Page 96 of Mimic

“You tried to hide it, and for most people, it probably worked. But I knew you were running. I gave you a place to rest, hoping you’d come to me and let me help.”

“I didn’t want help. I never wanted you or anyone here to know what happened.” My eyes dropped to the bar, and I studied my glass. My fingertip spun around the rim as I waited for him to say something.

“Do you know why men join MCs? Because we don’t fit anywhere else. We recognize people like us. The broken people who think no one wants them.”

“Kindred spirits,” I whispered.

“Family,” he countered. “You became a part of the family the day you walked into my shop, Indie.”

“Why couldn’t my dad be like you?”

“Fuck, I’m gonna suck at being a dad one day. Too fucking controlling.” He took a sip from his bottle, and I laid my head on his arm.

“I don’t know. I think you’re doing a pretty good job.”

He smiled at me and kissed the top of my head.

“He’s not good enough for you. No one is.”

I gave him a sad smile. “I’m not good enough for him.”

“Bullshit. That’s like saying Haizley isn’t good enough for me.”

“Haizley and I are nothing alike.” She wasn’t broken, not like me. She grew up in a small town with both her parents. Sure, she had trauma; everyone did. But not like mine. Losing your parents at a young age and feeling alone wasn’t the same as growing up a whore for sick individuals to use however they pleased.

“You’re not as different as you think. She has things in her life she hopes no one ever finds out. Just like we all do. What happened to you was horrific. It’s something no child, no woman should ever have to endure. But you came out on the other side.You’re still here. You’re strong, Indie. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Mimic won’t hurt me.”

Not in a bad way. The way he cried in my arms after we had sex was more earth-shattering than the actual sex. Being trusted with someone’s heart meant so much more than being trusted with their body.

The way Mimic opened up to me the last few days, giving me everything inside him, told me I was safe with him. It meant I could let him in. I could give him everything in return.

“You trust him?”

“Completely.” I looked up at Gunner. “I trust you too, you know.”

“I hope so. I’ll always have your back, Indie. Haizley too.”

“Thank you.”

“Indie, come sit!”

I padded over to the couch and sat next to Sam. She promptly put a baby in my arms and sat back with a sigh.

“Are you okay?” I asked, frozen in my seat. I’d never held a baby before and wasn’t sure if I could move. Looking down at the tiny little face with her eyes closed had me tearing up. She was so pure. So innocent.

“I shouldn’t be holding her,” I whispered.

“Why not?” Sam asked.

I just shook my head. I had blood on my hands. The blood of innocent children whose only crime was that they were kidnapped and trained like me. Only they weren’t strong enough. It could just as easily have been me who died on those days.

“Should I call Haizley?”

I couldn’t answer. I just stared at the baby in my arms as tears ran down my face. Sam put her arm around me and held me. Someone came and took the baby, and I clung to Sam.

I didn’t have a mom. My dad was an asshole, and the way I lived my life up to this moment was the stuff nightmares were made of. But this woman, this mother who meant so much to Mimic, who took him in and gave him something he needed, something that was missing in his life, was now holding me, letting me cry on her shoulder.