“Not yet. The threat is still out there, and while it is, I need you and our boy to be here.”
This was the hard-hitting reality for her. What if he didn’t make it home?
“Don’t go. We could go anywhere, Killian.”
“I won’t run from this, June. I can’t. That’s no life for you or for Killian. I can fix this.”
“But what if something happens? What if I’m left all alone again? I don’t think I can do it.”
“You won’t have to. I’ve put provisions in place. You won’t have to wor—”
She slapped his chest. “Do you really think this is about the money? I don’t give a fuck about the money, Killian. I want you, not some damn dollars. You.”
He smiled and that only made her frown. “Baby, you’re the only person in my entire life who has ever just wanted me, and it makes me love you even more for it.”
She kissed him again, needing him to know that for her, it was always about him, not anything else.
Chapter Ten
Killian had always lived life in the fast lane, never stopping to reflect. When he was young, it had been about survival, and then it had been about forgetting everything that had fucked with his head. He’d never expected to have a family, because he’d never really had one growing up. Killian lov
ed his mother, but she’d been a lost cause, and he spent most of his time on the streets. He’d learned how to steal, to fight, to charm, and later, to kill. There were no other options. When he excelled in his life of crime, he never looked back.
Now that June and Killian were in his life, he was ready to become everything he never had. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it. He wanted to be a good husband and father, to embrace that love he’d first felt with June ten years ago.
First things first. Killian needed to help Boss tear down the Dead Angels MC. He wasn’t afraid to kill, and he was damn good at what he did.
He stopped at a hotel along the highway to get some sleep. There was no way he could get any rest with June in his arms, and it would be harder to walk away in the morning. She was too much of a temptation. Just thinking about her gave him a boner. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have her as his woman. And not just any woman, but the mother of his son.
After a decent night’s sleep, he showered, changed, and hit the road. By the time he pulled into town it was ten in the morning. He wasn’t worried about the element of surprise, not when Manic had practically begged him to kill his own fucking crew. He wasn’t sure if it was an act of valor or the worst kind of mutiny, but it wasn’t his club to worry about. Manic wanted the old-school bastards dead and gone. They were lazy, disobedient to the new prez, and lacked the basic decency that even stone-cold killers managed to hang on to.
Killian didn’t have a problem with prostitution. His own mother had been a whore, but he didn’t agree when under-aged girls were forced into it. Manic’s new members weren’t saints, far from it. They were still hardcore criminals, but at least they had some standards. Even Boss knew where to draw the line.
Killian picked up his cell and called Shadow. “I’m back in town. Did Manic give you anything we can use?”
“He has no fucking clue,” said Shadow.
Killian exhaled his irritation. All the time he’d been away and they were nowhere closer to finding the source of the problem. “Then what? We start handling Manic’s problem? Maybe one of them will name drop with a gun to their head.”
“Boss is sending backup. I think he knows more than he’s letting on.”
Killian squeezed the steering wheel as he drove, trying to contain the fire he felt growing inside him. Didn’t Boss trust him to handle the job? It pissed him off that he’d sent more backup. Killian didn’t need a babysitter. He’d made one fucking mistake when he’d killed the original prez, leaving witnesses, but there had been ten years of clean hits since then. Didn’t that amount to anything in Boss’s books? And why the secrets? After all these years, he’d hoped Boss trusted him with sensitive intel. Maybe pulling a gun on Boss was a fucked-up mistake he’d live to regret.
“Who’s he sending?”
“He didn’t say,” said Shadow.
“Let’s just get this shit done. If I have to end every one of them, including Manic, so be it.”
They met at the safe house near the water. Shadow walked out to meet him at the car. “Have you eaten?”
“I can’t think about food right now,” said Killian.
“Well, I’m fucking starved. Let’s get a bite to eat before business.”
Killian ran a hand through his hair, too tired to argue. He supposed it would be smart to be at their best. Killing worked up an appetite.
Shadow got in the passenger seat, and they drove into town. It wasn’t exactly smart showing their faces around town after the bloodbath last night, but Killian never was one to cower in fear.