I Set the Sheets on Fire, Then the Clubhouse novel · Chapter 13 of 24

Chapter 13: Daughter

I picked the box up off the floor mat and set it back on my knees.

My hands were shaking, so I held it tighter.

"Say it," I told Boone. "Say the word. I want to hear you say it."

He looked at me, and the whole big ruined face gave up.

"You're my daughter," he said.

I had done the math, and it still hit.

"Twenty-nine years," I said.

"Twenty-nine years and seven months."

"You counted."

"Every day, kid. It's the only thing I ever did right."

I flipped the lid of the box shut so I didn't have to see the envelopes.

"Six years ago," I said. "The card that said you'd found me. That was the year Dario came into my clinic with a sick dog."

Boone didn't answer.

"Say it."

"I sent him," Boone said. "I told him the dog needed a shot and the clinic on Alder would take it for cash."

My stomach turned over slowly.

"You sent my husband to me."

"I wanted you inside a house the club would stand in front of. A VP's wife is the safest woman in the county." His jaw worked. "I picked the best man I had."

"You picked him for me like a horse."

"I picked wrong."

"You didn't ask me. You didn't tell me who you were. You just picked."

"I know."

"Don't say you know!"

The words rang off the glass.

Outside, Cade's head turned toward the truck, and Elena slid off the fender.

I lowered my voice, and that was worse.

"Three weeks ago, Cade came to you," I said. "He told you Dario was bringing her upstairs. And you gave an order."

"I did."

"Why?"

Boone stared at the dash.

"Three years ago your mother died," he said. "I sent flowers to Dayton from the florist the club uses. Dario keeps the club's books, and he read the invoice. It said Carol Pellam, from B.S."

← Chapter 12 · All chapters · Chapter 14 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend