“He’s not.”
She shook her head. “No. Melissa is great and smart, but she can’t take on Thurrond by herself. We need to warn her.”
“I mean I have one of my guys watching them. They’re taken care of for the moment.”
Liv’s eyes widened. “One of your guys? I don’t understand. I thought you were a guy?”
“Consider me middle management. I have a good team. Gage is the only one here, but if things escalate, I have backup I can call. The second I realized Melissa had bailed on me, I called Gage in.”
Liv wanted to be reassured by what he was saying, but all she could think about was all the guys Thurrond could call on if he needed. She didn’t want Josh to be in the middle of an all-out war. If she were honest, she didn’t want to be in the middle of an all-out war either. She had managed to keep Josh safe once, but she knew her skills were sorely lacking. What would she do if Thurrond tried again? What chance would she have if he brought more backup?
Even worse, she didn’t think she could tell Slade to leave anymore. He might be her only chance of keeping Josh safe if what he was saying was true.
Liv stood up and her chair clattered behind her, just about defying physics as it managed to avoid toppling over. She ignored it as she made her way out of the bakery. She was sure people were watching, but it seemed less important now. Just five minutes ago, she’d been terrified about Slade causing a scene. But now that she knew the true extent of the danger that Josh was in, small-town gossip seemed much less important.
She went straight for her car and by the time she reached the driver’s side door, Slade was already at the passenger side.
“Does this mean the tour is over?”
“Screw the tour. You just told me that there’s some feud between you and Thurrond that could end up destroying everything I care about. There is no more tour. The tour is over.”
“I thought it would be better if you understood. I didn’t want to lie about the realities of the situation.”
She narrowed her eyes and leaned against the roof of the car as she glared at him. “Do you expect me to fall over myself, thanking you for not lying to me? Do you think you’ve given me some great gift by telling me the truth? Truth is a basic courtesy. I’m not thanking you for a damn thing.”
“I’ve told you more in the last five minutes than I’ve told anyone in years.”
“That sounds like a you problem,” she shot back without hesitation.
He seemed taken aback by the harsh words, but not angry. Actually, she saw the corner of his mouth hook up as though in amusement before her phone buzzed. She was forced to look away from him as she took the phone out of the pocket of her dress and looked at the screen. “Well, Mr. Slade, I hope you’re ready to be a daddy. Because your son wants to meet you.”
Slade felt as though he were in some strange, alternate reality. His son. His and Lacey’s son. It had been so long since he’d seen the boy, he’d almost convinced himself that he didn’t exist anymore. He’d done everything he could do by giving Melissa enough money to take care of him and making sure Josh was in the care of the one family member he’d ever trust to watch him. He’d set Josh up for a much better life than he’d ever had, and that had been more than a lot of fathers ever provided.
But very early on, he’d stopped getting progress reports on the baby he’d left behind. It hurt too much to see the eyes so much like Lacey’s and realize that not only had he lost her, but he might never see Josh in person again. So he’d cut Josh out of his life in every way possible. No pictures, no contact, and with one lump deposit in Melissa’s account, he even took away financial support.
He knew it was a shitty thing to do, but he couldn’t handle any more tragedy. His already questionable sanity was already stretched to the limits. Every time Sterling assigned him another soul-crushing task, he felt less and less like someone who deserved to be a father. Josh didn’t need a piece of shit like him holding him back. Not when there was such a glowing presence like Melissa to steer him in the right direction.
But when he looked over to where his little sister sat next to Josh on the sofa, he couldn’t help but feel like a little bit of her light was extinguished. That worried him more than he cared to admit. She’d managed to keep that inner glow all through their parents’ abuse and the layers of shit their family had thrown at their feet. But now, something had happened. The sister he’d always tried to shelter and protect seemed jaded and... sad.
The thought that his return had done that hurt him more than any bullets Thurrond could shoot his way. But Melissa couldn’t be his priority right now. Josh was the reason for this meeting, and he was going to have to make a good impression. Which was harder to do because Josh was flanked on either side by Liv and Melissa, who each gave him a warning look. If he made the wrong move, he wouldn’t have to just worry about what Josh would think, but what the girls would do to him.
“Hello,” he said finally.
Josh looked him up and down skeptically and Slade wasn’t sure what the kid was seeing. He spent most of his time working out and bulking up enough to make anyone think twice before fucking with him. But now he didn’t want someone to be afraid when they saw him. He wanted Josh to feel relaxed and... at home. He wanted to put his son at ease, which wasn’t a skill he was used to.
“Hi,” said Josh. His voice was high. He hadn’t gone through the cracking, deepening phase yet. Another reminder that this was just a kid. “Why aren’t you dead?” he asked, not beating around any bushes.
Slade liked that. He wasn’t good at social intricacies, but he supposed kids didn’t care as much about that stuff either.
“Tell him the truth,” said Liv. “The whole truth.”
