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I guess the rumors were true.

Freeway was an asshole. Half the men in this chapter came from the Mother Chapter in Little Rock. We cut our teeth on bullshit.

Lived our lives wide fucking open. Guns, drugs, booze, and bitches. That was the way in Little Rock. It’s why we left. We got tired of that shit. Tired of always looking over our fucking shoulder.

It wasn’t just the law. It was the Cartel, the fucking Russians, the other goddamn clubs that wanted a piece of what we had.

We wanted more.

The brothers who loved that life, brothers like Freeway, stayed in the south. The few of us who wanted more moved up here. Now we had a brother among us that no one respected.

No one wanted.

Life in Diamond Creek was about to get a lot more fucking interesting.

Chapter Sixteen

Melissa

January 24, 2025, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

It had been six weeks since Danny walked away from his family and left Oklahoma. Almost a month since Dante had followed him. Despite his text every evening, letting me know they were both alive, I had nothing to give Dani.

I was limited on how much I knew about them both. I didn’t know how long they had been together or exactly how they met. Dante had shared bits and pieces of their relationship, but not enough for me to share with their daughter.

I chose not to go into my office today. Rescheduling the handful of patients I had felt right, considering how distracted I was thinking about my current situation. I didn’t know how to explain it or what it meant, but something was off, and I just wanted to spend the day with Dani, not thinking about anything or anyone but her.

I had found pictures of Danny and Dante among the many bags Dante had carried in the night he asked me to keep Dani. Every day, I showed them to Danika, and we practiced saying Papa. I wanted her to have their name fully entrenched in her heart so that when she saw them again, there would be no doubt as to who they were to her.

Her fathers.

Dani and I made breakfast together. We mixed up some muffin batter, and she giggled with every cracked egg. Her little fingers dipped into the bowl when she thought I wasn’t looking, and I let her believe she was doing something naughty she could get away with.

It was just another way for Dani to learn about relationships and boundaries. Something that had been denied to her for the last two years. Eventually, she would learn to push her boundaries and assert herself, but I wasn’t in a rush for that time to hurry along.

After breakfast, Dani and I spent time watching YouTube and practicing our sign language. Even though she had begun using words, sign language was easy for her to pick up. A child’s motor skills for hand movement developed earlier than their ability to produce speech sounds, allowing them to communicate their needs and wants more effectively. I often thought she was better at it than I was.

For lunch, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Peanut butter was something Dani really enjoyed, and the high fat content was beneficial not only for her little body, but for her brain as well.

I had been making lists for Danny and Dante so that when they came home, they would know her favorite foods, her favorite toys, her favorite places to visit. It would make things easier for them.

If they came home.

I tried not to let myself get caught up in the wondering. I knew nothing about the things Danny and Dante were involved in. Knowing now they were bikers, my imagination went wild with all the things I knew were possible.

After lunch, Dani took a nap. It was part of her schedule. Something else I was working on, for when Danny and Dante came home. It would make the transition from my home to theirs that much easier for her if she had a routine they could follow, allowing Dani to feel secure in the familiar. Rather than feeling like she was thrown into a brand-new place with brand-new people.

While Danny and Dante were not brand-new people, they were people she hadn’t spent nearly enough time with to form the bonds needed for a successful parent and child relationship.

Softly closing the door and keeping the baby monitor close, I decided I needed to talk to my friend. While I couldn’t share what was happening in my life, just hearing her calm voice helped to ease the turbulent emotions I had been feeling since taking on the role of Dani’s caretaker.

Who was I kidding? I wasn’t just her caretaker. I was her mom. I bathed her and dressed her. Fed her and comforted her fears. I made sure she was happy and secure. That was what a mother did.

That was the role that was bestowed upon me by her fathers. One I didn’t think I could handle, but now took pride in.

Settling myself down on the couch, I dialed Haizley’s number. I was excited and not at all surprised when she answered right away.

“Hey! You never call during the day,” she said, concern etching the edge of her voice.