Damaged and the Dragon (22 page)

“
I don’t want you to go
back to that apartment,” I whispered. “You didn’t feel safe there.
I think you should stay here and I’ll sleep at the house. This
place makes you feel safe.”

Nick stared at me for what felt like forever
before speaking. “I didn’t think when I saw him. I reacted in a
stupid way and it would have gone really bad if not for Dylan and
you. All the stuff I worked for since moving to Ellsberg would have
been pissed away because I’m my father’s son. He’s an idiot and so
am I.”

“
You want to be away from
me for five seconds, so yeah, you’re a little stupid,” I teased and
Nick tried to smile. “You’re not stupid like him. He came here and
called me a slut. The guy is lucky he’s only in jail.”

“
He’ll get out. I threw the
first punch.”

“
That’s not what I’ll tell
the sheriff. Winnie either. I don’t care about lying.”

“
You shouldn’t have to
lie.”

Studying his face, I suddenly saw the world
the way Nick did. “You’re not alone anymore. You don’t know what
being part of something means or you’d know that I lie for my
family and friends all the time. The other day, Raven asked me if I
thought she’d be hot pregnant. I told her no, even though she
probably will. I just thought her ego was getting too big and I
wanted to help her remain grounded. See, lying for those you love
is okay. It’s what we do.”

Nick glanced around like he didn’t know if
he ought to remain in my arms or make a run for it.

“
Dylan helped you because
you’re not alone. My family and the club will make sure your dad
doesn’t hassle you again because you’re their responsibility.
That’s how life is now, Nick. You’re part of a family and
everything that comes with.”

Nick nuzzled his lips against my head. “I
don’t want to leave you, but I feel toxic while you feel so clean
and perfect.”

“
I really am perfect, so
trust that I know what’s best. Staying with me is the answer to all
your problems.”

Nick finally smiled a little. “I know the
men in your family are badasses, but I feel like a scared kid since
I saw that piece of shit today. The feeling started as a small lump
in my gut. Now I can’t feel anything else.”

Reaching around, I grabbed his ass gently
and squeezed. “Do you feel that?”

“
Bailey, I’m being
serious.”

“
I’ve had a stressful day.
I took that test and nearly shot a loser in the face. I really feel
like only a good fuck will settle me down.”

Nick glanced at the bedroom then back at me.
“I don’t know if it’ll help, but it probably can’t hurt.”

I ran my finger over his swollen lip. “We’ll
go slow and take our time since you’re banged up. We might have to
go all night though.”

Nick smiled, but his eyes were tired in a
way I’d never seen them. Despite his affections, I sensed the rest
of the night he wasn’t really with me, but rather back in the
parking lot reliving the beat down with his dad.

Holding onto Bailey all night, I felt as if
she alone kept my past away. At breakfast, I pressed my leg against
hers under the table while we ate with her family. Sawyer was in a
lively mood, bouncing around while describing a school project she
nailed.

The plan after eating was to return to the
apartment with Bailey until time for class. Instead, Kirk stood up
and studied his oldest daughter.

“
Bay, go with your mom to
drop off Sawyer at school. Nick and I need to talk.”

“
About what?” she asked,
jumping up like maybe she’d challenge him.

Kirk only smirked. “Go.”

Bailey lost all her fire and turned into a
little girl before my eyes. “Pop,” she whimpered.

“
It’s fine,” I said while
standing up to follow Kirk outside.

Bailey grabbed for her father’s arm and
stared up at him. “Don’t be mean.”

Kirk rolled his eyes. “You’re too old for
such drama. Now go help your mom clean up before you leave.”

Bailey watched us walk onto the deck,
staring wide-eyed like her dad was leading me to a shallow grave. I
doubted a guy like Kirk would be so brazen. If he wanted me dead,
he’d be subtle about it. Maybe make my disappearance seem like I
bailed on Bailey or my dad came for me. He could even point the
blame at a fighter I beat and who still held a grudge. Kirk didn’t
get where he was in life by showing all his cards.

