Page 8 of Dima
“I grew up in the Queens.”
“Hmm, I know some people over there. Who’s your father?”
Telling Bishop who my father was would ruin this whole operation. Not only was my father a Fed, but he’d also chased Bishop for half of his career. He was the reason I was on this case in the first place.
I felt like my father spent more time on this case than he ever did with me. Maybe if I was the one to bring it to a close, I could bring some kind of meaning to my lonely ass childhood. If not, then I would at least get to leave my father in the past.
“I doubt you know him, and we don’t have a relationship.”
I stood tall and looked Bishop in the eye. I wanted him to know I was a man before anything. I knew getting his respect would be the quickest way to bring this case to a close. I had to start off strong.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
He looked me over again. I wanted to give Bishop my full attention, but for some reason, my eyes made their way back toMaeve. She stood next to Guard. They talked in hushed tones while he looked at her like his favorite niece.
No matter how hard I tried to pull my eyes away from her, they would only be off her frame for a few seconds before they returned to their original spot, her, where they always wanted to be. Bishop stepped closer to me so there was only a small space that separated us.
He cleared his throat again, and I surrendered my attention back to him. I didn’t want to. I knew what I wanted to look at, and it had nothing to do with the boss of the motorcycle gang I was sent to take down. His daughter had stolen my attention, and I didn’t know when I would get it back.
“Dima. I’m happy to have you here, but let me tell you something. Keep your eyes to your fucking self or on the vehicles I pay you to fix. Never should they land on my daughter, you got it? Club rule number one, Maeve is and always will be off-limits. Understand me?”
He’d gotten close enough so only I could hear what he had to say. I couldn’t be mad at it. Every father had a duty to protect his daughter. If he didn’t protect her, he wouldn’t deserve the respect everyone in this room gave him.
“Understood.”
I backed up to restore the space between us that he had closed. I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with Bishop, and if Maeve had never come here looking and smelling the way she did today, I wouldn’t have been so far off my game. Bishop was the job, and I was failing my assignment.
Bishop was right about one thing: Maeve would always be off-limits to me. I just had to convince my heart, and once I got my heart on board, I would have to tell my dick the same damn thing.
This was my first time being around her, and I already knew there was no way I was going to be able to control myself if Ididn’t completely block her out of my mind. I’d spent months learning everything about this crew, and none of my research prepared me for seeing Maeve in the flesh and having her return my gaze. The way I felt in her presence would be difficult to ignore. But I had to try.
“Well, ain’t this a sight to see? It’s my grandbaby.”
My grandma opened the door with her arms already stretched out for me to fall into. She wrapped me in one of her famous hugs and let me go just in time to see what stood behind me. I watched her as her eyes misted a little. The sight of my mom’s bike behind me had her just as emotional as it had me.
“You riding your mother’s bike today?”
One of her hands flung to her mouth while the other landed on her heart. She shook her head from side to side. I gave her the space and time to process whatever she felt. She smiled brightly when her eyes settled back on me.
“Oh, she would be so proud to see you now, Maeve.”
It was rare that I pulled out my mother’s bike because I only rode it on special occasions. My father kept it to pass down to me after she died and gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday. It was a light pink Harley-Davidson with her name carved on the right side. Pink was our favorite color.
My mother fell in love with riding motorcycles at a young age. That was how she met my daddy. With the parents I had, riding bikes was a part of me, whether I liked it or not. It was their whole lives. It was what brought them together and shaped their love.
“Thank you, Grandma.”
I finally spoke while my grandma looked from me to the bike. I kissed her cheek and hugged her one more time. I craved her hugs after being away from her for so long. I used to come every weekend when I was younger, but now that I was in college, my studies took up most of my time.
“Thank you for the kisses, sweet girl.”
“Where’s Pawpaw? Is he inside?”
“He’s back there washing up for dinner. You want something to eat?”
“I can always eat, Grandma. You know this.”
We both laughed. I would never turn down a meal from my grandma. She made the best soul food I’d ever tasted, and I missed it.
