Page 94 of Sugar and Skulls

Katie’s little hands cradle my cheeks just like I had done to her. “It’s okay, Jesse. I told Bill about the man who hurt me. It made me feel better. You should tell him about the man who hurt you. You can tell daddy anything.”

She called him daddy. Katie, little Katie giving me her words of wisdom is too much. I break down as she puts her arms around me hugging me tight.

“I love you, Jesse. I’m so glad you’re going to be my big sister.”

I sniff back my emotion, returning her hug. “And, I’m so glad you’re going to be my little sister. We will always look out for one another, won’t we?”

She nods her head and uses her hands to wipe away the tears on my cheeks. “I already told him that bad man was there today.” Katie looks me straight in the eye, not one hint of regret.

“Thank you for having my back, little sis,” I give her a kiss on the forehead and then push myself up off the floor. “I better go talk to him.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Jesse

???

Italked to my dad. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought. He cleaned up my elbows, fixed me up a slice of pizza and sent me to bed. Like a child. Part of me doesn’t mind, the other part wants to sneak out and call Crow. I’m trying to put all my faith into dad and the club. I am. I’m trying.

He came in to check on me before he went to bed. I asked what they were going to do about Crow. “He’s bluffing, Jesse,” was all he had to say.

While that may be true I don’t think Crow is simply going to give up. Me calling his bluff on this is going to anger him. He’s wanted to make my dad pay for killing his brother for a long time and he’s determined to do that through me.

My door opens, Dirk’s familiar tobacco scent wraps around me. His boots thud to floor one after the other as he takes them off. He slides under the covers pulling me close to him.

“What are you doing in my room? Dad will kill you if he finds you in here,” I whisper.

He kisses the back of my head. “I needed to hold you.”

My heart thumps a happy little tune. “How is your sister?” I turn in his arms so I can look into his eyes.

“She’s good. I took her back to her hotel.” He brushes his thumb over my temple his eyes bouncing over my face.

“Where has she been all these years?”

“She doesn’t remember much of her life before the abduction. She was raised by a couple who couldn’t have kids.” He pauses to lean in and kiss my lips gently. “She started to realize something wasn’t right when she asked why they didn’t have any baby pictures of her. The more she dug the more suspicious she became. So, she did one of those DNA swabs and it connected her to Dan on some ancestry page. He had done a test a few years ago. Anyhow, with the help of a therapist she has gotten some of her memories back, but they are choppy at best.”

“Did they hurt her?”

“No, she said they were loving parents. Probably better than our own. My parents gave us lots of things, they had money, but they were never home.”

My heart breaks. He looks so sad. “She’s here now. It’s not too late to have a relationship with her. Look at me and my dad.”

His mood ring eyes glow in the moonlit room. “I failed her back then.” He rolls onto his back. “And, I failed you today.”

“What?” I prop myself up on my elbow, wincing. “You did not fail me.”

He pushes himself up, grabbing my arm. Gently he twists it so he can examine my elbow. Starting at my shoulder he kisses all the way down my arm, pausing over the scrape. His eyes meet mine. “I should have been there today.”

“You can’t follow me around everywhere.”

“Fuck if I can’t.”

“Dirk,” I shove him playfully. “Be serious. I handled it fine on my own.”

He pushes me on my back and crawls over me. “From now on you don’t go anywhere without me. I’ll drop you off at the shop and pick you up. Period.”

“You’re fucking crazy,” I giggle, trying to roll out from under him.

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