Page 28

“Dante, I’m her therapist. I can’t just take your daughter. There are laws!”

“Look, I know this is unheard of, but it’s an emergency,” he said firmly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I am calling on doctor-patient confidentiality. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I blinked at him. Confidentiality was the core of my practice. It wasn’t something patients needed to ask for, and I had assured both he and Danny numerous times that everything they shared was confidential. It concerned me that whatever was going on might be something I didn’t want to know. Hesitantly, I responded, “Yes. I understand.”

“Danny and I, we’re not what we led you to believe. Yes, we own our own companies, but it’s more than that. Melissa, I’m an intern with the Soulless Sinners Motorcycle Club, and Danny is a patched brother in the Golden Skulls. Danny works for the Biker Federation.”

My eyes widened and my heart began to pound.

No. No. No.

I didn’t work with bikers. I stayed away from them in every aspect of my life, including my professional one. Had Zach known and held that information back? I had been explicit with him that I would not take on patients who were connected to any MC.

I felt the blood drain from my face as I slowly shook my head. Taking several steps back, I tried to distance myself from Dante.

“No.”

“Danny didn’t want me to say anything because of who he really is.”

My eyes snapped to his, narrowing. “Who is he?”

“Sypher.”

“Oh God!” I paced the room frantically. I knew who Sypher was. My brother may have cut me out of his life, but I wasn’t stupid. Sypher wasn’t just a biker. Fuck, he wasn’t just a hacker. Everyone knew his name. Had he looked into me? Did Danny investigate me? Did he know my secrets?

“Look, Missy, I know this is a lot to take in, and I’m sorry to dump this all on you at the last minute, but I don’t have a choice. Danny’s been in an accident, and I need to get to him. I don’t have a lot of time. I need you to keep Danika for me. No one can know where she is. If there was anyone else, I would ask them, but Danika trusts you and so do I.”

“I can’t!” I shouted. “You don’t understand!”

I refused to allow myself to get involved with bikers. It wasn’t safe. I looked at Danika. She would never be safe in the biker world.

Rushing over to me, Dante grabbed my hands and pleaded with me. “Please, Melissa. If you never want to see me or Danika again after this, I’ll understand, but please, I really need you to do this one thing for me.”

I looked at Dante, really looked at him. I wasn’t entirely sure what he was mixed up in, but I had heard of the Soulless Sinners and the Golden Skulls. My brother was a member of an outlaw club, but his club was tame compared to those two. I couldn’t think about Danny and Dante and the stupid choices they made. Danika was my priority. She was the one who needed to be protected. Kept safe. So, against my better judgment, I reluctantly nodded.

Dante hugged me tightly and whispered, “Thank you.”

Taking a step back, I took a deep breath as Danika walked over to me, raising her hands up in the air. Picking her up, I held her close as she laid her head on my shoulder.

“How will I contact you?” I asked, trying to hide my fear at the situation I found myself in—a situation I had spent ten years trying to avoid at all costs. I held the little girl I had become close to. Dani had worked her way into my heart in a way I had been careful not to allow with other patients.

Maybe that was why I had agreed to this ridiculous plan.

Shaking his head, Dante muttered, “You can’t contact me. I can’t risk Danika.”

“So you are just going to leave her with me and trust that I can protect her?”

“Yes.”

“What the hell is going on, Dante? And don’t you dare say you can’t tell me, because this ask goes way beyond a doctor-patient relationship. If Danika is in danger, then I need to know.”

“That’s just it. I’m not really sure. All I know is Danny was in a building when it exploded. He’s alive, but not in a hospital where he belongs. All the clubs are looking for him and the table issued a kill order.”

“The table won’t issue a kill order unless he’s a threat or they believe he’s been compromised.”

His brows furrowed, and I knew I fucked up.

“How the hell do you know that?”