Sam is careful when he goes on a run and he’s always the one who keeps everyone else in check, the one who tries to make sure things go as smoothly as possible and no one gets hurt. He makes good money from the runs too, and while I don’t necessarily condone middle-manning drug or gun deals, I know Sammy is smart with what he earns, and part of me likes to think he’s planning for the future.
Our future.
Neither of us have talked about it a lot, not in some cut and drywe’re going to get married and be together foreverkind of way—just like we haven’t said we love each other out loud yet—but I know we both feel it. Sam says it in his own way, like when he promises to check in while he’s on the road, will call or text as often as possible and promises to always come back to me. It’s in the way he spends every free second he has with me, or how he always reaffirms that I’m his, just like he’s mine.
I’m almost positive Sammy feels the same way I do, and after tonight, I plan on having all the confirmation I need in order to tie that man down and work toward making him mine forever.
“Knock, knock.”
I turn from the full-length mirror to find my father standing in the doorway of my bedroom. “Hey, when did you get home?”
“About fifteen minutes ago.” His eyes crinkle around the corners as he smiles at me. “You look great, honey. Very pretty.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I flip my hair over my shoulders, then smooth out the front of my knee-length dark blue summer dress—both a sure fire way to have my man hungry for more than just the birthday dinner I’m hoping we go out to.
“You have plans tonight?”
I nod, then turn back to the mirror to check my makeup one last time. “Sam is taking me out.”
My dad huffs something under his breath and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
We kept our relationship a secret from Roland Berk in the beginning.
Sam and I would meet in secret, whether it was at his apartment or my house whenever he knew my dad was busy, or we’d sneak away to some relatively private location for an hour or two just so we could spend time together. It wasn’t how we wanted to do things, not really, but my dad is still not a fan of working for the club or Sam North in general, going as far as to say “that sinister young man is going to get you into all kinds of trouble one day”, so we hid until we couldn’t.
Which just so happened to come in the form of Dad walking in on Sammy and I in my bed together, and that didn’t do anyone any favors. And really, my dad thought I was in distress based on what he heard—moaning, yelling, my bed hitting the wall—so he came charging into my room and accidentally caught us in the act.
We were both scarred, still are honestly, and it led to an argument that I wasn’t sure we’d come back from, but once we both cooled down, I explained that Sam and I were actually together and not some fleeting thing like my dad thought. That seemed to suffice him, but he still doesn’t care for the fact that I’m seriously seeing a member of the Wulven Kings MC.
“I’ll probably be gone overnight.”
“Wonderful.”
“Dad…” I sigh as I turn to face him again. “I’m twenty-two years old and perfectly capable of making my own decisions, so you don’t have to keep close tabs on me anymore. Sam always makes sure I’m where I need to be when I need to be there, he’s never done anything to put me in danger, and he keeps me safe no matter what.”
“By being armed with weapons twenty-four-seven.”
“Dad, come on. It’s been a year. When are you going to just accept the fact that Sam is different than what you think he is and— “
“He’s not, Sofie.” My dad scowls and leans against the doorframe. “I’ve cleaned up more crime scenes that yourboyfriendis connected to than I can count, and I’m worried that one day I’ll get called to one and find you already there.”
I scowl back. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m being realistic.”
“Fine. If that’s what you think, then fine. I’m not going to keep trying to convince you that Sam is a good man, a man that would never hurt me or walk away from me. If you only want to see the negative side to this, or believe what you’ve conjured in your mind, then I’m done trying to convince you otherwise.”
“Sofie…” My father sighs as his shoulders drop. “I just… I want the best for you, honey, and I can’t help that I don’t think Snipe is that. But I don’t want to ruin your birthday either.” He reaches behind him as he straightens up, a small genuine smile touching his lips. “I meant to give you this at breakfast this morning, but I forgot when we left the diner.”
Dad crosses the room and holds out his hand, a small white box sitting in his palm. I take the few steps to meet him in the middle, my eyes falling to the gift I told him he didn’t need to get me.
“Dad… you didn’t have to…”
“I know, honey, but I wanted to.”
With a trembling hand, I reach out and take the box, then carefully lift the lid only to gasp at what I see. “Is this—is this what I think it is?”
He nods. “It was time. I had it finished last week and wanted to wait until today to surprise you with it.”
