Page 17 of Savior

I’d worked with Silent Phoenix for years, and while Bear hadn’t wanted me anywhere near a kutte, it was heavily implied that I’d continue to use my badge to help them out. I refused. Cut ties with the club and decided to go straight, only to lose it all only days later.

Zane mulled over my words with a slow nod. The man was so even-keeled and quiet that it was a wonder he’d ended up with the woman who never seemed to shut up.

“It’s gotta be an unlucky coincidence.”

I worked my jaw back and forth before voicing the concerns that had plagued me for the better part of the afternoon. “What if it’s not?”

“The Sons targeted your family the night Grey was shot because you were helping the club,” Zane patiently explained. “Why would they continue to pursue you after you broke away? It doesn’t make sense.”

He was right.

Nothing about any of it made sense.

“What if Grey’s still pulling the strings?”

Zane shrugged while the tight expression on his face told me he thought I was full of shit. “Maybe?” he hedged.

I released an exasperated laugh. “Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Big Guy. Hear me out for a second, though. Grey goes dark, and the Sons immediately back down. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

“They think he’s dead, Mike. Why would they continue a war when they’re convinced they’ve already won?”

I shook my head. “No, they have to know. Every member of the club was at Celia’s when I broke the news—”

“And one of those club members was working with the Sons!” he exclaimed, finally on the same page as I was. “Wait. That still doesn’t explain how Grey’s involved, though.”

“The day he was shot, he told me that he wanted me to run the club beside him. Said I couldn’t straddle the line anymore. Well, he has to know I walked away. Maybe this is his way of punishing me for not making the right choice. Now, I’ve got nothing.”

He ran a hand over his face and studied the bar top. “You’re his kid, right? What kind of a father would fake his own death just to sabotage his son’s career and send him to prison?”

“Buddy, you’ve got no idea of the shit that man is capable of. He blackmailed me over—” I froze, seeing the look of surprise on Patrick’s face as I swung… hearing the sound his head made as it connected with the curb.

“Over what?” Zane prodded.

“Over some shit I got into at eighteen… kid stuff, really.” I kept my voice light, hoping he didn’t start digging into my past. The tequila had loosened my lips to the point of being dangerous.

His mouth settled into a hard line. “So, your old man’s an asshole. If he wanted to dismantle his family, why disappear? Why wouldn’t he just do it out in the open, like every time before? Shit just doesn’t add up for me.”

I patted my pocket, comforted by the feel of the cocaine against my thigh. The alcohol had left my head a mess, blending my thoughts into nothing more than incoherent blobs. There’d always been a clarity with blow that helped me think.

Maybe that was what I’d been missing.

A clear mind.

Zane tracked my movements before clearing his throat. “Are you doing okay? Things at home… are they good?”

“Never better.” I grinned. “Lauren’s finally out of the first trimester. The headaches and morning sickness aren’t as bad—”

“Then why are you here?” he interrupted. “Why are you getting fucked up in the middle of the day if things are good? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you just took a year and a half of sobriety and pissed it all away because you have daddy issues.”

How the hell did he know how long I’d gone without hard liquor?

Was there a calendar they all kept?

It’s been five hundred days since Mike’s last fuck up.

“Yeah? Fuck you, Masterson!”

With a low growl, I shoved off the bar and moved toward the door. The vein in my forehead throbbed steadily, as I turned to face him again. “Excuse the fuck out of my goddamn French, but you don’t know jack shit about my life! I’ve got everything under control over here, so, thanks for showing up to rub it in my face that I’m not a cop anymore, but you can shove your concern right up your motherfucking ass! I’ve got barbecue to get!”

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