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Pretty Little Hellion (Rocker Universe: Pretty Little #3) 10. Hayat 44%
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10. Hayat

Chapter Ten

Hayat

Shy was not in my vocabulary. All my life, I’d always had the world’s eyes on me, and I made sure that what they saw was worth talking about. That no matter how much they watched, I wasn’t going to change who I was.

It was why Havoc had become such an important, integral part of me. I was still me, but finally— finally —I could be the full version of me. Without holding back a drop of emotion, because I could hide it from the cameras in my hoodie. I held all the control when it came to being Havoc.

Now, the world knew Hayat Cutter was Havoc.

Online, people could run their mouths because they could hide behind their keyboards and screens. That shit made people confident as fuck. Getting to spew hate, laugh because they thought they were responsible for knocking a person to their supposed lowest point.

And maybe, just maybe, I was a little…

Not shy.

But not necessarily confident either.

Needing to feel like I was in control of the situation, I went into First Bass hours before it was scheduled to open, when the bartenders were stocking the shelves and the first shift of waitresses came in to make sure everything was ready to go.

Thursday nights were the busiest at my dad’s club, and that was because of the live bands that played. Everyone tried to get in to see the new artists Harris Cutter was giving his stamp of approval to. Those who, in a year’s time, would no doubt be all over the top charts and gearing up for their first tour. And the patrons who swarmed First Bass every Thursday could proudly claim they saw the band first. They had known they would do amazing things, go to the top, and stay there.

They knew it.

Nate was already there, overseeing the security checkpoints, making sure they had enough bottled imported beer in the fridges. Plenty of champagne for the VIPs. That the bathrooms sparkled and the floors were clean enough to eat off—if food had been allowed. But Dad hated dealing with the health department, so there would never be food served in his club.

Nate gave me a hug as soon as he saw me, a grin on his handsome face. “Hellion is in the building, everyone. This is not a drill. All hands on deck.”

Rolling my eyes at him, I pushed at his chest. But he caught my hand before I could drop it, lifting it to examine my knuckles.

“Mom called you?” I huffed, letting him poke and prod, because his face had lost its infectious grin, replaced by genuine concern.

“Harris,” he confirmed, wiggling my middle finger to test for discomfort. “Charlotte might have sent Riley a picture of Maddie’s face as well.”

I snorted. “How did Char know?”

He finally released my hand. “Banks called Evan, who messaged Bentley, who then called Charlotte. She went over to Maddie’s, where she mass-texted all the Tainted Knights wives and the Blonde Bombshells. Which resulted in Kin and Amara calling Riley at the ass-crack of dawn—which was very much not welcome, thank you very much. Because I was here with your dad until four in the morning, kissing VIP asses. So anyway, Kin called your mom from fuck knows where in Australia, because she was worried, and Harris followed up with me about two hours ago, confirming Charlotte’s story to the last detail.”

Laughing at the extensive explanation, I shook out my hand, continuing to stretch my fingers. I had no pain, but the middle knuckle did feel tighter than I wanted. I needed to keep it loose. “Sounds like you’ve already had an exhausting day.”

“Typical Thursday drama.” Tugging on one of my curls, he gave me a searching look. “You okay? Charlotte said Maddie threw some ugly words at you.”

I shrugged. “Who doesn’t enjoy being called a whore by someone they once considered as close as a sister?” Then there was the whole thing with Pop-Pop and Nana not believing me when I’d called them. I pressed a hand to the center of my chest, trying to rub away the sore spot that continued to grow. “I’m just going to make sure everything is set up for later. Ignore my presence. I promise not to get in anyone’s way.”

“You need anything, you let me know,” he said firmly.

Giving him a small smile, I nodded as I backed away. “Will do, but I should be good for now. You do you, and I’ll take care of this.”

For the next hour, I made sure the stage was set up, then went upstairs to the lighting booth to confirm everything was in order there. They had a tech guy who only worked Thursday nights for the audio and lighting of the stage, but my need for control wouldn’t let me sit idly.

The club opened at seven, but the live show wasn’t until nine, which meant I had hours to kill before I took the stage with my rockers. On the outside, I was calm and cool, but inside, I was a quaking mess of insecurity and anxiety.

I wasn’t a fan of either emotion.

“Hayat.”

Lifting my attention from the many buttons of the lighting system, I watched my dad walk toward me. Concern darkened his expression, but I shoved my hand in his face as soon as he was close enough. “No swelling. No pain. The bruising isn’t even as bad as it was when I first woke up.” I flexed my fingers one at a time, showing him that they still worked. “I sent Mom pictures as soon as I got out of bed this morning so she wouldn’t send a doctor over.”

He took my hand, but he didn’t glance at my fingers. Instead, he pulled me into a tight hug. As soon as his arms were around me, some of the anxiety rolling around in my head calmed. Closing my eyes, I hugged him back. Dad hugs were one of my favorite kinds of hugs.

Feeling some of his own tension leaving his body, I smiled. Maybe daughter hugs were one of his favorite kinds of hugs.

Long moments passed, neither of us in a rush to pull away. He rested his chin on top of my head, and a million happy memories flooded my mind, all of them featuring my dad. No matter what, he’d always been there, cheering me on, making it possible for me to believe in myself as I carved my own path through life. I had a lot of people to thank for getting to this moment, but none more so than my parents.

When he finally pulled away, I was still smiling. Until he opened his mouth. “Maddie—”

I flinched at the sound of her name. Raising my hands, I cut him off. “I am aware we need to have a conversation about her and what happened last night. But not now. Today, I’m going to focus on Autumn’s Slumber’s first live show.”

His mouth snapped shut, but after a few seconds, he nodded. “That’s fair. But can I just say one thing?”

Reluctantly, I nodded.

Eyes softening, he tucked a few of my curls behind my ear. “I am behind you, one hundred percent. Always. In everything, no matter what. You are amazingly talented and beautiful, all the way to your soul, Hayat. And while I would like to take a little credit for that, I know it is solely because you are you. Tonight, you are going to kick ass, just as you have done in everything else you’ve set out to accomplish. Because, Hayat, you are your mother’s daughter. You are a warrior. You…” He cleared his throat, blinking rapidly, and I felt a burning behind my own eyes.

Crying was the last thing I wanted to do, today of all days. But seeing the pride in his eyes, hearing the emotion thickening his voice, I found it impossible not to.

“Dad—”

“You’re going to do great things, sweetheart. I believe in you.”

“I’m so nervous,” I whispered, voicing my anxiety for the first time.

His lips tilted up, amused, sad, and…accepting. “Don’t be. Tonight, with those boys, you’re going to create magic.”

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