Page 4 of Guardian

I bit back the words to correct him and continued spying.

“You’re a liar, Jackson. No mentor looks like that. You just want us to think you’re special. Well, you’re not. You’re jealous that my mentor bought me a brand-new bicycle, so you’re making stuff up,” the boy spit in Jackson’s face.

“No, I’m not! He’s big and scary. I swear! He’ll kick your ass if you don’t shut up. I don’t lie or make shit up. I don’t have to. I don’t care about your damn bicycle either!” Jackson shouted.

“Jackson,” I rumbled as I stepped in with my hands on my hips and my best glare. I flexed my arms as I admonished Jackson, bringing all eyes to their size and the tats covering them. “We discussed the cursing issue. It’s not appropriate at your age, and there’s no need to be rude. There are better words to use.”

The boys stumbled backward. Clearly, they feared the monster I appeared to be. It made my traitorous heart leap with joy. The little shits deserved to be afraid.

“Mom’s not here,” Jackson grumbled, looking at me instead of the boy he’d been arguing with. Thank goodness there was no such fear on his face.

“It doesn’t matter. Good manners should be used everywhere. Besides, I’m exactly as you described. I’m big and scary, and I’ll be happy to fight anyone who says differently, especially anyone who dares to call you a liar or spits in your face.”

Every kid had his mouth hanging open in shock. I definitely didn’t look like the other mentors. Some were in suits, others in sportswear. None came close to being my size, and if they had any tats, they were hidden under the polos and khakis.

For the benefit of the kids, I growled at the fatty and said, “Is the Rock here? I’ll take him on if you want proof of how scary I can be. We’ll see who’s the bigger man. Is he your mentor?”

“No, sir,” he whimpered. “My mentor is the man at the hot dog stand in the plaid coat.”

The man he pointed out was a tub of lard. I held back a rude comment and a laugh. Fighting him wasn’t what I’d have considered fun. One punch in that soft belly and he’d go down, tossing up the hot dog he was currently chowing down.

“Well, if we don’t have to worry about a fighting match, then let’s get to raising money. Where are we all supposed to be?” I asked.

“I signed us up for the strong man booth. You have to arm wrestle and swing the big hammer to ring the gong. Anyone can challenge you for two bucks. We’ll make a ton of money!” Jackson explained.

He was right. At first, the men stayed away, intimidated by me. But once they saw Jackson and me joking with the administratorand him arm wrestling with me, they came in droves. There was a line all afternoon.

My arm was growing sore when I spied her. She had curves that would have made her a fortune in any strip club and long black hair that hung to her fine ass, which was covered in skintight jeans. Her swaying walk was enough to make me drool, and she was headed directly for us.

As she drew closer, I saw the look in her eyes, and it wasn’t in the least bit friendly. If looks could really kill, then I was a dead man.

“Mijo, it’s time to go. You’ve got a doctor’s appointment,” she stated, not greeting me at all.

The beauty was Jackson’s mother. It took me a moment to process that information and tamp down my desire. She was off limits, and still, my cock was in serious need of deflating.

“Mom, I can’t go to the stupid doctor. We’re raising tons of money for the club. I’ve gotta stay,” Jackson whined in a way I’d never heard before.

“It’s almost impossible to get a Saturday appointment, mijo. We have to go. You know I work all week and can’t take you then. Come on or we’ll be late.”

“I wanna stay,” Jackson whined again.

“We’ve made more money than anyone else, Jackson. Probably double. Obey your mother. You owe her respect. We talked about that, or have you forgotten?” I chided.

I held a hand out to her and said, “I’m Kirk, Jackson’s assigned mentor.”

She ignored the hand, gave me a curt nod, and replied, “We’re late.”

She grabbed Jackson by the hand, and they walked away. Her body was tense. Her hips no longer swayed. I’d been thoroughly rebuffed, and I didn’t understand why. Surely, Jackson had toldher about my appearance, so she wasn’t surprised by it. What the hell was the matter with her?

And why the fuck did it bother me so much?

Chapter 3

Crowds bothered me. Iwasn’t exactly happy about wandering through all those people in the park. It was a wide-open area filled with strangers, and I worried that some of Mitch’s cohorts were lurking around to bring me trouble.

I learned to watch my back after I left him because I feared we’d never be completely safe. The threat the thug had made that fateful night when Jackson was a baby hung like a black cloud over my head. At any moment he or someone associated with him could appear and destroy us.

Twelve years meant nothing to his kind. They’d wait as long as necessary for revenge. Besides, I had the feeling that Mitch had moved on to a worse situation where troublemakers ended up dead.

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