One Wild Ride (Lords of Mayhem 2)

“And now?”

“Now we talk on the phone regularly and get together every couple of months.”

“Why would you keep this from me?” Joey asked, floored. Her mother had never been the secretive type.

“For you, Joey. I wasn’t going to pull you into this life out of the blue.” She shook her head. “Don’t you understand, you’re the president’s kid? That comes with a lot.”

“Oh, bullshit!” Joey tossed the picture down on the bed.

“There are enemies, protocol and titles.” She shook her head. “All things that need to be applied to protect you now.”

“Why? All of sudden he gets a wild hair up his ass and wants to claim me?”

“When he found out about Moose.”

“Oh-ho, I see.” Joey laughed. “This is a case of whose is bigger? How dare some lowly biker claim me!”

“He just wants to—”

“No. I don’t want to hear any more, Mom. I think you’ve covered for him enough, don’t you?”

Her mother clamped her mouth shut and shook her head. “This is why I made the decision to come to you one on one. He wanted to walk in like a bull in a china shop—”

“I’ve never known you to be the lie-there-and-take-it type.”

Her mother clenched her jaw. “Are you saying I am now?” she asked, speaking through her teeth.

“If the shoe fits…” Joey shrugged.

“You listen to me, little girl. I understand you’re pissed at me and you have every right to be. But if you think for one second I’ll stand for disrespect, you’ve lost your mind. I raised you on my own, wiped your ass, fed and clothed you. The fact that we had help doesn’t change any of that. Am I taking up for your father right now? No, but I see where he’s coming from. He wants to make sure you have an out. A claim that will save you if things go wrong with Moose. Something I didn’t have.” Her mother’s voice cracked. “I can’t be upset with him for that. So don’t ask me to.”

Joey bowed her head, taking in all the newly gained information. “What do you want me to do, Mom?”

“Whatever you feel is right. I’m not here to sway you either way. Your dad fucked up big-time. I’ll be the first to admit that. I’ve been saying it to him for years. Originally, we made the best of a bad situation, but then we let it go too far to ever fully recover smoothly.”

“So why the one-on-one?”

“Because I wanted you to hear everything from me. Firsthand, not secondhand, diluted or without a mother’s love. Wanderer knows he can’t step in now and be your father. But he wants a relationship with you.”

“Did he send you to do his dirty work?” Joey sneered, disgusted with the man who helped create her.

“No. He doesn’t even know we’re having this conversation,” her mother said.

The ire lifted minutely.

“You don’t have to know all the answers now, Josephine. It’s a lot to process. Take your time, digest it. Then, make your list of questions and come back.”

“What’s all this?” Joey gestured to the bed.

“Parts of my life I kept to myself. Some that involve Wanderer and others that are from a family. It’s time you knew where you came from,” her mother said.

“Is he—Grandpa still alive?”

Her mother scowled. “Yes, the old bastard is too mean to die.” She shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about him. He’s on his last leg and mostly too drunk to know what the hell is going on these days.”

The blank tone made Joey want to wince. Her mother had been through hell and saddled with the responsibility of a child. “Mom, I’m sorry.”

Her mother sniffed and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “No, it’s my fault for not telling you sooner. I didn’t want to rehash it and that was wrong on my part.” She walked over to Joey and placed a hand on her shoulder.