Page 14 of Jackass

King sat at the bar. Hearing me come in, he turned around on his stool. He raised an eyebrow at me and looked at the little girl in my arms.

“Hey, Prez, I want you to meet my daughter, Charlie.”

“What the fuck, Jack?” King stood from his stool and walked over to where I stood. “You have a kid?” He looked behind me at Sammy and his eyes narrowed at her.

“Apparently so, though no one bothered to tell me.”

“Jack, don’t be an ass. You don’t know the circumstances.”

I looked at Beck and couldn’t believe what she’d just said.

“You, of all people, should understand how pissed I am right now,” I challenged. “Any sympathy you have should be for Charlie and her alone. Thank God she only had to live four years without her father, not twenty-five.”

“Jack, I understand you being upset, and I absolutely feel for Charlie. That doesn’t mean you get to be an ass to Samantha in front of your daughter, though,” she said as she tipped her head toward Charlie.

I looked at my daughter. She just stared at me with her great big blue eyes, so much like my own. All at once, it hit me. She knew who I was. She knew I was her daddy. I may not have known about her, but Sammy had made sure she knew about me. That thought tempered my anger a bit.

“Charlie, honey, can you hang out with your Auntie Beck for a few minutes while I talk to Mommy?” She looked at me and then over at Beck. She smiled and nodded.

“Come on, pretty girl, let’s go get a snack.”

I placed my daughter on her feet. Beck took her hand and led her toward the kitchen.

“Don’t worry, Samantha, I’ve got her. She won’t leave my sight,” Beck called when Sammy stepped forward.

I watched Beck walk away with my daughter. Once they were out of earshot, I rounded on Sammy. King stood beside me, and we both glared at her.

“What the fuck, Samantha?” King growled and stepped forward.

I placed my hand on his arm. King had our backs, always. I couldn’t let him intimidate her, though. If he did, I’d get no information out of her.

She just stood there, her eyes swinging between King and me.

“Jack, can we talk in private, please?”

Right then, the front door opened, and Blade strolled in.

I could see him easily reading the tension in the room. He eyed King and then Sammy, finally landing on me.

“Everything ok, brother?” he asked warily, looking back at Sammy.

“Not even a little,” I replied.

I watched the emotions sweep across Sammy’s face.

Shame.

Anxiety.

Fear.

It was the last one that hit me. Over the last two years, since I found Sammy living close by, I had seen that same fear on her face many times. Whenever something or someone caught her by surprise, terror washed over her. I needed to know why. I needed to get answers.

“Hey, Sam, you ok?” Blade stood between her and me. He was my best friend, but he wouldn’t hesitate to knock me out if Sammy told him she was afraid of me.

“I’m ok, Blade,” she told him, her eyes on the floor. He lifted her chin and studied her face.

“Sam.” He waited for her to lift her eyes. “Are you ok?”

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