Page 43 of Savage Protector

My friend. What an understatement.

I swallowed back my rage along with a mouthful of liquor. “Do you know why he did it?”

“Word gets around. He asked you for a favor, and you turned your back on him.” With a sneer, he added, “It’s a skill know well.”

“I turned my back on an abuser who only wanted me to find his woman so he could get back at her for leaving him,” I snapped.

“Well, I don’t know what your little detective pal taught you, but we don’t get involved in shit like that.”

“Who is we? I don’t know why you would wear that as a badge of honor,” I added, more than slightly bitter at his attitude. “If you had a daughter who was getting the shit kicked out of her by a boyfriend, don’t tell me you wouldn’t tear off his head.”

Unmoved, he replied, “This isn’t your daughter we’re talking about.”

A bolt of pure disgust slashed through me, tightening my jaw and diction. “No, I’m talking about a defenseless woman who managed to escape.” A woman I could still smell on me. “I’m talking about someone who manipulated me into searching for her, pretending she was running from someone else. And when I gave him his money back and told him I couldn’t be any part of it, he declared war on me.” Pausing, I watched him process this. “Now.” Crossing one ankle over the other knee, I rattled the ice in my glass, leaving my gaze focused on him.

I wanted him to squirm. Maybe I needed to see it happen.

“Before any other innocents are killed, I’m going to put him down. He is not going to stop searching for people who matter to me and taking them down one by one to send a message. Jack Meadows is not going to be the last. You have to know that.”

Pursing his lips thoughtfully, he muttered, “That sounds like a you problem.”

Not surprising. “Does it?” I asked. “Considering he has Mom’s trust?”

“Don’t you dare,” he spat. “Don’t you use her to get your way.”

“I’m telling the truth.” Shrugging, I added, “The only thing stopping him from killing one or both of you is knowing it would end in an all-out war that will make these recent dust-ups look like a day at the beach. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Maybe I’m not particularly interested in your version of the truth. Do you know what my truth is?” he countered, his face dark as a flush washed over him. “I’m sitting here, staring at my only son, knowing he would turn his back on me in a heartbeat. And you expect me to team up with you? Do you think this made-up threat to your mother’s life is going to change anything?”

“If anything, I’m more concerned for your life if I should happen to, I don’t know, tell that rabid dog you’ve been treating like a son all these years exactly what happened to his father.”

“You’re full of shit.”

“Am I? Are you willing to test that theory?” I returned his stare as seconds ticked silently away. When it was clear he was determined to outlast me, I sighed. This was going nowhere—time to change course. “Dad. Let’s forget all this for a second. Whatever you might think, I don’t want to hurt you. It would mean hurting Mom. That is the one thing I’ve kept in mind all these years, but I would do it if it meant helping this woman.”

“Don’t tell me you love her,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes to the ceiling before draining his glass.

My skin prickled at the idea. Not because it was unthinkable but because he had no right to speak of it.

Did I love her?

Did it make a difference since I had no business loving somebody who’d already been tainted by the ugliness of the world I’d grown up in?

It did make a difference.

If I didn’t love her, I wouldn’t be here, doing the one thing I swore I never would—sitting down with my father again. This was the only way to give her the freedom she deserved, the only way to love her that wouldn’t hurt her in the end. “What if I do?” I asked.

“Then you’re not as smart as you think you are.”

“I’m not interested in your opinion,” I snapped. The drink wasn’t helping dull the razor edge of my resentment. “What I need to know is exactly what would you stop at if it meant protecting Mom? Who would you be willing to align with to prevent anything ever happening to her?”

He held my gaze for a brief moment before staring into his glass. His jaw worked while one short breath after another was released through flared nostrils. He was listening. That alone was a victory. But the battle wasn’t over. “I do care about her. Maybe I even love her,” I admitted, hearing the words come out of my mouth, unable to believe they were coming from me. “And I will do whatever it takes for her, but I need help. I’ve done you a solid all these years. I never breathed a word of it. Even Jack never knew the specifics of why I broke away from you.”

His eyes darted up from his drink, widening in surprise. “You can’t be serious.”

“You really think you could’ve gotten away with it?” I asked with a snort. “Come on. Next thing I know, you’ll be telling me you still believe in Santa Claus. I kept my part of the bargain,” I concluded. “My silence for letting me walk away. But I need this from you now. I need your help because it's not just me in the balance. The longer I keep him waiting, the more desperate he’s going to get.”

It was clear from his continued silence that I had no choice. He was pushing my hand. “There’s one more thing you should know. Maybe it will influence you, maybe it won't. I swear to you, I had no idea of this when everything first started.”