Page 28 of Savior

I’d always imagined myself as Punisher, but maybe Big Guy had seen something in me that I hadn’t been able to see in myself. Captain America refused to back down even when the deck was stacked against him.

He wouldn’t have taken Bear, or Hydra, or anyone else’s words as gospel. I had to do this, not just for my father, but for the baby kicking in my belly and the brother who’d lost his way. I would plant myself like a tree and refuse to bend for anyone.

“Lauren,” I said, sounding stronger than I had in months. “I’m with you… until the end of the line.”

Chapter Six

Celia

3MTA3.

The vanity license plate on the shiny red BMW greeted me as I pulled into my driveway. I stifled a groan before unbuckling, knowing exactly who it belonged to.

The only woman in the world who would think that having the mirror image of‘eat me’on her license plate was the epitome of class.

I slammed the car door and stepped over the multitude of vases littering the porch. At some point, I’d given up on taking them all inside, leaving the delicate blooms to battle the freezing temperatures alone.

The inside of the house wasn’t much better.

Almost every available surface was littered with flowers in various states of decay. It had always struck me as odd that we gave living things to commemorate death.

What good were flowers when I’d been given a throne of ebony by the god of death himself?

Initially, Lucy had kept up with the watering and trimming, but even she’d gone back to her normal life, leaving me with an entire greenhouse to manage on my own.

That was what happened, wasn’t it?

After any tragedy, the initial outpouring of love and support was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It was in the weeks and months after that people began to drop off or fade away. The same ones who’d insisted I call them if I needed anything suddenly went out of their way to avoid a conversation with me at the grocery store.

Maybe they would’ve stuck around were my husband actually dead instead of just missing. As it was, every day since the funeral had been spent sifting through the rumors to find a grain of truth.

He’s just hiding out until the dust settles…

You know Jamie, he’s a master of faking his own death…

He’s working with the feds…

I’d heard it all at this point, but I didn’t believe a word of it. They would never come close to scratching the surface of who Jamie Quinn was. I knew his heart and soul as well as my own, and he’d promised me that he wouldn’t leave like before.

The setting sun cast an eerie orange glow over the porch, and I took a deep breath before glancing toward the swing. “Did Bear send you?”

Molly raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow before rocking back. “You know better than that, Celia. When have I ever let that man tell me to do anything?”

I shifted my purse to the other shoulder before leaning against the railing. “Really? I haven’t heard from you in weeks, Molly. Weeks! Look me in the eye and tell me that’s not Bear.”

“Things are…” She sighed. “Things are hard right now—”

“Bullshit,” I snapped. “Hard is being told your husband didn’t make it only to find out later that there was a massive cover-up. Hard is having to watch your kids fall apart all over again at losing him. Hard is knowing that Mikey nearly died from an overdose. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it’s not hard.”

Molly nodded and dropped her hands down to rest in her lap. “You’re right. I’ve been a shitty friend to you. I just…”

She paused, looking off toward the orchard. “I don’t know what to say. None of it makes any sense, and I didn’t want to push you for answers that you obviously don’t have.”

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. “If there’s a chance he’s still alive, then I won’t stop searching. I’ll march into the Son’s clubhouse if I have to, but I won’t turn my back and just forget to make your old man happy.”

“You think Bear would be happy with that? He’d been riding with Grey since they were kids, Celia—”

“Then, why is he doing this? Why is he making it seem as if he wanted my husband gone the entire time? Bear was quick to point the finger at Mikey, but the only one who’s benefitted here is him. We know for a fact that Cobra and the Sons are still out there, but the club suddenly wants to stay out of it? Why?”

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