“Glad you think that way seein’ as you’re adopted. Now, we done?”

No, I wasn’t done.

“As lovely as you’re all being, I’m uncomfortable about taking help from people I don’t know.”

“Get over it.”

I waited but that was it.

Get over it.

“I’m not sure I can,” I shared.

“Try harder,” he replied.

I stared at him.

Then I glared.

He watched one turn into the other and the second it did, he muttered, “Fuck, we’re not done.”

“No we aren’t!” I yelled. “Your people practically bought me a new car and got me free legal counsel!”

“Carissa, do you know what a retainer is?” he asked.

“Yes,” I snapped.

“Then you know this Club gave that firm a shit ton of money to be at our service. Luckily, we don’t need them often, so they sit on our money and do fuck-all. It’s no skin off our nose and actually is a good thing they’re doin’ somethin’ to earn that pay.”

This made sense so I let that go, for now.

“You shouldn’t curse,” I admonished sharply.

His head jerked back. “Seriously?”

“I’m a lady. It’s rude.”

“You are a lady but I’m a biker and I do what the fuck I want,” he shot back.

“Do you speak like that in front of Tyra?”

“You’ve known her a day, Butterfly. She’s got a mouth on her too.”

Women often cursed so he was probably right.

I tried a different tack. “Do you speak like that in front of your mother?”

His face went hard and he pierced me direct through the heart with his reply.

“Don’t have one. Never did. She took off before I could crawl. So no. I don’t. ’Cause I never got the chance.”

I fell silent, feeling it deeply, but not believing it because I couldn’t fathom it.

Travis was scooting around like a crazy boy. Which would mean Joker’s mother left before he was Travis’s age.

“How could that be?” I whispered.

“You know,” he replied bitingly, uncrossing one arm and jabbing a finger my way, but his next words caused no harm. Far from it. “That right there is why Chaos has thrown down for you. That look on your face. Those words outta your mouth.” He crossed his arm back on his chest. “You got no clue how a woman could do that to her kid. We know that your kid needs that kind of woman in his life. Fuckin’ let it go and fuckin’ let us help, for fuck’s sake.”

“That’s three f-words in one sentence,” I said quietly.

He threw out both hands. “Who gives a fuck?”

His response was funny and I wanted to laugh. I really did.

And I didn’t remember the last time I laughed at anything that wasn’t something that Travis did.