Page 92 of Starting Over

“Where are you going, King?”

“Fuck off, Dec.”

He stormed out of the clubhouse, with Gunner on his tail. There was no way of knowing where he was going. I just had to trust that his SAA would keep him out of trouble.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Maureen

Watching King storm out of the clubhouse, I couldn’t help but feel partly responsible. No, I wasn’t the one who kept the truth from him, but I wish I had stayed quiet and talked to Declan in private.

Hearing that the mother who raised you wasn’t your mother at all, but your grandmother, wasn’t something he should have learned in front of everyone.

“Dad.” Beck stood from the couch and walked to her father. “How could you not tell him?”

“Baby girl, it’s not the same thing and you know it.”

“It is the same thing. You went twenty-five years without knowing you had a daughter, and you learned nothing from that.”

“It is not the same goddamn thing!” Declan yelled. “Your mother was a selfish, conniving bitch. My mother sacrificed her oldest son to ensure that her grandson had the chance to live a life he chose. Not one the family chose for him, like his father.”

“And what were you?” Beck asked. “When King became an adult, his grandfather was dead. He joined the club. Why didn’t you tell him then? Why did you continue to keep the truth from him?”

“Neacht, do not blame your father. He was only doing what he thought was best. What he had been asked to do,” Sal said, defending Declan.

“What does that mean? The word you said?” Beck asked, narrowing her eyes at Sal.

“It means niece,” he replied.

“Thank fuck,” Blade whispered, as Jack and a few of the other brothers chuckled. As to why, I didn’t know.

“Beck, I did what I did to protect him. Not to prevent him from having a mother or a father. He had both, and they loved him very much. When that little boy is born, you will understand the lengths you’re willing to go to in order to protect him.”

“Dad,” Beck groaned. “You don’t know it’s a boy.”

Declan didn’t argue. He just kissed his daughter on the head.

I decided now was a good time to slip out and go home.

“Maureen, wait.” Declan turned to me.

“I need to go home.”

“Maura, we need to talk about Duane,” Sal called.

“No, Sal, we don’t. I don’t know what he was doing. I don’t know what he was looking into or what he found. All I knew was he was looking for Darcy.”

“How did you end up here?”

I looked at Declan, wondering if I should tell him the truth.

At his nod, I gave in.

“Apparently, he kept in touch with Declan and made arrangements for me to move here if anything happened to him.”

Sal turned to Declan with an accusing eyebrow lift. “I told him to leave it alone. He didn’t know anything about King. He was just looking for Darcy.”

“What did you do with the things from his office?” Sal asked, turning back to me.

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