the bar even though it was a Friday night. "Thanks for making sure we had some privacy for this."

"Always gonna make sure you have what you need, sunshine." He led me over to one of the couches and got me settled, standing guard next to me with his fists at his hips. "My brothers understood how important this meeting was to you."

"Oh no. I should've asked Kiara if she wanted to join us."

Cash shook his head. "Don't worry about your sister. Knight is aware that your dad is gonna be here any minute. If she wanted to see him, she'd be down here already."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"No guessing needed."

Before I could tease him about being so cocky, the door opened, and my parents walked into the clubhouse. I resisted the urge to jump up and run toward them. Instead, I just stood and focused on my mom as they crossed the room. Considering the situation, I was surprised to see them holding hands and mostly at ease with each other, though there was still tension in the air. She smiled softly when she saw me, and I could see how relieved she was that I was okay.

My dad tensed up even more the closer they got. His gaze zeroed in on the vest I was wearing, and his face twisted with anger. "You can't be serious. I'm not going to let another one of my daughters be with a—"

"Watch it," Cash growled, taking a step closer and making the blood drain from my dad's face.

Crossing my arms against my chest, I glared at him. "You don't get a say in my life anymore. And that has nothing to do with Cash. The only person to blame for that is you."

He sputtered for a second, then his shoulders slumped as he sighed. "I know I messed up, but does that really mean I shouldn't get a say in my daughters' lives anymore?"

"Pretty much," I muttered. " And I'm definitely not going to let the man who hid Mom and me from his wife and daughter for my whole life have a say in who I'm with. "

"She's got a point," my mom said with a shrug. Hurt crept into her eyes, but when she looked at my dad, I could still see how much she loved him. When I thought about my growing feelings for Cash, it was hard not to have some understanding of why she might forgive my dad.

"Fine," he huffed, shooting a glare at Cash. Though I noticed he kept his distance from my man. "But you better take good care of her."

"I'll do a better job of it than you, that's for damn sure," Cash growled.

Before the two could continue their verbal sparring, my mom asked me, "How are you doing, honey?"

I reached out and took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze before Cash hauled me back against him. "I'm okay, Mom. Cash has helped me deal with a lot of this, and he takes amazing care of me."

She flashed him a small but genuine smile as he dropped onto the couch, then captured my wrist and tugged me down to sit next to him before interlacing our fingers. "Thank you for looking after my daughter."

He accepted her gratitude with a dip of his chin. "My pleasure."

My parents sat on the couch across from us, and I didn't miss how my mom stayed close to my dad and let him hold her hand on his leg.

"Are you two"—I struggled with how to define their relationship, knowing he was married to another woman—"going to stay together?"

"We are," my mom confirmed with a nod. "It won't be easy with the future ahead of us. Your dad has a lot of work to do before he can earn my trust back." She looked at him, and when their eyes met, I knew that no matter what my dad had done, he really did love my mom. "But we're working on it."

I leaned against Cash's side, feeling oddly relieved they were staying together. I was still so angry with my dad, but that didn't mean I'd just stopped loving him. And I wanted my mom to be happy. If that meant being with my dad, then I hoped they could find happiness in the rough road ahead. "Working on it?"

"We had a meeting with the divorce lawyer, and he's going to try to expedite the process so that we can get married before…" She trailed off for a second, her eyes clouding with fear. "In case we have to be apart. Otherwise, we won't have legal rights to any part of his life. And I found him a therapist as well as a marriage counselor for us to see together."

I blinked a few times, surprised by her answer. She'd really thought this through, and I couldn't say I wasn't proud of her for the way she was handling the situation "Wow. That's a lot to cram into the short time since I've seen you."

My dad nodded and let go of my mom's hand to put his arm around her. "I'm lucky your mom will stand by me after everything I've done." There was no missing the love in his eyes as he turned to look at her. "I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to her. And anything I can do to make sure that she's happy and that I'm by her side."

His comment made me wonder about how the court case was proceeding. "Does your attorney think you'll end up in jail?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

His expression was grave as he nodded. "We met with him as well. Unfortunately, it's almost certain that I won't be able to avoid incarceration. But he's confident that I'll be able to minimize the length of my sentence if I turn state's evidence on the people who bribed me. Especially since prosecuting them could be a huge boost to the career of the state's attorney."

I felt Cash tense next to me. "Any of those people as dirty as Bickle?"

My dad shook his head, quickly assuring him, "No, he was the worst of the lot. And the others don't have organizations to back them. My testimony won't put Karina or Kiara at risk."

"Good," Cash bit out. "'Cause if you put my woman in danger again—"

"I won't," my dad growled adamantly.

"You're really going to testify against all of them?" I asked.

"Absolutely." My dad brushed his fingers across my mom's knuckles. "I meant it when I said I'd do whatever it takes, and that means owning up to my mistakes and dealing with the consequences. And if I can make sure those other crooks pay for their crimes, earning a shorter time away from my family…that's a start. I need to make things right so I don't drag you girls and your mom into my mess any more than I already have."

I would never completely trust my dad again, but his answers and seeming determination gave me hope that maybe one day, we could patch our relationship. And perhaps he could do so with Kiara, too.