Page 3 of Always Mine

“And you thought you were the kids to do it?You’re not long out of your diapers, and you think you could take on a whole club by yourself?”

Anthony stared at his father.The lapel of his leather cut was firmly gripped in his hands, along with his shirt.A shirt covered in Daisy’s blood.

Taking down the first wave of Monster Dogs MC outside of the compound, partying, had been easy.Like taking down a couple of beer cans.Easy targets.The true danger happened when they got inside, and that was when things went to shit.They’d been waiting and had been prepared.

That was when it had gone wrong.Anthony hadn’t stopped, but he’d known Daisy had followed him.The club members had become animals, taking them down, one by one, until Daniella.

Daniella was one of the girls who had hurt Tabitha in high school.She’d rounded up her posse of girls and attacked Tabitha when she was alone.Ryan had been there as well, when they all ganged up on Tabitha to beat the crap out of her and put her in the hospital.

Daisy had broken her vow to never fight in the quad after that.Anthony had known his woman kept herself on a tight leash.The moment she started, it was impossible for her to stop.That night, Daisy had broken Daniella’s face, and from what he heard, even plastic surgery hadn’t been able to fix the damage.

Tonight, he watched, for the first time in his life, feeling helpless, as Daniella not only shot Daisy in the fucking back, but while he was pinned down by one of the enemies, he watched that blade slide into Daisy’s stomach three times and then plunge in her chest.

Luke, their enemy, had killed Daniella.Accepting Luke’s deal had been a mistake.

Fuck.

In the back of his mind, he saw Daisy being struck with that knife, sliding into her body, and it was like it was striking himself.

As long as Anthony could remember, he had never cried, even when being attacked and holding Tabitha after she was raped.Not even when he discovered the truth about fairy tales and Santa Claus.Not once did he cry, feel sad, or feel anything.

Staring at his dad, he suddenly couldn’t handle it.

Daisy had been struck.Luke had been the one to save her, and in that moment Anthony was finally able to break free from the choke hold.He’d slammed his blade into the enemy’s neck and went straight to Daisy.

“She’s hurt,” Anthony said.

He was not playing his dad.This was real emotion, real pain.It was raw, and it fucking hurt.Everyone looked to him as the weird one, the one who didn’t fucking talk.

He didn’t care.He didn’t see the point in wasting his time with stupid words when people didn’t listen.He had come to realize that no one listened, they all assumed, and they didn’t care.Everyone was interested in their own lives, and everyone else didn’t matter.This was why he didn’t talk.

Then there was the darkness.For the longest time, he had accepted the darkness that surrounded him.Watching people laugh was foreign to him, until Daisy.Seeing her laugh filled him with a light he didn’t know could be possible.

Daisy was everything to him.The love of his life.The light of his whole freaking world.

“I told you ...there would be consequences...”Those were the words Daisy had said to him as she pressed her hand against her stomach and started the fight to survive.

Daisy couldn’t die.He wouldn’t allow it.

His father’s face started to blur, and then he felt something falling down his cheeks.He was aware of people staring at him, and he knew his father had every right to drag his ass out of the hospital, disown him, and make an example of him.Yet, he told his dad Daisy was hurt, that there was so much blood, and he felt like his whole world was breaking down.

Nothing made any sense.

Daisy’s eyes had closed, and she faded from existence, as if she wasn’t there.He saw all of it before the doctors escorted her away.Now, there was this ...hole, like a crater within his chest, and he felt like he was dying.

Lash didn’t remove him from the hospital.He let go of his jacket, and even though he didn’t deserve it, his father pulled him into his arms and held him tightly.Tighter than Anthony had ever been held in his life.