Page 62 of Sinful Mates

Aaliyah

Club business ruinedthe day Zethan planned at the shelter and he postponed it until tomorrow. Another raid by a government department, this one on the clubhouse, searching for the trafficked women.

Walls boxed me in, sliding closer, cutting off my air. I was losing my men. Losing everything I came to love. The gods were punishing us for our sins, and it was far too late for absolution.

I couldn’t sit still and paced Slade’s living room. Taking a break from the club to mother Mia did nothing to ease my nerves or take my mind off the turmoil threatening to consume the club.

Papers from organizing the Christmas toy donation fluttered off the table from my knee accidentally knocking them off the coffee table.

I wasn’t the kind of person who sat still and did nothing. Shifts at the ER got me into the habit of hard work, a bustling environment, high pressure, and constantly being on the go. I needed to keep busy. Work with my hands. Heal and use my goddess’ gift or risk losing my station as her avatar. The world didn’t stop for the gods.

Luckily, I kept busy in the background assisting Zethan offloading the Wolves’ dirty money. Hopefully win back a few points of balance with the gods after one too many murders, acts of revenge, and vengeful, sinning hearts.

My phone rang, vibrating on the table, startling me, and I fumbled to answer it. “Hello?” Slade got me into the habit of not identifying myself in case the cops or feds tapped the line.

“Miss Heller, this is Principal Avens,” the caller said. Polite. Firm.

My stomach turned to stone. Shit. Something happened.

“Is Mia okay?” I croaked.

“She’s fine.” The tightness in the principal’s voice didn’t support that. “There’s a gentleman on a motorcycle positioned outside of the school who claims to be her stepfather.”

Fuck, Alaric. Protective. Watchful. The second time in weeks I got this call. The first right after she started. Slade tried to keep Alaric busy, but he slipped away to guard Mia. After a few days, Mia seemed to settle in, his anxiety calmed, and he backed off.

This morning I felt something trigger him and called him straight away. He returned to the school because he felt uneasy about Mia. About me. Pressure from the police baring down on the club set his apprehension on full blast.

“In situations like this, Miss Heller, I must act in the child’s safety. Is he Mia’s stepfather?” The stone in my stomach turned to ice and burned a hole.

I left the father details in Mia’s school application blank. She couldn’t exactly have four daddies listed.

“Is there anything I need to be made aware of?” What the principal really asked was whether there was an issue or a threat. Did she need to call the police to get them to move Alaric away? Procedures we followed in the ER when we suspected women were the victims of domestic violence.

I rubbed at my strained, aching temples. First, I had to find out what the man looked like in case it was a rival club or someone else intimidating my daughter. “Tall? Brown hair? Leather vest?” My voice broke on the last bit.

“That’s him.” Impatience shone in Principal Aven’s voice.

My chest muscles relaxed their stranglehold. “Yes, he’s Mia’s stepfather. He’s a little overprotective.” Dammit. I scrambled for an excuse to give her but came up blank. “Her father passed away from a head injury, and she’s been having nightmares. Alaric’s making sure she’s okay.”

The principal made a disapproving noise. “I will arrange for Mia to sit down with the school counselor.”

“Thank you.” Shit. I couldn’t have my daughter babble about anything club or god-related that she might have overheard.

“As you can appreciate, Miss Heller,” the principal went on, “your partner can’t remain parked outside of the school as it’s disruptive to the students and staff.”

Translation: she didn’t want a leather-clad biker standing outside the school intimidating parents and children, bringing down the reputation of the school and its faculty, regardless of whether he looked like an angel wrapped in darkness and all the mothers fawned over him.

Shit, he didn’t need more trouble with the cops after they planted drugs on him and arrested him. I needed to haul ass down to the school and encourage Alaric to move on.

A quick check of my phone clock showed noon. Time for us to escape for a couple of hours before having to pick Mia up. Let him unload what was on his mind that set him off.

“I asked him to move on half an hour ago, but he’s insisting on guarding Mia,” said the principal.

Goddess.Mia’s registration might be cancelled if Alaric went too far with his protective act. “I’m sorry for this, Principle Avens. I’ll speak to him. This won’t happen again.”

“Thank you, Miss Heller.” A note of tension loosened in her tone.

I could tell she was about to end the conversation, but I was eager for a report on my daughter. “How’s Mia settling in?”

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