Page 61 of Savage

“And I want those moments to be with him.”

“It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“No, but I’m definitely leaning in that direction,” I admitted.

“Okay. Well, I’ll support whatever you decide. Just promise me one thing.” Her voice was strained as she said, “Promise me that you'll be careful and listen to your instincts. I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“I promise, Mom. Don’t worry.”

“I’m your mother, dear. I’ll always worry.”

I talked to her for a moment longer, then ended the call and finally got to work. Surprisingly, I was able to keep my focus, and by the time lunch rolled around, I was feeling pretty good about what I’d accomplished. I went to grab a bite with Jackson, then returned and got back at it. By the end of the day, I’d finished everything I needed to do and was feeling pretty good about things.

I grabbed my things and headed to the daycare to pick up Dalton. On the way home, we stopped for a quick bite of dinner, then we both got ready for bed. I kept expecting a call or text from Malcomb, but I received neither. And the following day was more of the same.

And just like that, I was back to questioning everything.

And I’d questioned things for long enough.

CHAPTER19

Savage

“Iwas beginning to think you weren’t gonna show today.”

“You know better than that.” Rooster gave me a questioning look, so I added, “Come on. I’m late, but I’m not that late.”

I opened the back door, and Rooster followed me inside. “Not what I meant.”

“So, what did you mean?”

He knew about Dalton and the argument I’d had with Londyn, so I wasn’t surprised when he said, “Figure you had a long night.”

“I did.”

“Well, how was it?”

“It wasn’t too bad. Actually, it went pretty well.” I shrugged. “We’re still trying to sort things out.”

“And the kid?”

“The kid is something. Really something.” I couldn’t help but smile as I told him, “You’ve gotta meet him, Roost. Kid will melt your heart.”

“So, you’re really a dad, huh?”

Before he could respond, Torch and Chains came charging through the door, and they both looked like they were ready to throw down. Something was clearly wrong, so I asked, “What’s going on?”

“Ah, nothing,” Chains grumbled. “We just spent the past half hour trying to lose a fucking tail, and I damn near wiped out twice.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Torch was quick to reply, “You remember the two Camaros that drove by right after we did the drop for Bruton?”

“Yeah, what about ‘em?”

“They’re here, and they were hot on our asses all through town.”

“Damn. You sure it was them?”

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