Page 68 of Always Mine

Luke got to his feet.“And with that, I better go.I ...I’m trying to join the Skulls.”

“I heard,” Daisy said.

“You guys are the real deal.You’re what I thought club life was about, and now I see that my own club was everything I hated.”

“The Skulls is a family, Luke.They will have your back, as long as you have theirs and you don’t run from problems.You stand and fight.”

Luke nodded.“See you around.”

Daisy held her hand up in a wave, and then she was alone in a hospital room, bored.She hated the fucking hospital.There was nothing to do but sit around and wait.The nurses came in, read her chart, talked to her about how she was feeling.She would ask the same question—how much longer did she have to wait until she could get out of there.No one would answer.

Time passed, only it was doing so slowly, and it was driving her crazy.

****

Anthony didn’t argueas his father dumped the bucket of water and a mop in his hands, and then pointed to the bathrooms.

“Clean it.”

Lash didn’t linger.There were no other words spoken.

He had no doubt the guys had been ordered to take shits and pisses, and to leave them.This was part of his punishment.His father had to show strength and Anthony had to submit, and that was what he was going to do.

After seeing what the Monster Dogs MC were capable of, he knew he had fucked up big time.He had to understand there was always a reason his father did what he did.Taking the mop and bucket into his hands, he stepped into the bathroom, and sure enough, the smell was disgusting.

He didn’t even bother to check the damage.Grabbing some fresh tissue, he wrapped it around his hand and flushed the handle down.When it came to cleaning up crap and knowing the guys were going to be pissed at him, he didn’t want to risk getting shit on his hands.

Flushing each of the handles on all of the toilets, he couldn’t help but remember a time, several years ago, when he was still a prospect, and Daisy was hanging out with him.He had been ordered to clean the bathrooms, and Daisy had sat on the countertop near the sinks, watching him.

“You know, I could help,” Daisy said.

“You’re not going to help.This is my job and I’m going to get it done,” he said.

“You’re so stubborn, you know that, right?”

He glared at her from one of the bathroom stalls.

Daisy stuck her tongue out at him.“You’re good at cleaning, though.This place is really sparkling.”

“You should see the ladies’ room.”

She laughed.“He got you doing the ladies’ room as well?”

“I had to clean absolutely everything,” Anthony said.“This is my job.”

“I wonder what you did?”

“You don’t have to do anything, remember?This is all par for the course of becoming a Skull.”

He stepped out of the stall and the smile on her face was so ...heartwarming to him.

“I love the pink gloves,” Daisy said.

He peeled them off.“I was not going to get too filthy.”

“No?”she asked.

Anthony took a step toward her, then another, and another, until he had her trapped against the counter and his body.

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