Amy stood on the landing outside of her room listening to David as he answered the door. She’d decided to stay the night at his home because going back to her place seemed lonely. Her mother was dead and she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving David alone. She leaned over the staircase railing and looked at David and Joker.
“What’s the matter, son?”
“I wanted to see Amy. Do you know where she is?” Reese asked.
No, he wasn’t Reese anymore. He was Joker. There was nothing laughable about him, yet that was his name. When he’d lived with them he’d make her laugh. She loved watching him be silly, stupid really. But he was definitely a changed man now, a dangerous, violent man.
“Reese, what’s going on?”
“My name is Joker. Now where the fuck is she?”
“No, you’re not Joker to me. You’re my boy and I’ll use the damn name I gave to you. Do you understand me?”
She could practically hear Joker grit his teeth. “Yeah.”
“What’s going on?”
She tensed up, expecting to hear Joker lash out. He didn’t.
“Nothing. I just want to talk to Amy.”
Silence descended on the room for several seconds. She wondered what David would decide. Why did he have to decide anything? She was a full-grown woman. It wasn’t up to David to keep men away from her.
“She’s upstairs in her room.” David turned away.
Rushing toward her bedroom, Amy closed her door and quickly jumped on her bed. She picked up the book she’d been reading. Her heart was racing with anticipation, excitement… fear. Shaking her head at her own thoughts, she looked up when Joker opened the door.
Joker. Joker. Joker.
She kept saying his name inside her head so that she’d get used to it.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey. I heard you run across the landing; you were listening again.”
Opening her mouth, she went to deny it, but Joker raised his finger and shook his head. “Don’t lie, sweetheart. It’s not a good look for you.”
“I was worried about David. I didn’t want anything to happen to him.”
“Right and you just happened to be listening in for his good?” he asked, stepping farther into the room.
“Exactly. I care about David. You could have been an axe murderer.”
“What did you plan? To beat him to death with a book?” Joker sat on her bed, grabbing the hardback book from her grip. She reached out to take it from him then started hitting him on the arm.
“Do not underestimate the power of a good book bashing.” She didn’t hit him hard. Joker took the book from her fingers, throwing it into the center of the bed. “That’s no way to treat books.”
“Dad tells me you’re seeing your shrink again.”
Amy closed her mouth then opened it before closing it again. What could she say to that? There was no point in lying. “Yes.”
“The nightmares? They’re back?”
“Mom’s dead; I was struggling. But I’m dealing with things.” She grabbed her pillow and placed it over her lap. This is what she hated about Joker. He saw everything. He saw every little detail to her very soul of what was wrong with her.
“It’s about him again, right? You’re dreaming about him.”
Her heart started racing. What was he referring to? Did he know about her father? “This isn’t any of your business.”
“He’s dead. You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”
“Dead?”
“Yes, he’s dead. Bruce, your father, he’s dead.” He said with a stoic, hard expression on his face.
Amy jumped up from the bed, pacing the short distance of her room.
“He’s dead?”
She didn’t know how to cope with this information. Yes, her family knew about her going to therapy, but they hadn’t known about the why behind it all. Why was Joker even telling her this? Wait, how did Joker know? Her mother kept everything a secret for so long. “How do you know anything about this?”
“I have ways of finding out.”
“Are those ways through that club?”
Joker tensed up. “I love my club, Amy, they’re good men.”
“You’ve just told me that my father is dead. How the hell did you even know about him, find him, and know what happened? These are not questions I should be asking you, Reese.”
“No, these are the questions you should be asking me.” He stood up, advancing toward her. She took a step back, but he came at her again. Her back hit the wall, and Joker just kept coming.
He placed his hands on either side of her head, trapping her against his hard body and the wall.