Page 9 of April 5

Not wanting to leave the clubhouse and Jagger, she pointed to a table. "I'll get us a coffee."

She hurried over to where Jagger stood. She moved beside him as she grabbed two mugs out of the cabinet.

"What are you up to?" he whispered.

"Getting to know my aunt." She filled up both cups. "And I wanted to see you."

"No."

"I'm already here, so you have to see me."

"I told you to stay away from me." He walked away from her.

She looped her fingers through the handles of the mugs and grabbed the sugar container, not knowing what Cora would need for her drink. At the table, she sat across from her aunt.

"I suggested the coffee shop because that's where I work." Cora reached for a mug.

"Then, this coffee will suck to you." She sipped, wincing at the scalding heat against the tip of her tongue. "Bikers are notorious for buying bad coffee for the clubhouse."

"That's probably why the majority of them walk down to the end of the block and buy coffee at the shop throughout the day." Cora smiled. "So...tell me about yourself. I've been dying to know more about you since Ruger told me he had a daughter."

She shrugged. "Not much to say. I work as the bartender at the mother chapter of Havlin."

"So, you live with your dad?"

"No." She set the mug down. "You know my Dad's only been out of prison for two years, right?"

Cora nodded. "I don't know too much about what happened. Was it for a long time?"

"Yeah. You can say that." She rolled the bracelet on her wrist. "Pretty much my whole life."

Cora whispered, "Can I ask who raised—?"

"No reason to whisper. I'm not ashamed of my past. Dad loved me despite being locked up." Seeing the hurt reflected in Cora's eyes, Katrina leaned back in the chair. "He cared for me the best he could by having his biker family look after me while he was gone."

"Who raised you?"

"Mama Sue." Saying the name softened her. "She's the best."

"Is Ruger still involved with your mom?"

Katrina's spine snapped to attention. Her father had told her throughout the years how he'd split after his parents found out he'd gotten his girlfriend pregnant. He never told her in words, but she assumed her grandparents hadn't wanted an illegitimate child in their family—as if that mattered nowadays.

"He never told you?" she asked.

Cora shook her head.

"My mom ran out of the hospital after giving birth to me. Dad raised me until he went to prison when I was four. Since then, I've lived with Jagger's mom, Mama Sue."

Cora slumped in her chair. "I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"Nothing to be sorry for. I'm happy with my life." She took another drink.

The last thing she wanted was pity. She also wasn't ready to sing kumbaya around a burning barrel, passing a whiskey bottle back and forth with her newfound aunt. She wasn't sure what knowing her background would do for her aunt, but she wasn't ashamed about who she was.

Yes, her dad was a murderer. But he loved her.

"It's so crazy to think all that happened before I was born." Cora shook her head. "I wish I had known. My parents—they never told me everything that happened."

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