Slade stiffened at that. This was just a kid and—
“He can handle it,” she added, as though she could read his thoughts.
He clenched his jaw and nodded. He trusted her opinion about what Josh could handle better than his own, that was for sure.
“I can handle it.” Josh jutted his chin out defiantly, as though to prove his point.
Slade steeled himself to reveal the truth. “I love your mother.” Even he didn’t know he was going to start the story there, but it just came out. But it seemed apt. Because everything good and bad in his life seemed to stem from his love for Lacey. “She was the best person I’ve ever met. But I wasn’t the only person who thought that. When I met her, it was love at first sight.” He could see Liv and Melissa both staring at him intently out of his peripheral, but he didn’t take his eyes off Josh. “Everyone loved Lacey. The local, good folks and bad ones like me alike.”
“You’re bad?” asked Josh, still trying to size Slade up.
“I was questionable. On the verge of going either way. When I met Lacey, she was with a bad man. He was nice to her, and they seemed to get along okay after she left him. I found out that she left that bad man for me, and I couldn’t help but fall head over heels.”
But Josh wasn’t one to be bullshitted. “Who was the bad man?”
He looked up and Liv met his eyes before she gave him a little nod, telling him to reveal everything.
“Tiger Thurrond. He was my boss back then.” He paused and tried to figure out whether Josh knew what that meant, but the kid wasn’t revealing anything. “When Lacey and I knew we had something serious, I went to him and asked permission to start something, which we got. Before even I knew it, we were married and you were on the way. It was....” He took a breath as he tried to center himself. “It was the best time of my life,” he said honestly. Even looking back at it, every little glimpse of Lacey that was emblazoned in his memory seemed to be surrounded by a glowing light, signifying it was separate from every shitty day he’d lived since then. “Somehow Thurrond found out that we had been together before we got permission and everything changed. He ordered me to leave her and you, and I knew that wasn’t a possibility. I was young and stupid and thought I could stand a chance against him. I w
as wrong.”
“I thought Mom died from a car accident.”
“That car was supposed to hit me. Thurrond, in his own strange way, loved Lacey as much as I did. And after she died, thanks to him, he figured that was my fault too. He was going to go to the ends of the earth to make me pay, and after Lacey was gone, there was only one thing in my life that I cared about.”
Josh stared intently at the carpeting. “But you left me.”
“If I didn’t remove myself or Thurrond from the equation, there was no way I could keep you safe. And back then, I didn’t have the skills or the abilities to deal with Thurrond. But when I was recovering at the hospital, a benefactor came to me. He promised that if I was loyal to him, he would make all my troubles go away.” Sterling’s offer had seemed too good to be true because it was. He’d sold his soul to the devil, but considering that it had given him the ability to keep Josh safe in a way he couldn’t do for Lacey, it had all been worth it. “He made sure that Melissa was appointed your guardian, and I tried to funnel enough funds that you would be taken care of. I wanted to be there.” It was the only part of the story that rang false in his ears. He wanted his son to be happy and healthy, but there was a time after Lacey died and he gave up Josh that he didn’t want a damn thing. He didn’t feel like a person anymore. He was an object owned and operated by Sterling.
So for him to sit here and tell Josh that he wanted nothing more than to be with him was a lie. At that time, he hadn’t wanted anything. He had no future. No past. Just that moment he was living in and doing what he was told.
“But you’re back now. Did you come back because you missed me?”
Liv reached over and set her hand on Josh’s shoulder. She knew the answer to that question wasn’t what Josh wanted to hear.
Slade gave the best answer he could. “I’ve always missed you. But now Thurrond has found out I’m alive and that means you’re in danger again. I stayed away for all these years because I wanted to keep you safe. Now I think the best place for you is at my side.”
“I don’t know you.”
“I know I’ve been gone a while, but—”
“You’ve been gone forever. I don’t know you. I don’t want to be at your side.”
“If you give me a chance—”
Josh shook off Liv’s hand. “Mel said I don’t have to do anything. Right?”
He looked over to Melissa for confirmation and she cautiously nodded. “If you’re not comfortable with Peter, you don’t have to do anything with him.”
“This isn’t me asking to take him for ice cream,” bit out Slade. “This is real. You already know what Thurrond is capable of.”
“But I don’t know what you’re capable of,” pointed out Melissa. “Peter, I love you but we don’t know you. Not anymore. Maybe we do need your help, but you can’t expect us to throw all our eggs in your basket without at least talking this through.”
“There are no fucking eggs!” He realized the language he’d used when Josh’s eyes widened and he cursed again, this time mentally. Fuck, if he was going to be a father, he couldn’t do shit like that anymore. “This isn’t a possible threat, okay? This is real and you know it. If you want to protect the life that you’ve created for yourself here, the life without me, you’re going to need help and I don’t see anyone else offering.”
Liv stood and folded her arms over her chest. “I think you should leave.”
“I—”
“No. We gave you a chance to speak your piece and you did. We appreciate your honesty and now we, as a family, need a moment to talk about it.”
