Page 52 of Nova

"You realize which way things could go if my men get a hold of him?" Riggs eyes Crow.

If?I scoff.It's not a matter of if, but when.

"I do," Crow nods.

"Then, my club has no beef with you." My brother extends his hand, and Crow accepts. "Let's hope it stays that way." Releasing hands, Riggs stands, but Crow stays seated. His eyes drop to the table.

"There's another reason we haven't left town." His words cause all of us to tense, and his men take it as a threat. Moving forward, their hands reach for their weapons, and we go for our own. I have mine out and the end of the barrel directly in Crow's face before either of his brothers manage to pull guns on us.

"Tell your men to stand down before I put a bullet in your head," I warn him.

"Stand down," he barks, and his men holster their guns. Unfazed, Crow continues, as he looks to my brother. "I have someone waitin' outside that I'd like you to meet." Then his eyes settle on my face. "L.A," he calls one of his men. "Bring her in." Crow's eyes never leave mine.

What the fuck kind of games are they playing?

"You got it." His brother, L.A, turns toward the door, but Everest won't let him pass. "Think you could tell the mountain here to move?" He looks over his shoulder.

"I'm not playin' games here, Riggs. My old lady is no threat to you or your club." Crow is quick to reassure us, but I don't give two shits. I keep my gun on the fucker, just in case.

"Let him pass," Riggs orders Everest, and he steps aside. Looking down at Crow, my brother tells him, "Let's hope, for your sake, you're right. I'd hate to see my brother make a mess all over my barroom floor."

His man L.A opens the door, leans out, motioning to grab someone's attention. A tall, thin brunette steps inside, with her face, cast down to the floor as she approaches. The wringing of her hands as she keeps them clasped in front of her tells me she is nervous.

The moment she lifts her head, I'm staring at a ghost from my past.

"Holy fuckin' shit," my brother exhales on a heavy breath.

Never in my lifetime did I think she would ever show her face again. "Hello, Cain." Her voice sounds the same.Why did I think it wouldn't?

Seventeen years bubble inside of me and the hate I thought was long gone surfaces. "Madison." My eyes leave hers, looking to Crow. "I don't know what you're playin' at bringing her here," my finger itches to pull the trigger. "But you're a hair away from me losin' my shit."

"Wait," Madison steps forward, throwing her hands up. "Please. Me being here right now has nothing to do with Crow. I mean, it does because of his brother, but" she pauses, and I notice her hands shaking. "Cain. I've always planned to stay out of the way, but after what Creep did to our daughter…"

"Daughter?" Kiwi voices behind me.

"Yeah," Wick speaks. "Meet Piper's mom." The anger I hear in Wick's voice resonates with me.

"Mind removing your gun from my face?" Crow asks, but I don't comply.

"Brother," I feel Riggs at my side, placing his hand on my forearm. "Stand down." Only then do I lower my weapon, putting it back in the holster.

"You are not welcome here." My eyes narrow to slits as I say the words to Madison.

"Cain. Please."

"I need a drink," I proclaim. Grabbing the whiskey bottle from the table, I fill a glass and take the shot.

"Look, I know you hate me," Madison starts but I cut her off.

"Damn right, I do. You abandoned my daughter. You left her without lookin' back. And now, you roll into town, on the back of a Harley as someone's old lady thinkin' you can waltz right into her life as if you never left?" I shake my head and run my hands through my hair.

"You have every right to be furious with me. What I did was wrong," Madison pauses then continues. "But at the time, it was the right thing to do for me." She pats her chest. "Not a day goes by that my heart doesn't hurt, or that my arms don't ache to hold my daughter." Tears stream down her face, but I can't bring myself to keep my attention on her. "Drugs and a string of bad choices were ruining my life." When she says that, my eyes snap to hers. My face saying what words won't. "Yes, Cain. I used for a short time before I found out I was pregnant. As soon as I did, I ran. Ran from the drugs, and from the man who eagerly provided them to me." She wraps her arms around herself, and Crow stands, pulling her to his side. "I fought like hell for the rest of my pregnancy. I left town, mostly running from the man I'd been staying with. I found sanctuary at a halfway house in Mississippi. They took me in and kept me safe—more importantly, kept me clean. I bailed the day I was released from the hospital." Crow helps her to sit in the chair he was occupying before. "I knew I wasn't strong enough to keep our daughter. I had too much baggage, and she needed to be kept safe." Her eyes lift to mine again. "I knew you would give her what I couldn't at the time. You also had the support of your family, which is something I didn't."

All the words she says are cycling through my head, but none of them matter. "What do you want, Madison?" I rub my temples.

"A chance. A chance to meet my daughter—to be her mother," Madison pleads, breaking down, her body wracked with sobs.

The bar becomes silent. Madison sobbing is the only noise heard as I process the fucking shit show brought to my feet. I'm pissed—mad as hell knowing she used for a short time while she was pregnant with Piper. Relieved, she sobered up for her but furious, nonetheless. And the Goddamn old lady to the president of Hell's Punishers? All this time she's been living a few hours away, and not once could she find the guts to bring this shit to my door before now. "Your timing is for shit." My eyes harden even more if that's even possible when I look at her. "You wait until somethin' horrific happens to my daughter before you decide you want to have anything to do with her?"

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