Page 118 of Protector

She sniffed, and I knew she was crying. She had every right to because it shouldn’t have happened. I’d put measures in place to keep them safe, and it hadn’t meant shit.

“Hey, Jamie. Dakota’s got a broken nose, but she’s okay. Zane came out of surgery with no problems. It’s just—she, uh, she wants to get to know you—” Her voice cut off in a soft sob.

I ran my hand over my face, fighting back the tears with a smile. It no longer mattered who the fuck was in the room with me. My daughter knew I was still kicking and wanted a relationship. “Darlin’, that’s the best fuckin’ news I’ve had all night.”

Celia hiccuped loudly. “That’s not why I called though.”

“Believe me when I say I’m takin’ care of this—”

“She’s pregnant, Jamie.” Except for her ragged breaths, the line was silent.

Pregnant.

In my mind, Dakota was still a baby, screeching that her favorite superhero was ‘For,’ because she couldn’t make thethsound. She wasn’t old enough to be having babies of her own.

Fuck, she wasn’t old enough to even be thinking about sex.

“She’s knocked up by a badge?” I roared, and Jarvis backed out of the office with his palms raised while Mikey shook his head with a wince. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him.”

I looked over at Mikey. “What are those charges you can get on someone for fuckin’ your kid?” I asked. “You’re a cop, you know that shit.”

He frowned. “Statutory rape? Grey, I think the age of consent is seventeen, and what is Dakota? Twenty-two?”

“Thought you’d know all about the laws regarding that,” Celia deadpanned through the phone. I didn’t need to be reminded of how young she’d been when I popped her cherry.

“I got one elopin’ in Vegas, one knocked up by a cop… the fuck is this world comin’ to, Celia? I think right now, the only kid I got that’s doin’ a goddamn thing right is—” I caught myself just before saying the words, not missing the way Mikey’s head shot up in expectation.

He knew.

The truth was looking me right in the eye, and I still couldn’t say it. “Well, I think it’s pretty fuckin’ obvious that raisin’ kids is like tryin’ to herd feral cats.”

“Did you just say that Kate is getting married in Vegas?”

“Celia, I can’t hear—think—breaking up—Call—” I pressed the end button with a sigh and leaned back.

When I worked up the courage to make eye contact with my son again, he was watching me with an unreadable expression. “You know, Grey, there isn’t an easy way to say this, but…”

Here it was.

Time to set club bullshit aside and come clean.

“Between Celia and the girls…” He grinned. “You’re fucked.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Celia: October 2016

“You’re shakin’, Celia. Here, watch this.” Rick thrust his cell phone into my trembling hands. “If this don’t work, we’ll go out back and…” He held his thumb and index finger up to his lips like he was smoking a joint.

“I’m fine—” At the sound of giggling, I looked down at his phone just in time to see a cat launch itself off a counter and into a wall. “How is this supposed to help?”

He tapped the screen knowingly. “You watch a few minutes of this, and you’re chill as fuck. Most hilarious and funny cat videos, see? Says it right there. If this don’t work, we’ll break out the weed.”

My body tingled in anticipation, and I raked a hand through my hair, fighting to calm my nerves. Dakota had done surprisingly well with the revelation that her father was still alive; so well, in fact, that she’d insisted I come over to help her tell Kate.

Knowing what Jamie’s death had done to her, I was dreading every second.

“Look at this one,” Rick jabbed a finger into the screen again. “You think Grey would let us get a cat for the clubhouse? Man, I bet he’d be a great mascot… representin’ the club and shit. We could even call him Phoenix.”

---