Page 14 of Maddog

“Yeah. Tough guys worry too, kiddo. At least this one does. You, your mother, and your sisters are my entire world. I know you’re not supposed to have favorite children, but you’ve got a special place in my heart no one else can touch, Holly.” Wrath cleared his throat. “Might have been because you were sick when I met you, but I’m pretty sure it was more the way you busted my balls for hurtin’ your mom’s feelings. Even at four years old, you didn’t let me get away with shit. Your sisters think I’m always right and never question anything I do, but you always keep me honest.”

That got a startled laugh from both Holly and Celeste. “You’re so full of shit,” Celeste said through a watery smile.

“What? They do! Just ask them. They never tell me I’m wrong or that I’m too overprotective, or that they want to date boys or some shit. They are my precious angels, and they love me as much as I love them.”

“No doubt about that last part, Daddy.” Holly smiled up at her dad. It was a genuine smile, even though there was still a world of pain in her eyes. She was enjoying this brief respite from the dumpster fire this day had been. “They manage you,” Holly said, patting Wrath on the chest in commiseration. “That way they can do whatever they want, and you don’t even realize they’re not where they’re supposed to be.”

“They do not.” Wrath sounded scandalized, even gave Holly a fierce scowl like she’d affronted his dadhood or something.

“Hate to break it to you, honey,” Celeste chimed in. “But she’s right. I tried to tell you early on, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Wrath narrowed his gaze, looking from one of them to the other. Several times. Slowly, his face morphed from irritated, to confused, to stunned realization. “Well, I’ll be Goddamned.”

“Yep.” Celeste urged Holly closer to Wrath and steered them toward the front of the plane. Obviously, she didn’t want any issue with Andrea or Alistair and likely knew exactly what Wrath knew. I was sure Wrath was very aware of what his wife was doing. In fact, I’d bet that whole conversation had been staged to lead her in the direction her parents wanted her to go, both physically and mentally. Keep her distracted and she’d be less likely to panic. Just like when she was a kid.

I let Celeste lead Holly away, knowing I needed to meet with El Diablo and Shotgun to decide what was going to happen next. Wrath stayed. Probably because he wasn’t sitting by and let everyone else punish the people who’d hurt his daughter. Everything inside me told me to follow Holly, but I knew she’d be safe with her mother until I could get this straightened out. Hell, she probably needed time with her mother to get a better perspective on… well, many things. But most of all, me. Above all, I had to have the blessing of her mother and father to make my claim valid. That was going to take them being certain I was who Holly wanted.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” El Diablo marched toward me, a look of utter fury on his face. Wrath closed in on the other side of me. Same look.

“El Diablo…” My dad, Fury, stepped between me and our president. I think it was pure instinct on his part and, even though I trusted El Diablo with my life, and, more importantly, Holly’s life. If he and Wrath were getting ready to throw me a beating, I wanted to know what I’d done to screw up. You know. So I didn’t make the same fuckup again.

“What’d I do?” I was a grown-ass man in my thirties, but I felt like a green prospect under El Diablo’s displeasure.

“Get your ass inside the clubhouse and get my Holly Sweetness settled, asshole,” he snapped, using Holly’s nickname for me, likely on purpose. El Diablo could certainly come up with more creative derogatory names to call me than asshole.

“I wanted to check in with you and Shotgun first. Once I shut myself in a room with Holly, I don’t intend to leave it until we have a plan firmly in place for the two of us. She has more grieving to do, and I intend to let her get it all out. No matter how long it takes. She knows I won’t be long.” Now that I knew what the problem was, I was totally throwing both him and Wrath under the bus. “Unlike some people on this aircraft, I’ve been as straightforward with my woman as I can be about my activities and why and how long I intend on being away from her. Only misunderstanding we’ve had was in me not recognizing how my feelings for her changed over the years. She didn’t realize I no longer saw her as a kid sister, and I didn’t explain because I wasn’t sure she was ready.”

El Diablo glared at me for long moments. “Show-off.” Was it possible for him to sound equal parts disgruntled and proud?

“Yeah. Agreed.” Wrath gave me a sheepish grin as he scrubbed the back of his neck. “I’d tell you not to tell Celeste what happened, but I know you well enough to know that’s a futile request.”

I chuckled. “Hey. I may be an asshole, but I’m not a dumbass. I learned from your and El Diablo’s mistakes. Mainly because I make enough of my own without repeating someone else’s. Your secret’s safe with me. You know. Unless I need leverage.” There was no way to keep the grin off my face.

“That’s my boy.” Fury clapped me on the shoulder, sharing a proud smile with me. I’d only gotten to know my dad over the last eight or so years but I kinda felt like this one moment was when me and my dad finally came together as father and son.

He met my gaze. I was fairly certain I saw a sheen of tears in his eyes. I grinned. “Rotor dust can be a bitch when it gets into your eyes, old man.”

“Fuckin’ allergies,” Fury grumbled, but still smiled at me like the proud father I’d been determined to make him when I first came here to live with him after my mother died.

“Sure, allergies.” I smirked back at him. The banter was a welcome relief from the tension of the past few hours. It wouldn’t last long, but I needed the break before going into this meeting with the officers of my club. We all shared a quick chuckle before sobering.

I sighed, knowing this was gonna be messy. I was simultaneously looking forward to the carnage about to ensue next, and dreading coming back to Holly with blood on my hands. I knew she’d be OK with it, but I still didn’t like it. “Nothing like this shit should ever fuckin’ touch her.” The muttered comment came out before I could censor it.

Turning back to El Diablo, I scrubbed a hand over my face, suddenly wearier than I could ever remember being. “So, what now?”

El Diablo flashed a small grin, his dark eyes burning into mine, and I knew whatever he and Shotgun found left him little doubt how to continue. “First things first -- we need to figure out what the hell Alistair’s game is. How deep does this betrayal go?”

“And does his father know about it?” I was remembering the conversation Chris Alistair had had earlier. “Little punk called his old man about halfway through the flight home. I figured he’d called to complain so his daddy could ruin our lives and shit. Could have been something more to it.”

I half expected everyone to tell me I was crazy, but they all looked deadly serious. “Did Holly say anything about it?”

“No. I don’t think she suspected anything like this. All she knew was that she had a bad feeling about Chris and Andrea wouldn’t listen to her. So, she made herself her best friend’s protector.”

“Why was she there?” Wrath stroked his short beard in agitation. “Why did she insist on going on this trip in the first Goddamned place? Then not tell me or her mother? I’m upset she ran off on her own and tried to hide it from me, but I’m more upset that she didn’t come to me if she thought something was off with this guy.”

“Already talked with her about that.” Even though I knew Wrath would rather chew off his own arm than say anything to intentionally hurt Holly’s feelings, I was feeling super protective of her at the moment. A combination of her running away from me straight into danger and the newness of our romantic relationship. And I can’t believe I even thought the wordromantic. That alone could get my man card revoked. “She said all she had was a feeling and that she didn’t want to call out the big guns until she knew for sure there was an actual problem.”

“Sounds like Holly.” Wrath met my gaze.

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