We sat on the farthest end of the deck and
looked down at the river below. From the corner of my eye, I
noticed the family’s huge dogs chasing a rabbit into the woods.
Above me, a hawk circled the area, scanning for prey. Everywhere
predators lurked including the man next to me, yet I wasn’t
worried.

“
Your dad is a piece of
work,” Kirk said, lighting a cigarette. “Talking all kinds of shit
in jail. Wants to press charges against you, Bailey, Dylan,
everyone. Says he’s going to sue. It’s pretty crazy talk for a man
in a new place and not knowing the rules.”

“
He’s gotten away with that
stuff his whole life.”

“
What do we do with him?”
Kirk asked, looking me straight in the eyes. “I’m not looking to
have a trial where the fucker and his friends call witnesses. That
won’t do my family any good. Do you understand?”

Studying him, I never considered lying. “No,
I don’t.”

“
The guy will be out of
jail soon. No getting around it, so we’ll need to decide what
happens next. Will he go away and stay away? That’s the thing I
need to know. No doubt his friends will go back to that tiny town
you’re from, but your pop thinks you owe him.”

“
He came here thinking he
could make money off my fighting. If he finds out Bailey comes from
money, he might not walk away.”

Glancing at his dogs, Kirk exhaled. “I don’t
like trouble in my town, but trouble keeps coming around. The Smith
sisters had those crap parents. Vaughn’s Devils shit bled into my
town too. It used to piss me off, but maybe this is the place
assholes come to die.”

As I stared at Kirk, he finished his
cigarette. Finally, I said the words. “Are you telling me you’re
going to kill my dad?”

Kirk focused his dark gaze on me. “No, I’m
asking if I can kill your dad? You and my baby are clicking in a
good way and I want you to stick around. With that said, I know
you’re not going to join the club and know where the bodies are
buried. You want that normal life everyone’s always talking about.
I figure you might not be okay with your dad disappearing for good,
so I figured I’d ask.”

“
I don’t know what to say.
He’s a piece of shit, but…”

When I never finished, Kirk did for me. “You
don’t want to be the one who makes him dead. Fair enough. I just
need to know if he was to go away and never come back that you
wouldn’t hold it against Bailey.”

“
Bailey is perfection in my
eyes and nothing is changing that.”

Kirk nodded. “I know you want to stay out of
the business and away from the club. That don’t mean you should
take shit from an asshole like your dad. Trust me that losers never
change. I know people tell stories about them changing. How they
find God or go to rehab or something that makes it seem possible.
In reality, people are who they are. They might behave, but they’re
the same fuckers inside.”

Thinking about how much I wanted to change
from the loser I was growing up, I didn’t like Kirk’s philosophy.
Kirk lit another cigarette and shook his head.

“
You turned out fine, kid.
A man like your dad will make you feel like shit or actually turn
you into shit. I see plenty of guys who raise their kids like crap
and those kids do the same thing to their kids. Your dad is a user.
You aren’t. Don’t let your childhood bullshit make you think you’re
like him.”

The thought of my dad gone forever sounded
good, yet the image of him dying because of me left me unsure.

“
He might leave town if you
scared him.”

“
Maybe, but for how long?
Look, I’m cool with scaring the fucker. I just know guys like him
only scare temporarily.”

I watched the dogs linger near their hidden
prey. The patient predators waited out lesser creatures. While I
didn’t want to think of myself as less than my dad, I knew he was
patient when time came for revenge and paydays.

“
There’s a guy in the
club,” Kirk said, sitting on a lounge chair. “Good guy really.
Funny. Loyal. Good member. His only flaw is a need to beat on his
wife. I don’t know why he does that shit. He’s not a crazy violent
guy, but with his old lady, he’s fast to anger and violence. I’m
not talking slapping her or pushing her around either. I mean
fucked up punching and kicking shit. He finally put her in the
hospital and that’s when I stepped in. She didn’t want me to, but
the guy was a loose cannon when it came to her. He made me look bad
and I got nervous about him killing her. The chick didn’t want
saving, but it needed to happen.”

