He stamps on the brake and the car comes to a screeching halt on the side of the highway. He turns to me, his face full of anger. “No I do not,mija, because you are the most stubborn person I know. That tracker is for your own protection. If I had suggested that you have it, you would have refused.”
I open my mouth to reply but he glares at me and I close it again.
“Do not even for one second try to tell me that you would have agreed, because we all know that is not true.”
I clamp my lips together. Damn! It is true.
“I love you,mija. If anything happened to you because of me and what I do, I would never forgive myself. So, you wanted your freedom. You wanted to go off to college and live in an apartment with no bodyguard and no protection, and the only way I could give you that was to know that there was a way I could find you if anything ever happened to you. So, no, I do not think it was wrong. I am not sorry. And I would do it again without hesitation.”
I blink at him. I mean I’m all kinds of pissed at him, but I can’t even argue with any of that right now so I lean back against Jax and my father turns back to the wheel and drives off again.
“Did you know about this?” I murmur to Jax.
“Not until today,” he replies.
I nod and feel a wave of relief. Somehow, that would have felt like more of a betrayal.
“Does mom know?” I say this louder.
“No,” he snaps.
“Does she have one of these things?”
“No!”
“She’s gonna be so pissed at you when I tell her what you’ve done.”
Jax laughs softly and the sound rumbles through his chest, comforting me.
“I know,” my father snaps.
“Or I could get it taken out tomorrow and we won’t tell her,” I offer.
“Lucia,” he warns.
“I want it out of me, Papi,” I say and I see him ready to argue with me again. “But I do see how useful they are. Maybe we need to have a family meeting about us all having one? If I have one then it will be my decision. And I think it’s only fair that you have one, too. And mom and the boys?”
“Hmm. We’ll see,” he replies.
Jax kisses the top of my head. “And you too, Decker,” I murmur.
Iwatch the sun setting over the ocean as I sit on the sofa in Jax’s huge open-plan living room, cradling a mug of his Aunt Molly’s soothing tea. My parents left about an hour ago and Jax is settling Matthias for the night. I’m trying not to think about what might have happened if Jax and my father hadn’t got to me when they did. One thing I do know for sure, is that as soon as I’ve been to the doctor’s tomorrow to get this damn tracker removed, I’m heading straight to Toni’s gym to beg her to teach me every single thing she knows. I never want to feel as defenseless again as I did today.
Jax walks back into the room and I smile at him.
“He’s fast asleep,” he says as he sits down on the sofa beside me.
I place my mug on the table and he pulls me onto his lap, brushing my hair from my face. “Are you okay, baby?”
“Yes, I told you like a million times. I’m good.” He frowns at me and I lean my head against his chest. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “But I’ll tell you if I’m not okay. I promise.”
“Okay,” he kisses my head. “You want to watch a movie?”
“Yes. Which one?”
“Your choice, Angel.”
“Really? Anything I want?”