Page 7 of Ringo

“I’m the sergeant at arms, Ringo,” Dom said, his voice husky with what I was sure was emotion. “When the safety of the club is involved, I decide what has to happen. Not Rocket.”

“And I’m the president, Dom. Every decision regarding this club is ultimately mine.” Rocket pinned Dom with a hard gaze. “You’re too close. You can be present and help us plan or anything else you feel like you need to do inside the compound to help us prepare. You will not be part of anything going down.”

For a moment, I thought Dom was going to protest, but he finally let out a breath and nodded. “Last thing I want to do is something to bring the club under scrutiny.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry, man.”

“Dumbass.” Lemon snorted. “Ain’t worried about you doin’ somethin’ to harm the club. You’d never do that. We’re worried about you. Killin’ is one thing. But you shouldn’t do it when emotions are high. Not unless it’s life or death.” She gave Dom a stern look. Like a mother scolding a child. “You kill when you’re calm and can properly appreciate the pain and suffering you’re inflicting without that haze of anger.”

That got a bark of laughter from Calista. She sat up straighter and grinned at Lemon. “I think you and me are gonna be good friends.”

Chapter Four

Calista

My mom was right. These people had welcomed me. Dominic hadn’t rejected me. In fact, I thought he might be a solid wall between me and anything my stepfather could throw at me. And, God help me, there was Ringo.

The very last thing I wanted was to come between him and my father. It seemed like they had a close relationship, though I could be wrong. Unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to make myself crawl off Ringo’s lap and out of his arms. I was tired, hungry, and feeling extremely vulnerable. Ringo made me feel safe like I hadn’t felt since mom married Borris.

After Rocket and the other men left and shut the door, Dom held out his hand to me. “You’re safe here, Calista. No matter what. Understand?”

I put my hand in his, letting him trap it between both of his. “Yes. I-I think I do.”

Dom smiled kindly at me, but when I looked deeper, his eyes were cold and flat. There was a chilling rage simmering just beneath the surface, and I wasn’t sure if he was angry at me or the whole situation.

“Rein it in, Dom.” Ringo spoke softly but with a warning edge. “She doesn’t understand us or the club. Not yet. You don’t want to come on too strong.”

Dom closed his eyes, giving a slight nod. When he looked at me again, there was genuine sorrow and regret shining in his gray eyes. “I never wanted to leave you or your mother, Calista. I didn’t even know about you until right before you were born. If I had, I’d’ve insisted Tina come here to live.”

“What happened?” My question was so soft I wasn’t sure if he’d heard me or not. “Why did you leave my mom?”

“To keep her safe.” Dom sighed, squeezing my hand once before letting go and moving back to his chair. He sprawled out with his legs in front of him, crossed at the ankles as he scrubbed a hand over his face several times. “We hadn’t known each other long, but she was my world from the moment we met. We were only together a couple of months before I left. Had my life not gone to hell and back, I’m sure we’d’ve still been together.” He snorted. “I mean, I gave her the location of this place. That should tell anyone here all they need to know. So, baby, I’ve not been in your life as your father, but I will be now as much as you want me. I will protect you and use the full weight of my position in this club -- which is just as much as Rocket’s or Lemon’s because I’m in charge of safety -- to slay your demons. So I need to know what sent you running to me.”

It wasn’t a question. It also wasn’t something I’d ever refuse to give him. He deserved to know why I came, though, and caused chaos in his club. That had never been my intent.

“Mom died a few years ago,” I began.

“Yeah, baby. Had Byte keeping an eye on both of you. Discreetly and only the surface of your lives, so he didn’t go too in-depth, but I knew when she passed.”

“Then you might know more than me. We were told it was an aggressive form of some kind of blood cancer, but my mom didn’t think so.”

Dom tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. “Oh?”

“Yeah. She thought she’d been poisoned. The last few days, she refused to eat or drink anything I didn’t bring her. That’s when she told me the meaning of the song she’d taught me when I was little and gave me the compass.” I nearly sobbed in grief. “Mom and I were always really tight. The only argument we ever had was when she accepted Borris Illivitch’s marriage proposal.”

“You didn’t want her to marry?” Dom raised an eyebrow, like he didn’t think that was the whole story. He was right.

“No. It wasn’t that. I didn’t want her to marry Borris. He’s a swine.”

Dom gave me a small smile, but I could see he understood. “Did she love him?” Did I imagine he winced when he asked that question?

“No. And what I’m going to say next is strictly the truth as I see it, Dom, but I don’t think Mom ever loved anyone in her life other than me. And you.”

Yeah. That went over about as well as I expected. Dom sucked in a breath, then stood to pace the room. There was no way my mom would have fallen for someone who didn’t love her back. Dom had loved my mom.

“Christ,” he muttered, pausing to lean against a wall. He thumped his head a few times before turning back to me. “Why? Why did she marry Illivitch.” It wasn’t a demand phrased as a question, but I was under no illusion he would accept it if I refused to answer. So I evaded a little bit.

“You said you had someone watching her. Did he not tell you?”

“I said he didn’t dig deep. He just made sure you guys weren’t in any immediate danger and only checked up once a month or so. He said if there was anything major, he had alarms in place that would notify him. Which is how I knew Tina was ill. Though he only found out a couple days before she died.”

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