Page 22 of Savior

Mike took a deep breath. “I think I’ll always want to use, Kate. I’m an addict. If it’ll fuck me up, make me forget for a while, I’m interested.”

“What is it you want to forget?” I whispered, already feeling the sting of unshed tears behind my eyelids.

He didn’t have to say anything.

I knew.

It was the entire reason for my visit.

The two of us shared the same pain, the same feeling of betrayal. We’d just dealt with it in entirely different ways. I’d avoided all contact with my mother and sister, choosing to drown myself in work while he’d turned to drugs and alcohol.

Instead of telling me to fuck off, Mike pinched the bridge of his nose. “I want to forget that the man I idolized abandoned us.”

I nodded. “Is that what triggered your relapse, do you think?”

I knew next to nothing about my half-brother, other than the fact that he was a cop. I’d only found out that he was using drugs when Lauren called Nate for help the night he overdosed. It wasn’t as if I was unfamiliar with addicts; I’d even spent time counseling a few when I was just starting out.

This was family, though.

As much as I wanted to be understanding, resentment welled up within my veins. Mike had spent more time with my father than either Dakota or I had. I would’ve given up every measly possession I owned if it meant even five minutes alone with Grey, and Mike had taken it for granted. Then, he’d gone and fallen off the wagon, leaving everyone, including his wife, to fend for themselves.

It left me feeling anything but compassionate to his plight.

He folded the corner of one of the quilts down into a small triangle before looking over at me. “That isn’t what triggered it. I—I lost my job.”

I kept my face impassive, even though his revelation surprised me. I’d been under the impression that he’d been very successful as a detective. “What about the club?”

His eyes dropped down to the quilt again, sounding irritated as he admitted, “Bear’s running the club… said a badge would never wear a Silent Phoenix kutte.” He ran a hand over his beard, trying and failing to smooth it down. “To top it off, Lauren’s pregnant. So, Counselor, just how the fuck am I supposed to tell her that I lost it all?”

I leaned back and shook my head, feeling every bit as trapped as he had been. “Can you fight it—being let go, I mean?”

He shrugged. “Doubtful. Whoever was helping the Sons is still pulling strings in the department. I just can’t figure out why.”

Already knowing the answer, I asked, “Has anyone heard from them?”

He watched me closely. “Not a fucking peep. Why would they stop now? I looked into it, and not once has a rival club backed down after taking out another MC’s Pres. If their intention was to take over the area, then they would’ve done it by now. It was like Grey was their sole target, not the club.”

I might’ve been ignorant about the ways of bikers but was well-versed in dealing with crazy ex-wives, enough to know that there was always an endgame when it came to the enemy.

“Maybe they think he’s dead. I mean, those of us that were at the cemetery know he’s alive, but they don’t.”

Mike clawed at an invisible itch on his arm before shaking his head. “I went out to see your mother… admitted to every biker there that the casket was empty. Before he was shot, Grey told me that someone within the club was giving up intel—”

I jumped out of my chair and crouched beside Mike near the couch as someone pounded a fist against the front door, the heel of my hand pressed to my heart to silence its thrashing.

Gloria materialized in the hall, holding a feather duster and still humming the same unfamiliar tune. The hairs on my arms stood on end, the need to warn her resting on the tip of my tongue, but I suddenly couldn’t speak.

Until now, I’d listened to my husband and avoided all contact with my family. It had made sense then. My mother had chosen to live her life always looking over her shoulder, and with Dakota’s lifelong obsession with superheroes and villains, it made sense that she’d be eager to tag along.

Not me, though.

I wasn’t willing to risk mine and Nate’s careers for a man I barely knew.

Only my husband wouldn’t see it that way. When he found out that I’d been murdered along with my half-brother, he’d mistakenly assume that I’d betrayed his trust.

“I don’t want to die,” I whispered.

“Kate,” Mike sighed heavily. “If someone came here to kill us, they wouldn’t bother knocking first.”

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