Page 18 of Trick

“I don’t know,” I say, tickling Sophia’s side, turning her tears into a giggle. “They don’t tell me shit anymore.”

She pauses when I say that. “Right. The joys of being a prospect.”

Joy isn’t the word I’d use. “I didn’t think you were coming down here today.”

“I wasn’t, but Sophia was fussy.” She comes back around the bar holding a roll of tissue. There’s something off in her that I can’t put my finger on, and there has been for the past week or so. I watch her as she pulls a length of tissue off and folds it.

Was Sophia fussy or did Heidi want to be here?

“She not feeling well?” I press a hand to Sophia’s forehead, checking to see if she’s warm, but she feels fine.

“I don’t know,” Heidi says. “She just wouldn’t settle this morning. I tried everything.” A smile kicks at her lips. “I think she wanted her daddy.”

It’s bullshit, but oh how I want it to be true. Sophia only has attention for Heidi.

“If Rage can’t get over what happened,” she continues, “he should patch over somewhere else.” She presses the paper to my split lip so hard, I suck in a breath, pulling my head away. “Sorry.”

I grab her wrist before she can dab my lip again. When her gaze slides to mine, I say, “I appreciate having you in my corner, babe, but this is between me and Rage.”

Calling her ‘babe’ slips out, but I don’t exactly hate how it sounds.

Her jaw tightens, and if she noticed my endearment, she doesn’t show it. “Why does no one see how hard you’re trying?”

“Rage needs to get this shit out of him so we can move on.” Which is hopefully what will happen on Friday because Heidi isn’t the only one struggling with patience with this.

“So, what? You’re just going to let him hurt you until he feels better?”

“In case you didn’t notice, I hit back, but this isn’t something we can fix over a pint. He’s pissed, and I understand. I would’ve been the same if he’d laid hands on someone I care about.”

Fuck, I’d nearly smashed his teeth down his throat when I thought he might lay a finger on Heidi or my daughter.

“If he touches you again, I won’t be responsible for what I do,” she says, her tone fierce.

Her defence of me is fucking adorable. “Retract the claws, kitten. I got this.”

She grumbles under her breath. “You don’t deserve the shit you’re getting.”

“Not that long ago, you were giving me the same shit,” I point out.

“Yeah, well, I was wrong, Trick.”

The hand not holding my daughter on my lap cups Heidi’s face, and her eyes lock to mine. For a moment, it feels like neither of us breathes, and I swear she leans into my touch just a fraction. “The club has a different way of working shit out, Heidi. I know it seems shitty, but let me handle it, yeah? I know how to put things right.”

“Yeah, sure.” Those two words are barbed.

“It won’t be forever. The Pioneers are on borrowed time.”

She stares at the table, her gaze unfocused and her face pale. “I can’t keep doing this.”

I lift her chin, forcing her gaze to me. “Hey, don’t fucking say that.”

“I’m tired of losing people I love. Theo, Mara…” She seems like she’s going to add something else to that list before she says, “Just too many deaths. Our lives have been changed forever, and it’s because of the club.”

“It’s not the club’s fault, Heidi.”

“How can you say that after everything you’ve lost? Sophia doesn’t have her mother because of this war.”

“It wasn’t a war we started.”

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