Page 27 of Beautiful Unity
He gave me another crooked smile, and I knew he wasn’t. My heart sank.
“The stroke was minor, but it did affect some of my cognitive abilities and physical functions. I have moments when I blank out, and words get lost. My left side is still much weaker than my right, but I have most of my coordination back.”
“What else aren’t you telling me?”
He huffed, lifting his hand and scrubbing it over his head. “So smart, my girl. While I was in the hospital, they discovered a tumor in my colon, and it was cancerous. I had it removed, followed by chemotherapy, and so far, the scans show that it’s gone.”
Tears ran down my face, and I held myself back from jumping into his arms. This wasn’t what I’d expected at all. I’d been prepared to be mad at my dad. To ream him out for allowing the Agonizer to take control.
But this… I hadn’t been expecting it and didn’t know how to process it.
It wasn’t fair. Could you even be mad at a man with cancer?
“So far?” I asked, my brain getting stuck on those two words.
Hank gave me that crooked smile that broke my heart more than it healed. “Colon cancer is aggressive and can come back. My doctors are hopeful, and my prognosis is good, so I’m focusing on that.”
The world tilted, and my heart fell to the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t lose my dad. Not like this. I wiped my tears and lifted my chin.
“I’m surprised Stanley allowed you to even receive medical care.”
Hank’s face fell, and I braced myself. Just what else had my dad sacrificed to this man?
“There was a cost.” His eyes flicked over, and I allowed myself to follow them. When I landed on Maddox, fury erupted inside, and I jumped up. The chair flew back, and I balled my fists at my side.
“No.”
“It’s not what you think. It’s not good, but it’s not Mad Dog.”
“Spit it out.” My words came out in a hiss. I was sick of this game.
“Agonizer discovered MCD and bargained for my compliance in trade for care. He ran his best men through it and had me sign off on them working with the feds. Not only has he made a mockery of it, but he’s infiltrated the FBI. He’s become unreachable.” He took a deep breath, his face hardening as he looked at me. “You need to leave. I’m glad I got to see you one last time, Peanut. To have the chance to see the woman you’ve become, but you can’t stay here, Rosebud. If you want to survive, the five of you will turn around and forget you know this place.”
I watched Tiny and Mack deflate, the hope we’d given them escaping at my father’s decree. Steel filled my veins, and I stared down at the man I used to believe hung the moon. With my hands on my hips, I struck my power pose and glared at my father.
“First of all, fuck no. You don’t make my choices for me. That last time I let you decide my fate, I was raped.” My father jerked back, my words striking him. I would’ve felt guilty if it wasn’t true. He’d had his chance; and from my standpoint, he’d failed at every turn. It wasn’t easy to accept that, but it was the truth. He’d had good intentions, but he’d let himself get too deep and not ask for help when he could’ve used it. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes.
“Second, I didn’t come here alone. I brought my club, and we’re not leaving until we’ve reclaimed the Mavericks and put Stanley Driscoll where he belongs—behind bars.”
Hank scoffed, shaking his head and infuriating me further. “You’re just a little girl, Rosebud. Agonizer’s gonna chew you up and spit you out. He’ll make you pay for running away just to prove a point. No one escapes him. That’s the truth. If you can’t grasp that, then everything I sacrificed was for nothing,” he spat. Spittle dribbled down his chin, and his eyes were manic.
It hurt to hear the doubt in his voice. To see the defeat in his eyes. To know my father believed so little in me.
“That’s enough,” Bubba shouted, breaking me from the stare-off I’d entered into with my dad. I glanced up, waving him off. All the men in the room had stood, their stances hard and pissed off on my behalf. It replenished my strength and sparked my courage.
My father had lost so much that he’d lost himself in the end. The little girl who loved her father appreciated his request. He was trying to protect me the only way he could.
But I wasn’t a little girl anymore.
I crossed my arms and smiled sweetly. “Waylon, what did I tell you when you tried to call me a little girl?”
He harrumphed, and I could practically feel his smile from here. “Not to call you that.”
“That’s right.” I tapped my lip. “I believe I told you I was sick of men treating me like I was fragile. Nothing in my life has been easy, and I’ve fought for every scrap of strength to earn my title.” I leaned down, pressing my hands into the table, and smiled wide, showing my teeth. My father gulped, and a tiny shiver raced up my spine at his show of fear.
“Waylon, what did I tell you was my proper name?”
“My fucking Queen.”