As I sat nearby, Kirk put out his cigarette
and sighed. “The guy still wants to hit his wife. They get in real
mean fights and I know he wants to bash her face in. The chick just
sets him off and he thinks he needs to show her who’s the boss. The
thing is he isn’t the boss. I am and I told him if he touch her
wrong again that I was putting him in the ground. He’s never hit
her since, but not because he’s changed. He just doesn’t want to
die. Every time he gets riled up with his wife, he remembers what
happens between them doesn’t stay between them. We’ll know if she
has a single bruise. Once we know, he’ll disappear, so he
behaves.”

Nearby the dogs caught the rabbit they were
hunting. I looked away from their bloody celebration and towards
Kirk who was studying me.

“
We can scare the shit out
of him and make him bleed, so he leaves town,” Kirk said. “Like the
guy in the club, your dad needs constant pressure to behave. I
can’t be checking on the fucker to ensure he doesn’t hassle my
daughter and you. So if you can’t make the call now, just know the
day will come when your dad will return and I’ll make the call. The
truth is, Nick, some people just need killing. Like a rabid animal,
you can’t fix what’s wrong with them. You can only cage or kill.
Caging your dad ain’t an option.”

Hearing a car engine start, I thought of
Bailey. She could have easily been hurt or even killed in the
fight. When I faced my father the day before, I never worried about
my safety. I knew how to take a beating. Suffering was more
comfortable than safety for me. Bailey’s wellbeing was a different
matter.

“
Do what you need to do,” I
said quietly. “I don’t want to know what happens. I won’t feel
better knowing the details, but I can’t have him anywhere near
Bailey ever again.”

Kirk stood up and gestured for me to follow
him. We returned to the house where he rested on the couch. After
he flipped on the TV and found a hunting show, he glanced at
me.

“
Do you really think Bailey
is perfect?”

“
Yes. Don’t
you?”

Kirk laughed then focused on his show.
Sitting with him until Bailey returned, we never spoke of my dad
again. The issue was settled and the problem handled. My father
would never bother me or Bailey again.

Maddy was patient like a good mother even
when dealing with a florist. She sat through the reveals of
arrangements with roses, another one with tulips, and a last one
with weird looking exotic flowers. Once the florist stopped
speaking, Maddy smiled.

“
I want
sunflowers.”

Hiding her disappointment, the florist no
doubt wanted clients like those on TV shows, but this was a part of
Kentucky where exotic flowers made the wrong kind of
impression.

“
Sunflowers,” I said as
Maddy and I walked out of the shop. “Redneck chic is pretty
badass.”

“
The key is I really like
these things, so it doesn’t feel fake. Being true to yourself is
the best.”

“
I don’t know. When I was
myself, people kept telling me to stop acting like a
bitch.”

Maddy grinned. “True, but you were really
loud and pointless back then. Now you’re a bitch in a great
way.”

“
Yeah, I really am. Do you
think I’m too much of a bitch still? Like will I scare away my
man?”

“
If he hasn’t run away
screaming by now, he’s a keeper and you shouldn’t
worry.”

Even nodding, I thought about my temper and
Nick’s issues. I might still say or do something to send him
screaming in terror.

“
How did you know Tucker
wasn’t going to ditch you?”

“
I don’t know. I think it
was when I told him I was pregnant and he got so excited that I
knew he was for real. Of course, I didn’t know he messed with my
pills to get me pregnant.”

“
Didn’t you? You always say
no, but come on.”

“
Well maybe,” she sighed.
“I don’t know. I took them in the mornings and I’m pretty out of it
until I get a gallon of coffee in me. I don’t really think well
until noon. Doesn’t matter since it worked out.”

“
True. You have my stupid
brother and a beautiful daughter who so far doesn’t seem stupid.
Pretty sweet life.”

Wrapping her arm around my shoulders, Maddy
grinned. “Thanks for being my maid of honor.”

“
Thanks for loving my idiot
brother. Guys like him either end up with awesome chicks or meth
whores. It’s never in between. I’m happy he went the awesome
route.”