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“Deal with your shit. Talk to your old lady. Do whatever you have to do to get the fuck over yourself. But you ever call my woman a fucking whore again, brother or not, I will put you in the fucking ground.” Turning my back on them, I stormed out of the gym.

In the kitchen, I stood at the sink and let the warm water rush over my hands. The skin on my knuckles was cracked and bleeding, and I wasn’t sure how I would explain it to Melissa when she got back. I sure as fuck wouldn’t tell her why I beat the shit out of her brother.

Drying my hands with a towel, trying not to wince at the pain, I looked up when the door opened.

Danny walked in, carrying Danika on his hip. His eyes dropped to my hands, and he asked, “Everything ok?”

“No, it isn’t fucking ok. I just beat the shit out of my woman’s brother.” Grinning at him, I asked, “Any chance you’ll let me beat the shit out of you? I think she’d take that easier.”

Danny smiled. “Not a chance.”

“I don’t know, you look like you could take me.” I smirked, knowing I was full of shit. He might be a Golden Skull but he didn’t strike me as a dirty fighter. And he would need to be to take me down.

“I could. But I ain’t pissing off my man.”

“Chickenshit.”

Danny put the little girl down, and she toddled over to me, putting her hands up. I didn’t hesitate to lift her up, blowing a raspberry into her neck just to hear her laugh.

“She’s happy here.”

“She’s happy. Period.” Watching his expression, I chose my next words carefully. “Melissa did that.”

“She did. And I am incredibly grateful that she kept Danika safe. That she loved her when Dante and I couldn’t.”

“But?” I pressed.

“But she has no idea what I went through to protect my family.”

“And whose fault is that? Who kept her in the fucking dark? Who lied to her about who he was, throwing her into a world she wasn’t meant to be in?”

“That has nothing to do with me.”

“Bullshit. Are you gonna sit there and lie to my fucking face?” I set Dani on the chair, knowing my rage was building. Opening the fridge, I grabbed one of the snacks we kept set aside for the girls. Opening the small Tupperware of blueberries, I set them in front of Dani. “You gonna try to give me some bullshit story that you didn’t know exactly who she was and how she was connected to the MC?”

Danny looked down at his hands. I may not know him well, but everyone in the MC world knew what he was fucking capable of. There wasn’t much you could keep him from learning.

“Exactly. You fucked up, Sypher. You went after someone you had no hope of taking down—alone, might I add— knowing Dante would come after you.”

Danny glared at me. “He wasn’t suppo—”

“Then why did you set everything up, making Melissa Dani’s mom? You knew he would come for you. You knew he would leave Dani in Oklahoma.” My grip on the counter tightened. “What you did was fucking selfish.”

When he opened his mouth, I held up my hand. “I get why you did it. I can even admit that I would probably have done the same goddamn thing in your shoes. But it doesn’t change the fact that you fucking used her. That you gave your daughter a mother, and now you want to take her away. You weren’t thinking about anyone but yourself.”

“Everything I did was for Dante and Dani. I was protecting them. If this bitch got her hands on him again...” I could see the emotion rolling through his body. His hands fisted and his shoulders bunched. His jaw ticked and his breaths came out heavy while he considered his words in front of his daughter.

“Dante and Dani are not safe until that bitch is dead.”

“And how did that work out for you? She fucking dead?” I asked him, knowing she wasn’t. “No, she isn’t. You did nothing but make your husband’s life miserable and my woman’s life miserable.”

“And my daughter’s too, I guess?”

“No, leaving her with Melissa was the one fucking thing you did right. You left her with someone you knew would love her. Someone you knew would put her fucking first when you couldn’t. Now, you have to decide how you’ll fix the fucked-up situation you find yourself in.”

Leaving Danny to think about what I said, I made my way to the main room. Sitting at the bar, I settled in while I waited for Melissa to get back.

“What the fuck was that downstairs?” Jingles planted his ass on the stool next to me.