“Stop crying, baby.”
“I feel safe with you, happy.”
“I want you to do something for me tonight,” he said.
“Anything.” She whispered the word back, and he saw he had her tangled within his web. But what he felt for her was real, true.
“I want you to come with me tonight.”
“Where?”
“To my daughter’s. I want you to come and have dinner with Dani, Shakes, and me.”
She licked her lips, and pulled away from him, the spell broken. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“You’ve got to learn to leave the house, Alessandria.”
“I leave the house every day.”
“You don’t step out of the gates. I want you to step out of those gates with me tonight.”
He saw her hands fisted at her sides. She looked petrified.
“He’s not coming back.”
“I know that,” she spoke on a whisper, and his heart broke a little at her fear.
“I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know, Zeke.”
He chuckled. “Is there anything you don’t know?”
She smiled softly. “I don’t think I should be going with you to your daughter’s place. What if I’m overstepping my bounds, crossing a line? She’s your daughter, and I’m not part of your family.”
“No. Dani will welcome a sweet soul like you. She’s younger than you, gentle like you. I love my daughter, and you’re my woman now, Alessandria. I’m not going to hide you like a dirty little secret. You’re mine.”
She licked her lips again, and her nerves were easy to see.
“You’re coming with me. I’ve already made the arrangements with Dani. She’s pregnant, and if I don’t turn up with my plus one, she could explode with tears.”
“It’s not possible to explode with tears.”
He chuckled. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to have an emotional woman around?”#p#分页标题#e#
“Do you?”
“Touché.” He grinned at her.
“You’re coming either way. You’ve got ten minutes until we leave.”
Her eyes widened, but hen she smiled gently.
He didn’t know if she’d protest, but he silenced her with a kiss regardless. “Ten minutes.”
“You’re bossy.”
“Didn’t you know: it’s follow Zeke’s rule or no rule at all.”
She went to get ready.
“Since she has been with you, she has come out of her shell,” Boscoe said, walking into the room seconds later.
“I like to think so.”
Boscoe nodded. “Do you want me to assist you tonight?”
“The two men I hired still on Dani’s house?”
His daughter didn’t go anywhere without two guards on her ass. She was the one person he loved beyond a shadow of a doubt.
He was a fucking asshole, and he was pleased that things had worked out the way they had. She was a pain in the ass, but he loved her more than anything.
“Yes. She’s watched round the clock. Shakes protects her, and he’s even sent your guys coffee.”
Zeke smiled. At one time, he’d wanted Shakes dead, but as time passed, as he saw the way the former Soldiers of Wrath biker took care of his daughter, Zeke realized he was a good man. Shakes took care of his girl, and that was all that mattered. “I’ll drive the two of us to Dani’s place with Colin following close behind.”
“I’ll let him know. Do you think she’s ready to leave?”
“If I let her stay afraid of the outside world, she’ll never get the freedom I can see she wants. I don’t want her feeling trapped; she has a right to live her life without fear.”
“You’re a good man, Zeke.”
He shook his head. “I’m not a good man. I’ve not been a good man for a long time.” Any chance he’d had of being a good man was long gone even before he’d had a chance to live. His parents had created the monster inside him, and there was no way to escape that.
“You’re too hard on yourself,” Boscoe said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m going to take the rest of the night off. Go to the club, find a bitch, and use her until I can’t walk.”
Zeke laughed and watched as Boscoe left the room. He was a loyal man, one Zeke trusted with his life.
Zeke made his way toward the hallway leading to the front door at the same time that Alessandria came walking downstairs. She had left her hair down, and she hadn’t changed her clothing. The only thing she’d done was put on a pair of sneakers, and they looked cute, down to earth. She looked real.