Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
And with that, he let go of Frank’s neck, and the kid fell to the floor, gasping for breath. It was the one and only warning he was going to give him. The rest was now up to him.
He stepped outside of the bathroom as his cell phone beeped. Damion was not in the mood for bad shit to happen today. He pulled out his cell phone, and it was like wondering what the results would be had magically made them appear. Vicki was in fact Neil’s biological daughter.
Well, fuck.
****
Vicki once again sat in the diner, opposite Neil, and waited. Damion had told them both the news, that they were in fact father and daughter. He had also opted to give them some space. She looked over at her dad and didn’t know what to say.
“Did you try the chili on Claire’s stand?” she asked.
“Yeah, it was spicy this year. I swear, she tries every year to make it spicier than the year before.”
She nodded her agreement, then she didn’t have a clue what to say.
“Look, I honestly didn’t know,” Neil said. “Your mother, she was fucking everyone and everything.”
Vicki held her hands up. “You don’t have to say anything. It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine. Nothing about this is fine. I mean, I knew there was a chance you were mine.” He shook his head, running a hand down his face. “I’m kind of blown away by this news.” He suddenly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. “I want you to have this.”
Vicki took the envelope he slid across the table, and looked inside to see a lot of money. She shook her head and moved it back toward him. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I wasn’t there to help, and I know you’ve had it rough. Annette is not exactly a good woman.”
In that moment, Vicki couldn’t help but feel a little curious about her mother, only another part of her didn’t want to know what was happening to her.
“It’s fine.”
“No, I should have fucking been there. I should have gotten you checked sooner, and then I could have ... fuck. You’re a Thames, Vicki.”
“I don’t want to change who I am. I’m not joining your family, I want to remain a civilian.”
She didn’t want anything to change.
Neil nodded. “That’s fair.”
Within families, she knew members when they were old enough could opt out of the family, choose to become a civilian, and make it work without them. There could be no consequences for those choices, and she knew it was very rare for members to do that. In most situations, it was impossible, as they had lived in their family’s world and didn’t know what it was like to be a civilian. This was different for her, as she had only ever lived life as a civilian.
“I want to get to know you.”
“Neil, Dad, I, uh...” Wow, that felt strange. She had never said the word “Dad” before. Well, she probably did when she was a kid, but that was a long time ago. Now the word seemed strange to say, unlike “Mom.” She was used to saying Mom, not Dad. “I have my brothers and sisters, and I don’t know if you know this or not, Frank might be joining The Lords. Again, I don’t know for sure because he doesn’t tell me anything, but I don’t know how that is going to work with you knowing me, or if it will have any impact.”
She tried not to wince. This was hard.
“No, it won’t. I know what Frank is doing. We all know, but that is not going to affect our friendship. I am happy to get to know you and your family, Vicki. I know I’m the leader of the Thames, and I’ve done a lot of bad shit.” He then stopped. “I want to get to know you. I want to be there for you.”
“I don’t know how to do that,” she said.
“I guess, we take it one day at a time,” Neil said. “So, I guess we start with, hi, I’m Neil, your father.”
This made her smile. “Hi, I’m Vicki, your daughter.”
He held his hand out, and she took it, giving his hand a shake. “Would you like some lunch?”
“Actually, it wasn’t so long ago that I ate.” She saw how disappointed he was when she refused, and she quickly thought about it. “How about tomorrow? I’m working here tomorrow. You could stop by. We could have lunch?”
“I’d like that.”
“Great.” She looked toward the time. “I’ve got to head back. I’ve got to get Betsy.”
“Say no more.” Neil got to his feet, and then shook her hand. “I’m glad, about the news.”
“Me too.” She offered him a smile, although, for her, it didn’t really change anything.
He left the diner first, and Damion came to her side. He placed a hand on the center of her back. “You okay?”