Page 88 of Protector

“Sure it is. And I’m sure the weapons charges were for a health reason too, right? Trafficking, was it? There were so many that it’s hard to get it all straight. Anyway, that wasn’t the most interesting thing I learned.”

She paused dramatically, clearly waiting for us to begin taking guesses. “It’s the fact that you belong to a notorious outlaw motorcycle gang. What happened, Celia? Lost one trash biker and needed another to take his place? Didn’t you learn anything after they beat you up? You had so much potential when you were younger. Everyone just knew your smarts were going to take you somewhere amazing. Now, look at you.”

The fire in my belly worked its way up into my chest and wrapped its tendrils around my heart, fighting to remind me of how far I’d come. My pulse pounded, leaving my head throbbing, but I refused to break in front of her. Not anymore.

Keeping a tight hold on Angel’s shirt, I straightened to my full height and faced her head-on. “So, you figured out he’s a member of Silent Phoenix. Good for you. It doesn’t change a thing for me. I won’t have you near my girls ever again—”

“See, I thought you might say that, so I talked to a good friend of mine. Do you remember Judge Lucas? He gave you a very sizable gift for your graduation.” I briefly remembered the name, but instead of waiting for a response, she continued. “When it came to light that your new man friend had been convicted of child molestation, he agreed that we couldn’t push this under the rug. Not when the girls’ safety is at stake—”

Angel broke free from my hold and stalked toward my mother, sending her scurrying back toward the sofa. “What did you just accuse me of?” he snarled. “Those girls are like granddaughters to me. I ain’t ever touched them or any other kid, and you know it”—

“Now, you listen here.” My mother raised her finger again. “I know every judge in this town—”

“Stop!” My lungs narrowed, shortening my breaths into pants. “You don’t know anyone! If you’ve shown up here, hoping to intimidate me into letting you see my girls, you’ve failed!”

She perched against the back of the sofa; hands folded primly in her lap. “How do you think I kept your father out of jail when he barreled nose-first into a godless lifestyle? I didn’t come here to intimidate you. I came here to tell you that I’m taking the girls—”

As I fought to take a breath, Angel clenched his hands into fists and slowly approached her. “Over my dead body. Those girls belong with their mama. You had a chance to get to know them, and you blew it. Don’t make me call their daddy in to handle you.”

“Their daddy,” my mother snorted. “From where? The cemetery?”

“Jamie’s alive,” I stated flatly. “Didn’t Daddy tell you?”

“He? No, that’s impossible,” she faltered, before regaining her composure. “Even if that were true, it wouldn’t change things. I have an emergency custody order in my purse. The girls are going to be living with me and your father from now on.”

“No,” I ground out. “I will fight you with everything I have—”

“You won’t. Because if you do, your friend here will be locked up on child pornography charges, and you know how they treat those men behind bars. He’s no spring chicken either—”

“Celia, do it.” Angel ran a hand roughly over his face. “I don’t give a fuck where I end up as long as I know they’re safe with you.”

“I wasn’t finished,” she snapped. “Celia, it’s obvious you’re strung out. God only knows on what. I doubt you’d fare much better behind bars either. You can’t care for them—look at the state you’re in. They’d both end up just like you—knocked up before graduation and forced into the same life—”

“That’s enough,” Angel growled. “You ain’t threatenin’ her. You wanna lock me up, fine. I got people on the inside same as I do on the outside. But, leave Celia out of this.”

My mother eyed him defiantly. “I’ll take down your entire gang. Maybe it’ll come to light that you weren’t trafficking weapons, after all. Maybe this entire time, you’ve all been running a child prostitution ring—”

I was going to lose them.

Angel yanked his gun from a hidden holster on his hip and brought it to her head. “Maybe I’ll put you down right here—”

Her throat bobbed up and down in a nervous swallow before she found her voice again. “That might’ve worked had I not alerted several friends of mine that I was coming here. You might want to check out front. I bet they’d be interested in hearing that the leader of a gang they’ve been tracking for years faked his death.”

With every shaky step toward the front window, the ache in my chest intensified, the pressure leaving me gasping for air. Two squad cars sat in the driveway, drawing the attention of every nosy neighbor on the block.

“There’s cops outside, Angel,” my voice cut off in a sob, and this time, I didn’t fight it. “How can you do this to me? To them? I’m doing everything to keep them safe!”

“You’re leaving them to gamble!” My mouth fell open, and I didn’t miss the triumphant grin on her face. “Yes, I know about that. Several prominent friends of ours have spotted you at the casinos, throwing your money away.”

I’d never once gambled in a casino, only underground games. If my mother’s friends had seen me, I could fathom a guess as to how they’d risen to a position of power.

“I can’t lose them,” I begged.

“Then you and all of your outlaw buddies can enjoy prison together. I wonder how the girls would react to that being on the news. What would their friends think?”

She pushed off the sofa and adjusted her linen slacks before heading for the door. “You’ll drop them off by four o’clock sharp today, or I’ll have the entire police department in your front yard, and they can watch as you’re placed in handcuffs. Your choice.”

The front door slammed shut behind her, and the uncontrollable shaking in my body grew until I was down on the carpet, clawing at my throat and feeling as if I was going to die.

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