Page 112 of Stella
“Follow,” I tell Calli as she moves in sync with me. Harlem and Tag are right on my heels, but Cash tells them to beat it, letting just me in the room.
“Prez?” Harlem shakes his head. “I’m here to protect you, and my kid is in there. He was askin’ for her. I don’t trust him, and neither should you.”
Cash lays a hand on Harlem’s shoulder. “Give me five minutes.”
Harlem frowns, but doesn’t argue.
I move inside, and as Cash shuts the door, I rush to Stella. She’s sitting at the long table, looking pale and distraught. Her eyes red. She’s been crying. I pull her into my arms before she can react. “Cash knows, doesn’t he?”
She nods. “He was sent the photos,” she whispers. “Cale, I’m so glad you’re here.”
I kiss her forehead. “It’s gonna be okay.We’regonna be okay.”
“How long has this been goin’ on?” Cash’s tone is less than impressed. “Behind mine and the club’s backs.”
“Not long,” I say honestly, then add: “But we’ve got bigger things to talk about than this.”
“I’m sorry,” Stella sniffles. “We tried to stay away, but we have a connection. I promise I would never betray this club.”
Cash snorts. “What do you think you just did?”
Stella shakes her head. “I never meant for this to happen.”
“It’s okay,” I reassure her. I stroke Stella’s cheek as her hands shake. “None of this is your fault.”
“My dad,” she mouths. “He’s right out there.”
I crouch down. “You’re a grown woman, Stella. You can see whoever you want, including me.” I don’t want the first timetelling her I love her to be in front of Cash, so I stay quiet on that front. “I don’t give a fuck if they know. We’ll work through it.”
“Like hell you will!” Cash barks.
I turn on him. “Don’t fucking yell at me, haven’t you done enough?” I snort, my eyes focusing on him. The rage I feel is nuclear as I rise from my feet. I tell Calli to stay with Stella, and she rests her head on her lap, making small whimpering sounds.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t tell me you’re gonna pretend like you didn’t know this whole time.” I shake my head. “But now it all makes sense. The DNA test. The photos. The betrayal. You knew her, and you never said shit!”
Cash’s eyes narrow. “Who are we talkin’ about?”
“My mother!” I shout. “Lauren Finlay. She was your ol’ lady.”
Cash falters, his eyes diverting as he thinks. “Lauren?”
“Yeah.”
He sizes me up, as if just coming to some newfound understanding. Then he brushes it off. “I— I didn’t know she was your mom.”
“Right, because kids are so easy to forget when you don’t give a shit about their mom, right?”
“Cale?” Stella’s voice is small behind me. “What’s going on?”
“This entire time, I tried to deny that there weren’t parts of you I admired,” I laugh bitterly. “You held this club together with your bare hands. You avoided the law on multiple occasions because you had the right cops in your pocket, but above all? You kept this city safe, and I didn’t want to acknowledge that for a long time. I didn’t want to see the good in you because maybe I secretly knew that you’re bad to the core.”
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about?” Cash roars. “Speakin’ to me like this in my clubhouse?”
“Did you know all along? But you just didn’t care?”
“Did I know what, Callaghan? Start talkin’ some sense. If you’re suggesting what I think you are, then we have a serious problem.”
