“You guys only had sex three times. That’s it.” We shared a laugh, but I seriously didn’t want to think about him and my mom together, so I switched the subject. “How long are you gonna hide out here before goin’ home?”
“That’s up to your mother.”
“No. That’s up to you,” I reminded him, pointing the spatula at him. “You gotta let this thing go with Ry and Kaden.”
“Don’t talk to me about them,” he growled. “He’s lucky I haven’t killed him yet.” I tilted my head and raised my brows. “What? He is.”
I never called him Dad while at the club or while dealing with club business, but I needed him to hear me. “Dad. Kaden is a good guy. You once loved him like he was your own son.”
“Not anymore. He went behind my back for years like he wasn’t….” Rubbing his hand down his face, he grabbed his beard and tugged. “What he did was unforgivable.”
“You could look at it like he saved her from dating assholes who might’ve taken advantage of her, or broke her heart, or one of a hundred other things.”
“You can look at it any way you want. But the only thing that’s gonna happen is me punching that fucker again the first chance I get.”
“Don’t be surprised if he hits you back this time.” He shrugged, not a care for the thought that he might get into a brawl with his best friend’s son. My ol’ man took stubbornness to a whole other level for sure. “You’re never goin’ home, are ya?”
He didn’t answer, instead grabbing a plate from the cupboard and handing it to me. After I gave him his omelet, he thanked me and turned to leave, and that’s the exact moment when Kaden walked into the kitchen.
40
I grumbled under my breath, tending to Maddie’s food and distracting myself because the tension between these two was thick. More so my father’s anger toward Kaden than the other way around, although with each verbal assault and threat of another fight, Kaden was close to boiling over as well.
“Marek said not here,” I reminded him. He didn’t say a word before walking past Kaden, knocking into his shoulder before he left.
Kaden crossed the small space until he was next to me. “Stone is lucky I have respect for my elders, because I would’ve put him on his ass the first time he hit me.”
“You could’ve tried.”
He scoffed. “You don’t think I can take him?”
“I dunno. He wants to rip your head off, so he’s got rage on his side.”
“Yeah, but I got youth.”
“How about both of you keep your hands to yourself.”
“Tell him. It doesn’t matter anyway. Even if I could take him, it’s not like I’d hurt him. Lucky bastard.” Kaden moved around me, opened the fridge and groaned. “Did you eat the last of the eggs?” he asked, easily switching from one subject to another as he turned and looked at the omelet in my hands. “I’ll give you twenty bucks to split that with me. I didn’t grab anything, and I don’t work the best on an empty stomach. I got two trucks and a bike to fix before I can even think about grabbing lunch.” He reached for the plate, but I pulled it back at the last second.
“No can do. This is for Maddie. Call Riley and ask her to bring you something. Or better yet, take your lazy ass to the restaurant. I’m sure Kena will whip somethin’ up for you.” Jagger’s wife ran her family’s restaurant, and since it was only a few miles away, it was the perfect solution for him, given there was no more food left.
“Maybe I’ll go the restaurant route. I don’t need any more shit from Stone this morning.” He leaned against the counter, almost in the exact spot my ol’ man had been in. “How’re things with Maddie?”
I placed another plate on top of the one holding the food to keep it warm. “We’re movin’ in together as soon as I find a place.”
“What the hell?”
“I know. We haven’t known each other long at all, but I can’t keep her here much longer, and it’s about time I moved out into my own space. If Zander left the nest, as well as Riley, then so should I, right? Anyway, there’s nowhere else for her to go other than with me. Plus, I want her with me.” Kaden stood there, staring at me in shock. “You gonna say anything?”
“How did you convince her to move in with you? I’ve been trying everything I can on your sister, and she won’t budge, even though she stays at my house five out of seven nights.”
“You can’t convince Riley to do anything she doesn’t want to or isn’t ready for, so good luck. And besides, our situations are completely different.”
Kaden scratched the side of his jaw, his beard looking a bit scruffier than usual. “I guess you’re right.” He eyed up my plate again. “You sure you can’t spare some of that.”
“You wanna take food out of Maddie’s mouth?”
“You’re right.” He groaned like a kid. “I’m just so hungry.”
“Call Kena,” I yelled over my shoulder as I walked out, almost running right into Marek.
“How are things?” He looked down at the plate, then back up at me. “Everything good?”
“Couldn’t be better.” I swore if I smiled any bigger, my face would crack.
Marek slapped my back. “Good man.”
As I walked back down the hall, many thoughts plagued me, slowing every step I took even though I wanted to rush back to her.
What was gonna happen with Tag when we went to the safe house?
Whenever I did return to the ring, would the Reapers be there, waiting to exact revenge for having taken Maddie from them?
Would I be able to fulfill my promise and keep her safe?
While I didn’t know any of these answers, I did know one thing for sure.
I’d do anything to protect the woman I loved, and while that knowledge gave me comfort, it also gave me pause because the probability of bloodshed in the very near future was high.
Epilogue
“What was that?” Maddie asked, pressing her finger to my lips. I’d been in the middle of reading her a description of the house I’d found that would be prefect for us when she interrupted me. “Shh….” I nipped her finger and made a move to tackle her on the bed, but she pressed back against me. “Seriously. I think something’s goin’ on.”
I strained to listen but could only hear a faint noise, thinking it was possibly the television out by the bar, but then the noise suddenly erupted.
Someone shouted my name, but I couldn’t tell who it was until they were closer to the room. Then came the incessant pounding. “Open up! Now!”
I hopped off the bed and threw on my jeans in record time, making sure Maddie was decent before pulling open the door. Brick’s face stared back at me. “What’s goin’ on?” I asked, my pulse quickening in anticipation of bad news.
“Fuckin’ Reaper, man. One of ’em is here, and he’s askin’ for you.”
“Fuck!”