Page 33 of Wild Card (Royal Bastards MC: Cody, Wyoming #1)

“Byron’s skipped town; he ain’t your president anymore. I am .” He says that last part like he’s unsure of it, and when I see the look on everyone's faces, I know something real serious must have happened.

“Says who?” Moby laughs like he ain’t buying it.

“Says Jameson. Where do you assholes think I’ve been these past few days? Now, call in the others and give us some privacy here.” Grabbing the bottle, he brings it with him to the table where me and Ash are sitting, and waits for everyone to leave.

“Are you serious about this guy?” he asks me sternly, and if I wasn’t so shocked, I’d remind him of who he’s talking to. He can’t, after twenty-five years of being absent, start talking like he’s my dad.

“That's none of your business,” I tell him, letting him see that I'm offended.

“Listen, sweetheart, I ain’t ever done this before and I can tell you now, that I ain’t gonna be very good at it. Not to start with, anyway,” he admits, looking almost embarrassed. “Just bear with me and answer the question.”

“Yes, I’m serious about him.” I take Ash’s hand and watch the proud smile form on his face as he looks toward his new president.

“Jesus Christ." Grizz looks up at the ceiling and shakes his head like he’s seeking some kind of strength from above.

“I guess you better stick around to hear this; it involves you, too.” Grizz looks to Ash.

“Involves me?” Ash looks stunned. “How does you doin’ the business with Ruby’s mom involve me?” he asks.

“Keep your damn mouth shut for long enough and you’ll find out.” I can see Grizz already losing his patience with him, and when Ash goes quiet and wraps his arm around me, I look to the man who claims to be my father and wait for his explanation.

“I met your mom years ago. We lived in the same town, and she was nothing like the whore that this town thought she was, before she came here,” he assures me, looking mad just from the thought of it.

“Her parents would drag her to church every Sunday. She was a sweet, respectful girl, and back then I was a?—”

“Sweet, respectful boy,” Ash interrupts him, earning himself another scowl.

“How about you stay silent for this one, Wild Card?” Grizz narrows his eyes at him warningly.

“We dated a while; decided to be each other's firsts. It happened on prom night, and I guess that's when you must have been conceived because that's the last I saw of her.” He strokes his hand through his wiry beard, looking a little wounded.

“When she showed up in town all those years later, with you, I asked the obvious question and she told me it was impossible.”

“If she said it was impossible, she meant it. My mom never lied, and she sure as hell wouldn’t lie about something as important as that. She knew how curious I was about my dad. I was always begging her to find him so I could know him.” I wipe away the tears that start to spill.

“There's always exceptions to people's rules, darlin’, and I guess you were an exception to your mother's. She must have been tryin’ to protect ya. I got no doubt in my mind that she’d tracked me down and had every intention of giving you what you wanted…

but when she saw the man I'd become, she changed her mind.” He looks sad as he takes another swig from the bottle.

“So how did you just find this out? My mom's been dead for three years.”

“Two weeks ago, Byron sent me on a job; he needed me to clean up for your fiancé after he killed Kaleb Kingston.”

“He did what? ” I hold my hands over my mouth in shock.

“Sweetheart, that's a whole other story, and I’ll tell it to ya, let's just get through this one first.” Grizz tries to calm me.

“When I got there, the scene wasn’t right; everythin’ looked too staged and the way Byron was acting was all too fuckin’ weird.

So I started up a little investigation. I had to keep it from the brothers, cause I didn’t know who was involved, and what I found out changed everythin’.

” This time, his eyes are focused on Ash, and they start looking sympathetic.

“Dom must have had his suspicions about you being mine.” He continues his story. “He was the only one I told about me and Josie’s history, and he never was one to let things lie.

I was going through Byron's house, looking for evidence I could take to Jameson that would confirm he was behind this drug situation, and I found a letter that was addressed to your dad.” He stares at Ash, who suddenly looks angry.

“Wait, my dad's been dead years; long before this drug problem started, and he loved this town.”

“It wasn’t anythin’ to do with that.” Grizz clears his throat. “It was the results for a DNA test that he’d sent away for. One that confirmed you were my daughter,” he tells me.

“Wait, how the hell would Dom get hold of my….Oh, my god.” I suddenly remember that day at the summer fayre, all those years ago.

“He yanked my hair when I got off the Ferris wheel.” I touch my hand to the fancy hairstyle Esmé did for me this morning. “I remember thinking how odd it was, and when I turned around, he just laughed at me like it was some kinda game.”

