Page 127 of Protector

“Celia—”

“Is fine,” he hurriedly added. “Goblin’s got her, but he’s sayin’ that Carnage was ridin’ with colors… explain that.”

I couldn’t.

I finally understood what she’d had been trying to communicate to me after Dakota was arrested. She’d survived being beaten and raped, and never once admitted that she was afraid. Sure, she’d get jumpy over unexpected sounds, but anyone would’ve. I’d been convinced that there was nothing in the universe that could shake her.

Until that night.

She’d known then what we were up against and looked to me to be her stability… her defender. I’d survived Donald Quinn and gone up against clubs like the Sons without breaking a sweat, but the thought of doing anything that might hurt or put Celia’s life at risk scared the fuck out of me.

I wanted to get them somewhere safe, but safe was a fairy tale; a bedtime story meant to help kids fall asleep. Places like that didn’t exist in the real world.

They never had.

* * *

“We inserted a chest drain and his BP stabilized. He’s sedated for now, but I’m going to watch him closely for the next hour.” Nate addressed Mikey, doing everything he could to not make eye contact with me.

It was as if he knew that I’d ignored the sign posted on the front doors that demanded I not enter the facility with a concealed handgun.

Despite the fact that she’d had divorce papers drawn up, my daughter was still inexplicably married to the good doctor.

I sank back in the small hospital chair with a sigh. I couldn’t shake the shit with the Serpents. It had eaten at me most of the drive down. There was something I was missing, but in my exhausted state, I couldn’t figure out what it was.

“We’ve gone without colors and brought other chapters in, but the Sons have recruited everybody and their fuckin’ mother for the sole purpose of outnumberin’ us.”

Mikey fidgeted with his wedding band before looking up at me. “No colors ever. Drop the kuttes. From there, we’ll stake out what they’re claiming is their territory and light ‘em up.”

I’d been fighting since I was sixteen. I wondered if I’d known what it was going to cost me then if I still would’ve sent Donald to the Reaper. Maybe if I hadn’t, I would’ve finished high school… gone to college.

I could’ve made something of myself; been a man who was worthy of Celia Cross.

The scenarios in my head had changed over the years, but the one constant was her. In a thousand lifetimes, I’d still choose her.

“Fuck, Mikey,” I admitted. “I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to hold on to that lower rocker.”

I didn’t want to fight anymore.

I wanted to be a husband; a father. The one thing I’d fought against my entire life I now craved.

I wanted to be a nobody.

His hands began to tremble, and he shoved them under his thighs with a small nod. “You know, there’s a conversation we need to have.”

I’d known the day was coming but had hoped it would take place under better circumstances, when I wasn’t being pulled in fifty different directions.

He deserved better.

Mikey took my silence as hesitance and added, “Old man, I’ve listened to you my entire life. It’s your turn to listen to me for once. We both know that you’re my father and if Lauren figured it out based on our mannerisms alone, we’re fucked.”

I looked down at my boots. I should’ve known his wife was the one who’d made the connection. The girl was better than the FBI.

“It won’t be long before others notice—my mother made it very clear that if Comedian found out, all hell would break loose. Are you prepared to deal with that on top of everything else? Because I don’t know that I am.”

When I lifted my head, he was watching me intently, his chest rising and falling from exertion. If I’d just kidnapped him as a kid and moved us all out of the country, we could’ve been living on a beach somewhere, without a fucking care in the world.

“I was a fuckin’ kid, Mikey. If I had it to do over again, I would’ve claimed you as mine from the beginning. I did my best to keep you safe from him, but I know I fuckin’ failed you. I should’ve just put him in the ground when I had the opportunity.”

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