Page 35 of Protector

When I found the videotapes, I realized that Comedian was never going to let Mikey move on. He was going to take my son’s mistake and exploit it for his own gain.

Keeping a tight hold on the neck of the tequila bottle, I stumbled outside and away from the sounds of celebration. I was going to be forced to watch my son walk down the same path that I had.

There was no victory in that.

It was just another reminder that I’d failed.

I slipped around to the side of the clubhouse and into the shadows before retrieving the plastic bag from my pocket. Slim had warned me to quit using, said it fucked with my judgment, but being sober hadn’t done me any real favors lately either.

“Thought I might find you out here.”

I dropped the bottle into the dirt and took a bump before responding. “It’s like you just know to go where you’re not wanted, Betsy.”

There was enough moonlight coming through the trees overhead for me to see her lips as they pushed into a pout. “C’mon, Grey. Don’t be like that. I wanted to thank you for helping Mikey out—”

I ignored her praise, fighting the urge to send the entire bag up my nose. Instead, I settled for another hit. “This what you want for him? Goin’ nowhere but hell?”

Pain flashed in her eyes, and she looked away. “I want him to have a choice, the same as you, but—”

“But what? How’s he doin’ with all this? Does he—is he—” I blew out a frustrated breath. “Is he like me?”

Her eyebrows moved together as she frowned. “I don’t know what you mean. What’s wrong with you?”

It took me by surprise. Either she hadn’t been paying attention over the years or living with Comedian had completely fucked her sense of good and evil.

“I’m a killer, Betsy,” I bit out slowly. “A fuckin’ monster. So, I’ll ask again; is our boy like me?”

She took a hesitant step back, eyes darting side to side, searching for a way out of the conversation. “Mike—he’s a good kid. You and I both know that he didn’t mean to kill that boy. And despite what Comedian thinks, he doesn’t want a patch.”

My throat, still raw from the liquor, tightened at the admission. “What does he want?”

“To go into law enforcement.”

In spite of the situation, my lips curved up into a smirk, and I chuckled.

“I’m serious, Grey,” she said quietly. “Maybe he was scared straight or something… I don’t know. It doesn’t matter now, though, does it? Michael said he made his choice when he took a life. In by blood, out by blood.”

My smile faded. “Don’t recite the goddamn club mantra to me; I’m still the Pres. I call the shots, and I decide who wears the patch and who doesn’t.”

If we put it to a vote, the other members would probably be more than happy to see Sullivan’s boy patch in. I just had to keep it from coming to that.

Instead of backing down, she jutted her chin up at me, looking so much like Celia that it knocked the air from my lungs. I cut the distance between us and took her face in my hands before the rational part of my brain reminded me that the woman in front of me wasn’t fit to wipe my wife’s ass.

I released her and backed away while she watched in amusement. “Still trying to run from this, after all these years. Why? We were good together once—”

The blow and tequila were playing tricks on me, forcing me to see Celia’s face everywhere I looked. I raked my hands through my hair in frustration. “Once was bad enough. I’m Celia’s—from now until I take my last breath. What part of that ain’t stuck yet? Jesus, you really did fuck away all your sense—”

Her palm cracked across the side of my face, and I clenched my hands into fists, aching to retaliate.

“Why? Why her, Grey? You’ve been saving yourself for a woman who didn’t waste any time moving on when she thought you were dead. She’s not some saint; why can’t you see that?”

I planted my palm against her chest and shoved, sending her stumbling back. “And you are?” I snarled. “You don’t know a fuckin’ thing when it comes to her.”

Betsy straightened and stalked back toward me triumphantly. “Really? At least I stayed celibate for my man; even when we were apart.”

With a hiss, I leaned in again. “Are you not counting all the times you threw yourself at me the minute his back was turned? You know he ain’t ever been faithful to you—”

“I know she had another man’s baby in her belly the night she was beaten,” she cut me off with a vicious smirk.

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