HARDCORE: Storm MC(158)

“That sounds pretty interesting,” I said, chuckling. “You said ‘back in the day’—you can’t possibly have been here. You’re too young.”



“I was a kid,” she explained. “My dad was a member. Me, my mom, we came here with him so we would be safe.”



“Oh, wow. I had no idea.” Did this sort of life run in the family? I guessed so. I would never have imagined it.



“It was a lot of fun, really. For the kids, I mean. The old ladies—wives, girlfriends, mothers—they worked hard to keep us kids happy. We did a puppet show, a play, they played games with us. It was great.”



“Like a big family,” I mused.



“That’s exactly what it is.” She smiled, like she appreciated my understanding. I didn’t understand, though. It didn’t make any sense to me. Why expose children to this lifestyle? Why would a child grow up wanting to be part of it when they were forced to live in lockdown? Then again, if they thought it was all fun and games…



“It’s been quiet since then. Peaceful. There’s nothing like there used to be when my dad was in.” She caught my eye and mouthed the word “drugs.”



“Selling? Buying?”



“I don’t know exactly. But when Lance took over, he made sure that stuff stopped. All of it.”



I remembered him telling me he had no time for drugs and made sure none of his men were involved with them. I wondered why it was so important to him, aside from the obvious reasons. It was like the way he was so opposed to a foster home for Gigi. What was that all about? He had a deep, dark history, I could tell. Maybe I’d get some answers as the weekend went on.



“I’m starving,” Gigi said.



“Yeah, I should get downstairs to get dinner started. It’s spaghetti night.”



“Spaghetti! Yum! That’s my favorite!”



Erica pulled me aside. “Every night’s been spaghetti night this week since she loves it so much.” She laughed as she left the room, and I wondered at the way all those big, tough men were willing to spend a week eating spaghetti just to make a little girl happy.



“Come on, pal. Let’s see if we can help the girls make dinner.” I held out my hand, and Gigi happily followed me down to the kitchen.



It was actually sort of fun, making dinner. I lived alone and had a pretty quiet life. I didn’t want to work around somebody else’s schedule or habits. I didn’t know if I could stand living with somebody who kept odd hours or played loud music or watched TV all day. So I chose to stay on my own. I didn’t realize until I spent a half hour making dinner with two complete strangers, and a boisterous little girl, that I’d been missing out on anything.



All throughout dinner, I felt Lance’s eyes on me. As much as he irritated me—and he did, in every way possible—he made me wonder what else I had been missing out on in my solitary life.





Chapter Six



Lance





It was an interesting first night.



I watched Jamie and Gigi together during dinner. Gigi lit up when she was with her teacher, and I could see how much Jamie cared about her. I felt good inside, as weird as it seemed. Gigi wasn’t alone.



What the hell happened to me? On Monday morning, I was a single dude, nothing in my way. By Friday night, I was a dad who actually gave a shit about my kid and whether she was happy.



Damn it.



It wasn’t just that she was mine, that I wanted to be the one who took care of her because I owned her or something. I felt responsible for her. She needed me.



It was new. My guys needed me. I was used to that. But they didn’t depend on me for, like, food. I made decisions and we worked together, but if I wasn’t around, they could probably make decisions without me. They might not have been the right decisions, but they would get along.



Gigi couldn’t do that. Everything was new for her. And I wanted to make it as good as I could. That was what scared me the most. That I could make or break this kid’s entire life. Was I ready for that? I had to be. Any parent had to be.



Then there was Jamie. Fuck, I wanted her. The more she pissed me off, the more I wanted her. The more she made me want to strangle her, the more I wanted her. I couldn’t explain it if I tried. I just knew she was different. Special. She wouldn’t put up with any shit. She was too smart for that.



And she loved my kid. I had to respect that. It made me want her even more.



I had to play it cool, which was new for me. Usually, women went after me. I didn’t have to try. I knew I wasn’t bad looking, but it was the power thing they were attracted to. And I knew how to talk to them, get them to smile.