Page 12 of Biker's Dark Revenge

"That thing with the giraffe," I replied. "I never would have thought to frame it to her like that. You’re really good at this stuff, you know."

"Just seemed obvious to me," he replied, with a shrug, like it wasn’t a big deal at all.

"It’s a big deal to me," I replied. "I feel like I haven’t been able to get her to relax since she arrived here. She’s passed out right now. With the giraffe."

"Good," he remarked, leaning up against the wall again. It was his usual pose, arms crossed over his chest, muscles flexing beneath the sleeves of his shirt – I was getting used to having him around, which I knew I shouldn’t be. I should know better than to let myself get drawn into the comfort of having someone else in this apartment, but hey, there’s no harm in enjoying it for as long as it lasts d, right?

"You have kids in your family?" I asked him. He paused for a moment before he replied, his eyes locked on to mine.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, like, nieces, nephews, something like that?" I asked. "Or a little brother or sister?"

"No," he shot back, his voice taking on a sharp edge all of a sudden.

"Oh, okay, I just thought-"

"You thought wrong," he replied curtly. All the warmth that he had shown to Kara, it seemed to have leaked from him in a split-second – falling from him like he had thrown it off his shoulders.

"I’m sorry, I was just – I thought that-" I blurted out, confused as to why things had suddenly gone the way they had.

"I should go," he told me bluntly. I frowned, baffled. What the hell had just happened? It felt like things had been so comfortable, and then, all of a sudden, he just freaked out on me for no reason.

"You don’t have to go," I told him. "You can stay if you want, I mean-"

"No, I’ve been here too long already," he replied, grabbing for his jacket, which was draped comfortably over the back of the couch. I wanted to tell him that he hadn’t overstayed his welcome, but I could tell that he wasn’t going to hear it. He had already decided he needed to get out, and there was nothing I could do to change that.

He was out the door before I could say another word, leaving me standing there, wondering what the hell had just happened. All I had said was that he was good with kids, and wondered if he had any in his life...why was that such a sore spot for him? Why did he react like I had insulted him and his entire family to his face? None of this made sense. None of it.

But my curiosity was piqued, there was no way I could deny that. I wanted to know what was going on. What was he hiding behind that tough exterior??I had seen small pieces of it start to crumble and fall away when he was around Kara – I could tell there was a softness beneath it, a softness he likely didn’t want anyone else to see.

But that softness had me drawn to him more than I had been before. And I was determined to find out what he was hiding – what had caused him to react the way he had.

And just where he had gotten the skills to handle a little girl like Kara.

Chapter Eight – Lee

"They’re doing what?"

Chuck glared at me, and even though I knew the anger wasn’t aimed at me specifically, it still sent a shudder down my spine. He might have been tamed since his relationship with Abbey had started, but there was still the burning reminder of the man he was beneath– the anger, rage, and aggression he was capable of.

"They’re keeping children there," I explained to him again, even though I knew it wasn’t that he hadn’t heard me. I had filled him in on the fact I had gotten Liana out but had held back on the big news for a while as Kara got settled in. I knew Chuck would want to see her with his own two eyes before he took what I was saying as truth, and I figured a new person in her life would throw her off all over again.

"What do you mean?” Chuck asked. I sighed.

"Some of the girls, they’re getting pregnant from the...clients they have to deal with," I explained, as carefully as I could. "And they’re keeping the kids locked in cells. Raising them there. To do God knows what with them when they get old enough..."

"That sick fucking freak," Chuck muttered, eyes flashing with fury. "I knew he was into some dark shit, but this..."

He shook his head, his jaw tensing.

"This changes things."

I slumped down into the chair opposite him, relieved. I knew we had to make a move as soon as we could against Lombardi. I mean, I would have felt that way even without Kara being around after he’d gone after Liana, but with that little girl to consider, it was even more pressing.

"How do you know that for sure?" he asked me, lifting his head once more.

"Liana got one of the little girls out of there," I explained quickly. "Her mom had her while she was working – they got her hooked-on dope, I don’t know if it was before or after she got pregnant, but she was using a lot."

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