Page 14 of Sinful Skulls (Rebel Skull MC #9)

Chapter Thirteen

Daisy

M y eyes blink slowly, and I rub my temples. Waking up with a headache is the worst. I’m struggling to keep my lids open when a bottle of water is thrust in my face.

“Here, drink this,” a gruff voice orders.

I sit up quickly, pulling the blanket over my chest. “Brody?” My gaze hurries around the room. Where am I?

Suddenly, it all comes rushing back in bits and pieces.

He waits patiently for me to pull myself together.

“Oh my gosh, Brody. I’m so sorry about all of this.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” He reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. “I’ve enjoyed watching you sleep for the past two days.”

My eyes widen. “Two days!?”

He joins me in a sitting position, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Daisy, it’s okay. You told me you couldn’t sleep.”

I glance around the room again, still a bit confused. “I couldn’t sleep?”

“You were exhausted, baby.”

“I’m in Reno,” I say out loud as everything starts coming back to me.

Brody nods and tips the bottle of water to my mouth. Then, he pulls his phone from his pocket. “What sounds good? You’ll feel better once we get some food in you.”

“Something greasy,” I say, climbing from the bed to make sure my mother’s portrait is still tucked away safely in the bottom of my bag.

His fingers tap over his screen, but his eyes continuously assess me. I’m such an idiot. Why did I invite him here? But I can’t really regret it, can I? He was the only reason I was able to fall asleep. He saved me from slowly losing my mind.

“Um, I’m just going to clean up a little,” I say, slinging my bag over my shoulder and heading into the bathroom.

His gaze follows me, but he remains quiet.

When I’m in the bathroom, I turn the water on in the sink and then slide to the floor. I drop my head against the door. How much am I going to share with him? He’s going to wonder why I’m not in Paris.

I pull my mother’s portrait out of my bag. There’s no way I can show him this … it’s too unbelievable … too morbid.

A shiver runs up my spine, but I can push it out of my mind. Of course I can. I’ll tell him the truth. I mean, I’m not going to lie to him, but I’ll leave this part of the story out. My fingers hover over the painting.

I wrap it in a t-shirt and shove it back to the bottom of the bag.

After a few splashes of cold water on my face, I start to feel a little better. Henry is in Paris. I’ll forget everything he showed me. Sure, I can do that. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine,” I whisper to my reflection.

“Everything okay in there? The food is here.”

“I’m fine,” I say opening the door with a smile on my face.

His brows pull together. He’s not buying it.

My shoulders fall. “Okay, so I’m not fine.”

Brody wraps his big hand around my wrist and tugs me from the bathroom. He’s made the bed and opened the curtains. I cover my eyes. Fuck, it’s bright.

We sit down at the little table by the window. I chuckle at the amount of food he’s ordered.

His smile rights everything in my world. “I’m fucking starving. That is the longest I’ve ever went without food.”

“I’m …”

He reaches across the table and covers my mouth with his big hand. “Don’t you dare say it. I’m a grown man. If I wanted to eat while you were sleeping, I would have. It was my decision. I didn’t want anything to wake you.”

When he removes his hand, I let out a long breath. “Well, thank you. I didn’t realize lack of sleep could do that to a person. I’m a little scared it will happen again.”

“If it does, I’ll be there to get you through.” He shoves a burger in his mouth, eating half of it in one bite.

I stare at him as it finally dawns on me that Brody and I are in the same room again. My gaze drifts to the hotel water pitcher beside us that’s full of daisies.

“They looked a little better a few days ago,” he jokes.

“They’re still beautiful,” I whisper.

He nods toward my food. “Eat.”

As I shove a fry in my mouth, I realize I don’t have to think much when I’m with Brody. He takes care of me. I reach behind my neck and unclasp my jewelry, dropping the skull ring in my hand before replacing the necklace around my neck.

I reach across the table and open my palm. “I guess I can give this back since we’re together again. Thank you for coming.”

He takes the ring and slides it over his finger. “I hated every minute you were away from me.”