“So my dad sent off for these tests…why wouldn’t he tell you the result?” Ash questions Grizz, moving us on.

‘He never got the chance to… Look at the date on the letter.” Grizz takes it out of his cut and places it on the table.

“This would have arrived the day before he died.” Ash reads it, and I feel my heart stop because I know what's coming next.

“I’m sorry, Ash.” I turn to look at him, knowing that all the love he claimed to have for me is about to turn to hate.

“What are you sorry for?” He laughs, though I can tell he’s nervous; he must have picked up on the way me and Grizz are both looking at him.

“All these years, I’ve been desperate to find the man who killed your dad, Ash,” Grizz tells him.

“But it wasn’t a man. It was my mom,” I confess, looking away because I don’t want to see the look on Ash’s face.

“She was coerced.” A voice I recognize comes from the door, and when I see Earl start hobbling his way over, I suddenly remember that strange conversation we had before I stepped into church.

“She told me what happened, but by then it was already too late. She’d got herself tangled up with those monsters.

” He takes a seat and looks at me. “I swear to ya, Ruby, up till now, I thought Byron had been helping her. He pulled the wool over my eyes, too. It wasn’t till Grizz called me last night that I started putting together the truth. ”

“Does someone wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?” Ash’s eyes flick between us all as he gets even more frustrated.

“Dom must have told Byron about the results, cause he’d called up your mom just before Dom got to the house and warned her.” Earl takes over, explaining the story.

“He told your mom that Dom was mad about her lyin’ to his best friend and that he was coming over to kill her.

She always knew who your dad was. All those years she spent in those whore houses was to put food in your belly while she was looking for him.

Her parents had disowned her when she told ’em she was pregnant.

” He smiles at me sadly. “She tracked him down to this town, and when she realized he was a part of all this…” He looks around the room.

“ She panicked. She didn’t want Grizz knowing you were his kid; she didn’t want anyone knowing in case it put you in danger,” he explains, and Grizz passes him the bottle so he can knock some back himself.

“Dom arrived at the house, and your mom had already armed herself with a knife. She was ready for him and determined to protect you. According to your mom, when Dom arrived at the house, she was so scared she just struck out.” Ash’s arm drops from my shoulder, and when I find the courage to look at him, I see the devastation on his face.

“All these years, you knew and you never told anybody.” He looks at Earl, and I can’t decide if it’s anger or hurt in his eyes.

“I was protecting Josie. She was defending herself, and Byron backed her story. He told me how mad Dom was when he got those results. Byron was the first person Josie called after she’d killed him.

He helped her clean up. She confessed it to me a few weeks later after your dad's funeral, and for the sake of you, we all agreed that the truth stay buried.”

“And you're okay with all this?” Ash looks to Grizz, slamming his fist on the table and standing up.

“No, I ain’t o-fuckin’-kay about it, but these people were lied to. Byron clearly wanted to take the president seat and saw this as an opportunity,” Grizz points out. “I knew Dom better than anyone; he would never have put his hands on a woman, especially not one who mothered my child.”

“I should have known better, too; your dad was a good man.” Earl lowers his head in disgrace.

“We need to find that son of a bitch, right now. Drag him back and hang him off the club gates by his fuckin’ guts.” Ash gets up and starts making his way toward the door, and I quickly chase after him.

“Please, Ash. Don't leave, not now. I’m sorry. Please come back so we can talk.”

“Sorry?” He spins around and looks at me. “What the hell are you sorry for?” He looks me over like I’m crazy.

“I knew what Mom did. I kept it from you because I was so scared you’d hate me.

Believe me, Ash, my mom would never have hurt your dad unless she thought she was in danger.

I thought he was there to hurt her, too.

I had no idea about Byron being involved.

I thought your dad was a bad person who’d come to hurt us.

I was trying to protect you from the truth, and I was trying to protect myself.

” I start to cry. “Mayor Porter’s been threatening to tell everyone the truth since Mom died, and I was so scared everyone would see her differently. ”

“Wait…is this why you were marryin’ Brett? Were they blackmailing you with this shit?” He’s looking furious now.

“I had to; I was scared.”

“Stay right here. I’ll be back.” Ash turns back around and starts heading out to the yard.

“Ash, please, where are you going?” I tug back on his arm desperately.

“To string those fuckers up from the gates by their guts, too,” he tells me, getting on his bike. When a car pulls up beside it and Brett gets out the driver's seat, I quickly yell for Grizz, cause I know things are about to get messy.