The Biker's Fate Chapter 391

He leaned forward and kissed me. "You're mine. I want everyone to know that."

"Are you sure you want to make that statement so soon?"

"I'm not askin' you to marry me," he said.

"Close enough if I'm 'at your back.'"

He grinned. "You been doin' some research?"

"A little," I admitted. "Merrick's a wealth of information."

I wasn't completely ignorant to the biker lifestyle… Hatch was my bestie's stepdad, after all, but I was the daughter of a cop, and most bikers were 1%ers, so until Merrick joined the Dogs, I didn't know much. With Merrick now patched in, I was beginning to ask more questions than I had, mostly because I wanted to understand Flea's world.

"I like that," he said, stroking my cheek. "But to allay your concerns, it's not akin to a marriage proposal, but, yes, it's important. It means no one else'll touch you."

"No one else would touch me, anyway," I countered. "Between Merrick and Hatch, I'm totally covered."

His eyebrows went up in challenge. "Or you could let me be your man and let me take that protection responsibility on my shoulders."

I nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Are you feeling a little emasculated, big man? Would you like me to be a little more damsel in distress for you?"

"Fuck, no." He chuckled. "I'm highly aware you can take care of yourself, but I do plan to protect you, because it's in my DNA."

"I'm good with that," I admitted. "I like the idea of having someone to hide behind if need-be."

He cocked his head. "You got a habit of hiding?"

"Well, no, but I might develop one now that I have you."

"You go ahead and do that, baby. I got your back."

I smiled, kissing him gently. "I appreciate that."

"In case I haven't been clear, I want us to be exclusive."

I bit my lip as I studied him. "Are you at all concerned I might be like my mom?"

"Not even a little bit." He stroked my face. "I'm pretty sure you would have seen signs by now, Grace."

I shrugged. "That's what they say."

"Think about it logically," he said. "Did your mom just suddenly begin to act irrationally?"

I shook my head.

"Exactly. She'd been dealin' with all that shit for a while, right?"

I nodded.

"I think you're clear."

"What if I'm not?" I whispered.

"Then I'll let you know."

"You really want to take that on?"

"Hell, yeah, I do."

I smiled. "Well, don't say you weren't warned."

"Noted." He smiled. "Kate's pressin' for a family dinner. You up for that?"

"Let's get Saturday behind us, okay?"

"Okay, baby." He ran his thumb over my lower lip. "You're beautiful. Inside and out. You know that, right?"

"You are, too." I leaned forward and kissed him again.

Someone banged on the door and I jumped a little.

"You expectin' someone?" Flea asked.

I shook my head and climbed off of him.

"Don't you fuckin' move, Grace," Flea ordered as he rose to his feet.

I rolled my eyes as I waved toward the door. "Okay, Fleabio, vanquish the dragon."

He glanced through the peephole, then turned to me with a frown. "It's your father."

"What?" I squeaked.

"What do you want me to do?"

Before I could answer, another pounding came.

"Open it," I said.

He did, keeping his large body between me and my dad. "What the hell, man?"

"Grace, I've been leaving you and your brother messages for three hours."

He was right. I'd been ignoring them.

"What do you want, Dad?" I asked with a sigh.

"Grams's in the hospital. She took a bad fall."

I gasped. "When?"

I loved my dad's mom. She and I had been close when I was a kid, but after the incident, I just couldn't handle the pity in her eyes, so I'd distanced myself.

"This morning."

"Is she okay?" I asked, reaching for Flea. He slid his hand around my waist.

"She has to have surgery tomorrow, so I figured you'd want to see her first."

"Where is she?"

"Legacy Salmon Creek."

My grandmother lived in Vancouver, which was the reason I'd always give as to why we didn't see each other as often. I rarely drove over the bridge. A poor excuse, honestly.

I bit back tears and leaned against Flea. "I'll go now."

"I'll take you," Dad offered.

"No. I'm good."

He dragged his hands down his face. "Are you really doing this, Gracie? Now?"

I bit back tears. "Grams is one of my favorite people in the world, you know that, but that doesn't change the fact I don't want to talk to you. Nothing will change that."

"I'll take her up," Flea said.

"Fine." Dad studied me, then sighed and walked away.

Flea closed the door then pulled me against him, so I could wrap my arms around his waist. I squeezed my eyes shut and burrowed deeper into his chest. "You don't have to come up with me."

"You're not drivin' up there alone, Grace."

"Okay."

He chuckled. "I honestly thought you'd argue more."

I shook my head. "I don't want to go up there alone. My dad'll be there."

"Why do you hate him so much, honey?"

"He left me alone with her."

"What?"

"I begged him to take me with him and Merrick to the movie, but he wouldn't. He said Mom needed some alone time with me," I whispered. "If he'd taken me with him…"

"Okay, I've got you."

"She was going to kill me. Maisie talked her out of it."

"I know."

"How much do you know?"

"Pretty much just that," he said. "I don't know the intimate details. But I'm here if you want to tell me them."

I nodded. "Maisie talked about some memories, which stopped Mom from killing me. Hatch came to the hospital with Maisie and they took care of me and Merrick while my dad broke down."

Flea didn't speak, just held me as he rubbed my back.

"My dad did nothing. He didn't apologize. He just shut down," I continued. "And then he forced us to play happy family, going to Hatch and Maisie's for holidays, but he wouldn't let me stay with them. I didn't want to leave them. I wanted to stay with Poppy. I felt safe. He didn't care. He made me go with him."

Flea slid his hand to my hair and kissed the top of my head.

"I hate him."

"I know you do," Flea said. "But maybe you need to figure out a way to get past that. Hating someone only makes you sick inside."

"If I forgive him, he wins."

"He doesn't, Grace. You do."

"I didn't realize my man was a sage," I grumbled.

"Like hearin' that, baby."

I dropped my head back to meet his eyes. "Can we go now? I'm bored of talking about my… ah… father."

"Yeah, baby. Grab your keys. I'll drive your car."

I pulled out of his arms and headed to the bowl in the kitchen just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was my brother. "Did you hear about Grams?"

"Yeah. That's why I'm calling. I'm heading up there now. Do you need me to pick you up?"

"No, Flea's driving me."

"So, this is a thing?"

I glanced at Flea who raised an eyebrow. He probably heard Merrick, considering my brother wasn't particularly quiet.

"Yes," I said, turning away from Flea.

"Okay, you and I are gonna talk tonight."

"No. We don't need to."

"Yeah, we do. I'm hanging up now. See you soon."

I sighed as the call disconnected, and I grabbed my keys from the bowl, lobbing them to Flea. "I'm going to change really quick."

He nodded and I headed to my room.