I’ve never felt this level of ease with another human being. Not even with my parents. “Me too,” I answer honestly.

We continue eating, each of us lost in our thoughts.

When he’s finally full, he leans back in his chair. “So, what happened between you getting on a plane to Paris and me finding you on the verge of a nervous breakdown in Nevada?”

I cringe. God, how embarrassing.

He grabs my chin. “Hey, you can tell me anything. Seriously. Whatever it is, let me help you carry it.”

My eyes bounce over his face. I trust him, but there are some things I can’t say out loud. I’m not ready.

“I quit school.”

He releases my chin, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

“A few days after school started, the dean called me to his office and told me I didn’t get a scholarship.”

“Maybe I could help you pay …”

I hold up my hand to stop him. “It was paid for … by my father.” I turn away from him.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“My biological father. I’m adopted.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were adopted,” he says, but confusion still pulls at his brow.

“Yeah, I didn’t either.”

His face falls as understanding sets in. My head drops and tears begin to slide down my cheeks at an alarming pace.

He jumps from his chair and pulls me from mine, holding me tight. “Daisy.”

“The dean is my biological uncle. He had DNA papers and everything.”

Brody sits on the bed, holding me on his lap.

“He said my father recently passed away, but he had planned on introducing himself in Paris.”

“Oh, Daiz, I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

“I was so angry that no one told me. If they had, maybe I would have understood myself a little better.”

I pause, because now that I know where my darkness comes from, I wish I didn’t.

“I come from a long line of artists,” I say quietly again, looking away from him. “My father was a teacher.”

I close my eyes, picturing the portrait of my mother. At least she was warm and alive. It’s the cold, stiff models that keep me up at night.

“My mother was his student.”

Brody releases a loud puff of air. “Wow, I’m really sorry.”

“Anyway, it didn’t feel right there, and I wasn’t sleeping at night. So, I had my roommate drop me off at the airport. I booked the first flight out, and that’s how I ended up here.”

His hand brushes down my hair. “Well, that sounds like a sign if there ever was one.”

I chuckle and finally turn to look at him. “I don’t remember texting you. By the time I got here, I was a mess, and then I spent days searching for my mother online.”

“You know her name?”

“No. I just started searching through his students. I thought I’d found her. I spoke with her husband, but he says it’s not her. They think they can help me, though. He asked if I could meet them this Saturday.”

“Oh, I don’t know if that’s safe. If you want to meet these people, I’m going to be there with you.”

I don’t want to tell him I gave Anthony my hotel information. He would be so unhappy with me and rightfully so.

“I don’t want to meet them. Maybe someday, but right now I just need to process the idea of being adopted.”

He nods in agreement. “I think that’s wise.”

“Honestly, I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.” I stare at him. “I’m planning to take cash out of my account and disappear from the world for a while.”

“You want to hide from your family?”

“Yes.”

“They’ll worry.”

“They kept me in the dark for twenty-two years.”

He tips his head, thinking about it.

“It’s not a crime to voluntarily disappear, you know,” I say, sitting up straight on his lap.

Brody brushes his thumb over my cheek as he looks me in the eye. “You’re not cruel. You can’t disappear from them forever. If you need a break, okay, but eventually you’re going to have to face your parents.”

“I know,” I whisper. “I … I just … I have some things to work through, Brody. I’ll be safe. I promise.”

He sets me on the bed and begins to clean up the mess we left on the table. “If you’re going to do this, I’m doing it with you.”

“Brody, I couldn’t …”

The look he gives makes my words drift into the ether, and before I can grasp them, they’re gone.

“Pack your stuff. I know a place nearby we can go.”

I stare at him. Maybe Brody is the person who can help me explore the side of me I’ve been afraid to look at.

When he sees I haven’t moved, he walks over and braces an arm on each side of me. “Listen, I want to do this with you.”

“But don’t you have to work?”

He laughs. “I work for the club, and they’ll give me the time I need. Don’t worry about my finances. I’m good.”

Brody pulls me from the bed with a gentle swat on the bottom to get me moving.

I guess we’re doing this.

I’m running away with a biker.