“She is,” I agree, looking across the pool toward June, and her head turns and her eyes meet mine as I watch her smile.
“Are we cool now?” he asks, and I pull my gaze from June and look at him again.
“We’re good.”
“Good, now I need to warn you as your friend. Uncle Asher is on his way over,” he says then stands and walks away.
Jesus.
“Didn’t think you’d show,” Asher says, taking the seat Sage just vacated.
“Like I told you when you came to the compound, I’m not giving her up, and she loves you guys, so I’m not going to make her feel like she has to choose between me and her family,” I tell him, holding his stare. Do I want to be here, right now? Fuck no, but I know June would be disappointed if we didn’t come, and I want her happy. So if I have to sit in her parents’ backyard for a few hours to accomplish that task, I’ll do it.
“As a little girl, she was always moving,” he says, sitting back in the chair and placing his beer on the armrest.
“Pardon?” I ask, confused by his statement.
“June, as a little girl, she was always up to something. She couldn’t sit still for more than a few minutes at a time. Where the other girls would happily sit and watch a movie, June had to be doing something, experiencing something new. Her mom and I worried about her. We didn’t think she would ever be content in one place for long. Her first year of college was the same. There wasn’t a week that went by that she didn’t call home, saying she wanted to change her major or move to a different school. But then that stopped. We didn’t know what happened or what helped her settle. We just knew something did,” he says, and then sits forward, putting his elbows to his knees.
“That was you. I didn’t realize it until the other day, but you help her settle, bring her peace, keep her grounded. My grandmother used to say, ‘Don’t take a moment for granted, just because you think you’ll have a thousand more.’ I think you get that more than most,” he mutters, and a deep burn hits my chest before coursing through my body, making it hard to breathe.
“I love her.”
“That’s good, since she loves you,” he grumbles, sounding annoyed which makes me fight back a smile. Closing his eyes, he rubs his forehead then sits back and pins me in place. “One day, when you’re a father, you’ll understand how painful it is to be replaced by another man.”
And with that, he gets up and wanders around the outer edge of the pool toward June and her mom. As soon as he reaches them, he pulls June into his side and places a kiss to her temple. Watching her mouth move, I can’t tell what she’s saying, but his chin jerks in my direction. Her eyes come to me and her face softens before looking back up at her dad and leaning deeper into him.
“What’s up?”
Pulling my eyes from June, I look up at her Uncle Nico and mutter, “Nothing. How’s it going, man?” I put out my hand, shaking his.
“Good.” He cracks his neck, taking a seat. “I was gonna call you tomorrow, but since we’re here, I figured we could talk now.”
“What’s going on?”
“I need some help on a case.”
“Have you talked to Jax?” I ask, and he shakes his head then drops his voice.
“Can’t have too many people in on this, and he doesn’t have the connection I need.”
“What’s that?” I prompt, taking a pull from my beer then sitting back down.
“The Broken Eagles,” he says.
I growl, “Fuck no,” jerking my head back.
His body moves closer to mine and his voice dips. “It’s one of their new recruits. I can’t go to Wes with this. He will lose his fucking mind and blow my case.”
“Ask someone else.” I shake my head and pull my eyes from him. No way am I going to go behind the backs of men who have taken my back at every turn.
“You know there’s no one else to ask,” he replies easily, and I let out a breath, because I know he’s right. “I can’t risk anyone knowing about this until I have a solid case, and in order to build that case, I need to keep this guy right where he is.”
“You know you’re putting me in a really fucked-up spot with my brothers, right?” I clarify, and his eyes go to where June and her parents are standing.
“Two of my nieces are involved with men connected to this guy. That shit doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Who is it?”
“Are you in or not?” he asks, and I close my eyes in frustration.
“If shit starts to go south, I’m filling the brothers in, and we’ll handle if from the inside.”
“I’m gonna ignore that statement,” he mutters, then grins a wicked-looking scary grin. “Told Asher my niece is safe with your crazy ass.” He sounds proud as he pats my shoulder.
“Who is it?” I repeat, and his eyes hold mine.
“Jordan.”
“Why doesn’t that shit surprise me?” I mutter. I didn’t like the prick, even before he cornered June. There always seemed to be something off about him, something I noticed from the first moment he came into our circle, something I couldn’t put my finger on.
“What’s he into?”
“He’s connected with a club in Nashville, the Southern Stars. They have their fingers in just about everything—pussy, guns, drugs. You name it, they deal in it. From what I’ve found out so far, he was sent to town to look for a club to take over so they could expand their business.”