Page 70 of My Darling Mayhem

“I know you’re probably freaked out, but Archer can handle this.”

My smile was pathetically weak, as were our voices as we ensured the boys didn’t wake. “This is just new for me.”

It was dark outside the truck windows, but my gaze drifted to the side mirror where I watched the singular headlight following us. Two men rode ahead of us, and several more were behind Archer, taking up the rear. The second I had mentioned that man’s looks, Archer’s brows dipped then raised as if all at once it dawned on him who had been there, and then he stared at me as if he expected me to move my new property patch and reveal a bullet wound.

His panic shot through me as he pulled Kane into his arms, then told Thistle to take Cruz. I was so confused at the way his tone had turned militant and how everyone around him seemed to mobilize without question. Archer’s truck was up on the grass within minutes. Only the driver’s door and back passenger were open. His members had guns drawn, keeping them low tothe ground while Thistle and Archer continued to usher us to safety. My head spun, still trying to piece together what had just happened.

The threat I’d felt from the man had settled in my chest like a poisonous fume, clouding and deteriorating tissue with each second that passed, but there was too much going on for me to even have a moment to wrap my head around it. The man who’d spoken to me was obviously dangerous, and as I tried to collect the pieces, I had to assume that perhaps this was Archer’s father. He’d told me he was dangerous, wanted to potentially take Kane, and looked so much like them both.

I climbed over the console to the passenger side while Kane and Cruz were buckled into the back. Thistle took the driver’s seat, and Archer approached the side of the truck moments later. He pulled the door open, and within seconds, his hands cradled my jaw and pushed into my hair.

“I need to watch from the road in case something happens…” His voice caught, and as he started to pull away, I gripped his wrists to keep him with me.

His eyes searched mine, and I found fear in his gaze, making my stomach flip. I knew Archer wanted to hear what the man said to me, but it seemed he needed to ensure we were safe first. I wanted him in the truck with us, but I also knew this was his role with this club. He needed to be the president, and I needed to trust him.

“Be safe.” I pressed my mouth to his in a quick kiss.

Archer held my face as he kissed me back, then pulled away. “Thistle will drive you home. I’ll be right behind him, but in case something happens, I will ask him to stay outside to protect you. A few members will be down the street, scouting as well. Don’t be alarmed by them, okay.”

I nodded, and then, with his eyes on mine, he moved out of my space and shut the door.

Thistle glanced over at me, bringing me back to the moment. We’d been driving for a while, but I had no idea how long. It wasn’t like I could text Archer, so I hadn’t looked at my phone. Instead, my only connection to him was watching his headlight as he followed us.

“Are you able to tell me who that man was?” I asked, letting my voice echo softly in the cab, knowing the boys wouldn’t hear us.

Thistle shifted his hand on the steering wheel before checking the rearview mirror.

“I didn’t see him, but based on what you said…I assume it was Saul Green. Archer’s old man.”

Just as I thought.

“How would he have gotten the chance to be around your club without anyone noticing?”

I stared ahead. The taillights of a few motorcycles showed, and then the brake lights as we took a turn.

Thistle seemed to think this over before giving me a simple answer.

“He was wearing a cut with our colors. Blended right in.”

I perused the side of Thistle’s head, seeing his hair was shaved, leaving him bald with the smallest bit of growth. His bushy beard covered his mouth, making it difficult to read his expressions, but his eyes were kind, and those were much easier to understand.

“What does it mean that he was wearing your colors?”

Thistle’s long, tatted finger came up, pointing to his patches. “We call these our colors. It’s a way to identify which club you’re affiliated with. Can be dangerous if you’re in the wrong part of town.”

His comment only reminded me of what the man, Saul, had said about my connection to El Peligro and how it seemed that Archer would have known who I was or should have known. Itmade me think back to when Archer had recognized my tattoo…and asked about my name.

“Thistle?”

His head turned quickly, then returned forward. “Yeah?”

“Did you know who I was…when you met me and knew my last name?"

I observed his features, but they didn’t change at all.

“As in, knew that you were Archer’s neighbor or that you worked at the same place he bought his house from?”

That answered how Archer knew where I worked before I had told him. How did I bring up what Saul had mentioned without bringing up my family? What if Thistle kidnapped me and my son, thinking he was being loyal to Archer…I trusted Archer, but did I trust the man he considered his second?

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