Page 107 of Savior

Cobra closed his eyes briefly. “He’s dead—we didn’t want to believe it at first either, but after looking into it—”

The pressure in my head increased until my ears popped, and the truth in his words filtered in. “Looking into it? What the fuck does that mean?”

I never should’ve left you with them…

Tears stung the backs of my eyelids, and I thrashed from side to side, fighting to stay in control, refusing to accept that my son had been taken from me. I closed my eyes, no longer seeing Mikey as a grown man, but a scared little boy who’d needed protecting.

“Mr. Grey, it’s okay. I was climbing trees, and I fell. Didn’t shed one tear, though, because I’m a man… like you.” Mikey puffed his chest out in pride, doing his best to draw my attention away from the fingerprint-shaped bruises along his neck and shoulders.

Injuries that hadn’t come from any tree.

“Hopefully, that tree learned its lesson, kid,” I finally said when I’d regained the use of my tongue.

The grin on his face slipped, but he covered it up with a shrug. “Trees are pretty big, Mr. Grey.”

I clenched and unclenched my fist. “Sounds to me like you need an ax…”

His blue eyes went wide. “An ax?”

“Somethin’ to defend you should that tree get in your way again. Think of it as protection—”

Mike barreled into my legs, his tiny chest heaving with sobs. I sank down to my knees and his hands moved up around the back of my neck. “I got you—”

“I’m not a pussy, Mr. Grey. I just got something in my eyes,” he sniffled, keeping his face against my chest. “You think you know where I could find me an ax?”

He was so fucking small…

“Yeah, kid,” I said quietly, resisting the urge to stroke his dark blond hair, knowing it would only embarrass him further. “You got me.”

Mikey pulled back to look up at me, wiping the stray tears from his cheeks. “You? How can a person be an ax?”

“Look at me. You think that tree’s gonna lay a hand on you when I’m around?”

He quickly shook his head. “No, sir.”

I cupped the side of his face in my hand. “I’ll be your ax ’til I draw my last breath, kid. Ain’t one thing gettin’ past me to hurt you—”

A sharp pain pierced my chest, and I understood completely how someone could die from a broken heart. The jagged pieces of mine cut through walls of muscle and cages of bone as if they were made of butter.

I’d lost two children at the hands of bikers.

A body could only hold so much grief before it came spilling out in the form of blood; and this time, no doctor would be able to put me back together.

“Mikey!” A broken voice wailed. I looked to Cobra in shock before realizing the sound was coming from me. Muscle and bone shifted against old and new wounds as I pulled myself into a sitting position, but I no longer cared. I pushed past the crippling effects of dehydration and electrical jolts of pain, willing to tear myself to shreds for what I’d lost.

I no longer cared.

All this time, I’d kept my mouth shut and let them break my body down, thinking I was keeping him safe. If they were hurting me, they couldn’t hurt them. It was the same deal I’d made with my old man to keep my ma safe, but someone had broken the fucking rules.

I should’ve known better.

“Your family’s in danger,” Cobra said solemnly. Something flashed in his eyes, but he blinked before I could guess what it might have been.

“I’m gonna rip your throat out,” I said calmly before tugging at the restraint. In some last-second burst of strength bestowed upon grieving fathers, I yanked my arms forward, and the fabric tore from my left wrist, fluttering back down to a cot I was no longer lying on.

The first time I betrayed Death, I half-expected Hades to show up to drag me back to the underworld. A part of me had even craved it; this need to be done with all of it. He never showed, though, and I eventually ventured out of the shadows and back into my role as leader, convinced I’d never be caught.

The second time Death appeared, he hadn’t come alone. Ares was with him. They had the element of surprise; had chosen to ambush me when I least expected it. Still, I was kept alive.

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