Page 41 of Savior

John had stepped in after Grey moved us down south. No matter how hard he worked, he was never too busy to spend time with his son and the fatherless kid who always seemed to be at his house.

Maybe Grey had always known he couldn’t be the father he wanted to be and had recruited John to fill in.

Maybe I was still full of shit after all these years, imagining that Grey had given a damn.

Angel sighed. “Yeah, Slim was a biker until the day he died. Seemed like some days, he was the only one who could get through to Jamie, ya know?”

I thought of David and how, even with his own problems, he’d managed to be the voice of reason on more than one occasion.

Did he know who his dad was?

Did any of us truly know who our parents were?

“Why are you telling me all this now, old man?” I asked as George wiped at my face with a cool damp cloth, signaling the end of my shave.

He shifted the chair forward before spinning it around to face the mirror. I brought my hand up to touch my bare skin. It was like I was seeing myself for the first time.

Angel’s eyes met mine in the reflection. “I told you all that because it’s time to man up, Mike. I mean it. Jamie’s gone; someone has to take his place. That someone is you—”

“Just one problem—the club already turned me away—”

“And?” He shrugged. “What’s that got to do with shit? Your daddy made it clear that you’d never patch in, swore you’d never be forced to be somethin’ you ain’t.”

I laughed. “Well, news flash, Angel. I ain’t a cop anymore either. Unless you’re about to bestow some magical powers on me, I don’t see that there’s anything for me to run.”

Instead of agreeing with me, Angel ran a hand over his mouth with a sigh. “Celia’s gonna go after the Sons, kid. With, or without the club’s help. Several others have decided to stand with her…”

“Like a team?” I asked, my eyebrows bunching together. “Jesus, Angel, you couldn’t get all of us on the same page if we were being paid.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You may be right. Be sure and tell your wife your reasons for being a pussy next time you see her, okay?”

“My wife?”

“Face looks great as usual, George. Let’s get his hair cleaned up next. Need him lookin’ presentable.” Angel turned back to face me with a wide grin. “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you… goin’ after the Sons was Lauren’s idea. Girl’s recruited herself a nice little group. Last I checked, even Goblin had joined.”

Little Ricky?

“Oh,” he added. “And that tall guy… what’s his name? Jed? No. Jack? Jimmy!”

Jesus fuckin’ Christ.

OD’ed once and suddenly my pregnant wife was running her own biker gang with the same fuckers who’d tried to steal her from me before.

“Is that right?” I snarled through clenched teeth. “Well, you let my wife know that she just got one more.”

He clapped me on the shoulder with a chuckle. “Gotta take care of your hair first, then we’ll see if she’ll let ya in.”

Chapter Nine

Kate

“Add white wine; bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan,” I muttered to myself while reading over the recipe on my phone screen. “Got it.”

I measured out the wine and added it to the skillet before tipping the bottle back into my waiting mouth. My head had been a mess since my visit to see Mike weeks ago.

I’d been trying to work up the courage to ask Nate about the night my father was shot but had been unsuccessful. There was no way to broach the subject without admitting that I’d been talking to my brother.

Tonight was going to be different, though.

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