Page 163 of Come Back To Me

Slowly nodding, Mads looks to her bump. It’s as though she’s thinking the same as me. She shouldn’t be putting herself in any danger. “I called her when…” She doesn’t finish her sentence.

“When what?”

Her top lip disappears under her teeth as a tear runs to her mouth. “When I thought you were going to hurt Travis.” She drops her head, and I jerk away, totally confused.

My lips part, but I’m unsure why, because anything I thought I was going to say in response to her ridiculous claim, gets lost. “Travis? Babe, why the hell do you think I would hurt him?”

“You told me. When you came home drunk. You said you were going to betray him.”

As if his ears are burning, a knock comes from the door. “Dean. We’re at the table,” Travis’ low voice rumbles. He needsme.

I scrunch my face. I don’t remember telling Mads I was going to betray him; at least not how she thinks, anyway. “I haven’t told him I want out.”

I feel her anguish. See the look of hope mixed with uncertainty take hold. Her relief turning to guilt, colliding with the notion of normality.Ournormality. The thing we crave the most.

“I have to go.” I stand tilting her chin to look at me. “We’ll talk later.”

I wait for her to smile. When she does, and her lips stretch, I relax a little.

My attempts to protect and keep her safe… she’s going to challenge them if she suspects so much as a whiff of anything that might take me away from her again.

But that face. Those eyes of hers, so wide and transparent. My girl’s living proof if I keep my face to her light, the demons will stay where they belong. In the shadows.

Chapter Thirty-Six

DEAN

Icall Jack, but it goes straight to voicemail. I get his hesitation to want to come here, and I get even more why he doesn’t want this opportunity to slip from our grasp. But we can’t carry out this plan of his without every one of my men on board. We went into this new business with Costa together. We see it out together.

I message Vincent asking him to meet me and Travis later, then put my phone back in my pocket. Taking a deep breath, I push open the wooden door to church. I don’t know why I feel so nervous. Probably because I know I want out.

My brothers look up. Their eyes watching and waiting for me to take my place at the head of the table.

Stepping in, I shut the door behind me, then take my seat.

Travis leans forward, slowly pushing the gavel across the table.

My fingers lift to pick it up as Beats bangs the table. He does it again and again until others start joining him.

I lift the wooden instrument as all hands thump the wood, excitement that I’m back taking over. Smiling at their show of brotherhood, I then slam the gavel down. Their drumming slows, and I look at each and every one of them. “I missed you shitheads too.”

They laugh, and Travis pats me on the back.

This is our first sit down since I got out. Somehow, I have to find the strength to tell them what I got us into, and that I need them to help get us out. I suck in some air. “Feels good to be home,” I say truthfully before continuing, “but I need to be straight with you.”

All of them look my way.

“It’s no coincidence I’m sat here. My trial didn’t get dropped as you heard.” A deathly silence descends like a thick fog. From seconds ago being so loud, not one of them now makes a noise. “It was Jack.”

I see wondering eyes looking to one another. “Jack?” Dennis asks scrunching his face. “Ronnie’s boy?” I nod. “Thought he passed?”

I drop my head, then reach into my pocket. “We all did.”

“Ronnie knows?”

I shake my head slightly, pulling out and lighting a smoke. “The only men that know about Jack being alive are in this room. I know not all of you have met him personally, but we need to keep it that way. Ronnie can’t know about Jack. Not yet.”

“He’ll want to know, Dean,” Captain says.

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