Page 61 of Klutch's Kryptonite

My head snaps up. “Where?”

“Floating in the river,” he says grimly. “Been there a day or two from the looks of it. He’s... It’s not good, brother. They tortured him. Demi shouldn’t see him like that.”

I scrub my hands over my face, letting that sink in. I’d expected Bobby’s body to be found eventually, but I’d hoped for Demi’s sake it wouldn’t be so brutal.

“Undertaker?” I look down the table. “Can you handle the cremation?”

He nods his head. “Yeah, man. Consider it done.”

“Thanks.” I need to protect Demi from this, shield her from as much pain as I can. She’s already been through so much. Seeing what those fuckers did to her dad will destroy her. I can’t let that happen.

Denali clears his throat, a subtle sign he’s moving our meeting forward. “Krypto, financials?”

Our treasurer straightens up, always ready with the numbers. “The run to Rochester was successful. Memo, Zeus, and Rambler brought back fifty K for the club coffers.”

Memo, our club secretary and lawyer, nods in confirmation. Rambler, our nomad who spends most of his time on the road connecting with other chapters, gives a small salute.

“Everyone’s money has already been deposited into your accounts,” Krypto adds.

Good. The extra cash will help with what I’m planning. Demi and I need our own place, somewhere away from the chaos of the clubhouse. Somewhere she can heal in peace.

“Anything else?” Denali asks, looking around the table.

When no one speaks up, he bangs the gavel again. “Meeting adjourned. Keep your eyes open, brothers. This shit with the Renegades isn’t over.”

As everyone starts to file out, I hang back with Denali.

“You good?” he asks, concern evident in his voice.

I nod. “Yeah. Just need to figure out how to tell Demi about her dad.”

He clasps my shoulder. “I don’t envy you, man.”

“Yeah.” She’s been strong for so long, taking care of her fuck-up father, working multiple jobs, never complaining. But everyone has a breaking point.

I give D a fist bump then head back upstairs. When I push open the door to my suite, I’m surprised to find Demi sitting up in bed, her hair a wild mess around her face and her eyes still cloudy from sleep.

She raises her arms above her head in a stretch, and hisses as the sheet falls to her waist, revealing her perfect tits. My cock stirs in my jeans, but I shove those thoughts aside. This isn’t the time for that.

Her eyes find mine, and immediately she knows something’s wrong. “What is it?” she asks, her voice rough with sleep.

I cross the room and sit on the edge of the bed, taking her small hand in mine. “They found your dad, Blue.”

Tears well up in her eyes and my heart cracks. It kills me when she cries.

“I want to see him.”

I shake my head, my thumb brushing away the first tear that falls. “No, baby. You don’t need to see him like that. I told Undertaker to cremate him.”

She crawls into my lap, her naked body pressing against me as sobs wrack her small frame. I hold her close, one hand cradling the back of her head while the other strokes up and down her spine.

“I want to scatter his ashes in the ocean,” she manages to say between sobs. “He always loved the beach.”

“I’ll take you when you’re ready,” I promise, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. When she’s healed, we can go to Jacksonville and give him a proper sendoff.

“Thank you,” she whispers, her tears soaking through my shirt.

We sit like that for a long time, her cries eventually subsiding into hiccups, then quiet sniffles. I don’t rush her, don’t try to tell her it’s going to be okay. Sometimes things aren’t okay, and that’s just life.

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