“Thanks, but it wasn’t hard to follow a pointing finger.”
“Still, you didn’t freak out or get in the way. You got yourself to safety without drawing attention to yourself. Not everyone can do that.”
“I’m just glad no one got hurt,” I said. I was in a weird headspace and just wanted a little time alone to process my thoughts and feelings. Something about the situation wasn’t sitting right with me. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get these sticky clothes off and get a shower.”
I quickly rinsed off in the shower and put on my favorite hoodie and a pair of leggings. As I was gathering my clothes for the laundry, I heard Dice and Ink talking in the living room.
“Do you think he’s the father?” Ink asked.
“I’m the father,” Dice said vehemently.
My heart froze in my chest. Did he just say he was the father?
“You know what I mean,” Ink said.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m the father.”
“I think you should ask Tawny about him.”
“No. I don’t care who he is. He’s not going to be involved in our lives, so it doesn’t matter,” Dice insisted.
“But what if—,” Ink began and stopped abruptly at the sound of a phone ringing. “Hey, Prez,” he answered. “Yeah. Sure. Okay. I’m at Dice’s, so I’ll let him know. Prez wants us at the clubhouse to go over what happened at the diner.”
“Fuck,” Dice swore. “Daphne’s exhausted. I don’t want to drag her to the clubhouse. Is Edge home?”
“I think so.”
“Call him and see if he’ll keep an eye out for Daphne while we run to the clubhouse. I’ll let her know what’s going on.”
I jolted and jumped away from the door like I’d been caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing—like eavesdropping. My heart was racing from everything I’d overheard.
When Dice knocked on the door, I pretended to be gathering my laundry. “Yes,” I called.
“Ink and I need to run to the clubhouse,” he said through the door. “Are you okay staying here by yourself? Edge is at home if you need anything.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m going to start a load of clothes and probably take a nap.”
“Okay. We’ll be back soon,” he said.
“Okay.”
As I waited for them to leave, my mind was whirling as I tried to piece it all together.
Tawny was Badger and Macy’s daughter.
Tawny was pregnant.
Tawny owed money to the man who came after Dice.
And he knew to go to Dice because Dice is the father of Tawny’s baby.
Being with a man who got another woman pregnant was a story I was well versed in, and one I had no interest in repeating.
There was only one thing I could do, and I did it without hesitation. I called my dad.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he answered.
“Dad,” I said shakily, “I need you to come get me.”