Page 19 of Biker Daddy

“I’ll bring Addi home when she’s finished here. You can go and take her with you.” His tone wasn’t pleasant or helpful and the last three words were said with tight lips and clenched jaw. He clearly didn’t like Carter, but he despised the woman.

“I think Addi would rather ride home in a police car than on the back of an ex-con’s bike.” His voice was hard and just as full of dislike as Drew’s, but Addi still heard a tinge of nervousness in it.

Addi looked between the three. Carter might not like Drew, but he was afraid of him. The redhead’s eyes were lit with excitement as she eyed the two men and Drew’s jaw twitched. His arms were tightly crossed, but he didn’t say anything else. If looks could kill…

“What’s going on?” Addi asked as Drew cracked his neck with a quick twist and rolled his shoulders.

“Addi, this is Rebecca Snow, a tabloid reporter, who’s been up my ass asking for an interview on Ray since the news of his death went public.” His eyes narrowed on the redhead. “I’ve asked repeatedly for her to respect our need for privacy and time to grieve, so when she showed up here I confronted her with a little more verbal force. Colin was kind enough to call the cops.”

“Oh,” she answered, eyeing the woman who looked petulant next to Carter. “I agree with Fitz, we’d appreciate some privacy and time, Miss Snow.” Rebecca’s eyes shot to hers.

“It’ll be respectful, Addi and it wouldn’t be for the tabloids. I’d be sending it to The Sun.”

Drew growled, but Addi rose and went to his side, reaching for his hand. His immediately swallowed hers. “I give you points for eagerness and persistence, Miss Snow, but I need to bury my uncle. Give us our space, I can’t promise I’ll want to talk to you later either, but I can promise that I won’t be speaking to any other reporters.” Addi’s eyes found Carter’s and he nodded.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you.”

“Thanks, Carter.” Addi sniffed embarrassingly, and plucked a tissue from a box on the side table, wiping her nose quickly. “And don’t worry about me. Fitz and I are going to the same place. I’ll be fine getting home.” She didn’t know why she said it. She did not want to ride on the back of a motorcycle, but she also felt loyal to Drew. Her heart glugged faster as she looked up at him. “He’s helping me with Uncle Ray’s arrangements.” She straightened herself, gathering her strength. “He and Ray were really close.”

Again, the redhead’s eyes widened in some sort of thrill and her head cocked slightly.

“Besides, you look like you have something else to do,” Drew added tersely. Carter looked at the woman beside him with disdain.

“Right. Listen, we’ll get together soon, okay, Addi? Talk about old times?”

“I wouldn’t think you’d want to remind her of old times, Lerner.” Drew’s voice was steely, causing Addi to shiver.

“Oh, I think there’s some old times she might need to remember,” Carter said, his face smug. He took a step forward and Drew stood taller. Drew’s mouth curved into a brutal sort of snarl.

Drew dropped Addi’s hand and took three giant steps toward Carter. Carter worked his Adam’s apple but stood his ground. Addi cleared her throat. “I have no issues with my memory, guys.”

“You do remember me then?” He looked at Addi, his mouth widening in a smile. She nodded. He shifted his eyes to Drew and he lost his smile. “And him? You remember what he did?”

She looked at Drew. She did. She remembered quite vividly how he broke her heart and her uncle’s. “Yes, I do.” She swallowed. “But we’re all adults now and in case you’ve forgotten, Carter, we’re standing in a funeral home.”

“Right.” He hung his head a moment before looking back at her with remorse.

“Honey, again please accept my condolences on your loss.” Drew stepped in front of Addi and she blinked up at his back. Why was he acting like a jealous boyfriend?

Addi peeked around Drew. Carter look irritated, but the redhead was the one Addi was interested in. She was as happy as a cat with a canary. Addi could practically visualize the feathers sticking out of her mouth.

“Hey, you ready?” Drew said gently, pulling Addi’s assessing eyes from the redhead and putting his back to the others. He placed his hands on her shoulders. They were warm in the cool, dark room. He looked over his back at the others watching until they left, before looking at her. Colin had been hovering quietly but stepped forward then.

“We’ll go to the back and discuss all of the options first, Miss Moore. I can show you several caskets we have on display or if you’d prefer cremation…” Drew’s look had Colin closing his mouth.

“If you’re not ready, we can wait.” Addi tilted her head up to look at Drew and his brows rose in question. Her mind was stuck on how their relationship had ended ten years before.

He bent his knees and crouched until they were eye to eye. “Baby girl? You okay? I can take you home and we can do this tomorrow.”

Addi’s stomach fluttered. She wanted nothing more than to dive into his arms for support again, but dammit, she couldn’t do that. She wasn’t anyone’s fragile little girl in need of handholding. Screw that!

She shook her head both to clear it and to answer his question, and then stepped toward the door. She had never been anyone’s baby girl and she didn’t plan on changing that. She’d had to take care of herself for as long as she could remember, except when she was with Uncle Ray, but now he was gone. There was no one to rely on but herself.

It was dumb to lean on Drew. She’d learned her lesson before. He wasn’t the kind of man who stuck around. Letting him take care of her was just a momentary weakness. She’d be fine once she’d taken care of Uncle Ray, had something to eat, and had some sleep.

“No, I can do this.” Addi strode to Colin’s side and turned back. “Alone.” And walked out of the room behind Colin, trying to put his quickly hidden injured look out of her mind.

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