“You’re not even a part of this family.”
Liv kept a calm expression, but he could see her neck tighten as the blow hit home. He regretted the words the moment he said them, but couldn’t take them back. But she didn’t need to come to her own defense because Josh stood and pointed a finger at him. “She’s more family than you are!”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant.” Liv put a hand on Josh’s head, running her fingers through his hair in a casual way. She probably wasn’t even doing it on purpose, but it was one more reminder that he was the only outsider here. “Please give us a few hours to think. If you feel uncomfortable, let your friend come over. You trusted him to watch Josh earlier today, right?”
“Gage?” Melissa stood.
He could tell his sister was uneasy but wasn’t sure whether it was because of the entire conversation they’d just had or whether something had happened with Gage. “Is there a problem?”
Melissa averted her gaze to look at the ground. “No. That’s probably a good idea,” she muttered.
“Okay...” said Liv carefully. “I am going to get ready for work. If you need anything, and I mean anything, give me a call, okay?”
Melissa nodded and Liv bent down to press a kiss to Josh’s forehead. “That goes for you too, buddy. I’m just a call away if you need anything.”
He nodded, even as the stubborn jut of his jaw told Slade that he would never call and ask for help.
Liv gave Josh’s head a quick pat before she finally started to head to her room to get ready. Slade’s eyes followed her every move. And as she looked over her shoulder and met his gaze, she had to realize that this wasn’t even close to being over.
Slade grimaced as Gage exhaled a cloud of smoke into the night air. “I thought you quit.”
“I did. This is just a temporary thing,” he said unconvincingly.
When Slade had taken Gage under his wing, the first rule had been to give up smoking. Slade needed the best men with him. He needed strong, smart men who wouldn’t be slowed down by poison they purposely put into their bodies. In his line of work, the slightest distraction could get you killed. One unplanned cough. One pause to catch your breath. One shaky hand. That was the only thing that stood between life and death sometimes. And he wasn’t about to let Gage’s addictions get him killed.
Slade took the cigarette out of Gage’s mouth and threw it on the ground before he stomped the small incendiary out. “You don’t do that in the same zip code as my son, got it?”
If Gage was annoyed, he didn’t show it. He just bent down to pick up the now broken cigarette and slipped it into his pocket. Slade was oddly grateful that Gage didn’t leave the butt to litter his family home but wasn’t about to say that out loud. He was still too annoyed that Gage had taken up smoking again to compliment him.
“So what’s the situation?” asked Gage.
The situation.... That was what he was wondering too. “Unknown,” he said honestly. “Thurrond knows I’m here and alive. Tonight is the biggest risk of another attack. I want you to keep an eye on Josh and Mel. If anything starts going down, don’t try to fight or be a hero. Get them the fuck out of town, got it?”
“Tell me about this Thurrond guy. If he’s got you running scared, he’s a big deal.”
Slade clenched his jaw and reminded himself that Gage was just asking an honest question. “Thurrond had me running scared. I’m not the same low-level thug I was when he tried to kill me. I’m smarter, stronger, and a hell of a lot more capable now. I’m not going to be as easy of a target as I was last time.”
“You’re not alone either.”
“That’s nice.”
“Not me, numb nuts. I’m talking about your new boss. Scott Hart. He’s a do-gooder at his core. You tell him there’s a kid at risk, and he and Toni will be here in a heartbeat.”
Gage was right. He could probably have Scott and Toni here with just one phone call. But just because they were here didn’t mean they’d be able to help. “I don’t know them. I don’t trust them. Get Hunter and Tristan, though.” If the entire unit was back together, he could take care of Thurrond once and for all. He could be on the offensive instead of defensive.
This had been a productive few days. He’d found Josh, established his relationship, and confirmed that the threat was still real. He wasn’t going to take any chances now. If Mel
wasn’t going to let him take Josh away from the threat, he was going to move his team into every corner of Laurie Falls.
“They’re not going to want to leave their time off.” It was their first official time off in years, so it was a big deal to ask them to leave what they were doing. But Slade couldn’t think of any reason better than protecting his family. And he was sure his guys would do what he ordered. “I’ll get to calling them in,” said Gage.
Just then, the front door opened and Slade turned to see Liv walking out of the house wearing, to his surprise, a pair of scrubs. “Where are you going?”
She looked between him and Gage as though trying to decide whether he deserved an answer. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and she looked fresh-faced and just as pretty as normal. “Work.” She started for her car.
“Where do you work?”
She let out a sigh as she hit the unlock button for the car, but nothing happened. So she kept on hitting the button. “It’s not really your business.”
“You’ve been raising my son for the past ten years. You kind of are my business.”
Her lips tightened and the car finally unlocked for her. He thought she was just going to get in and drive off, but she stopped once she opened the door. “I’m the night vet tech at Armstrong Veterinary Hospital. I spend the night and make sure the animals doing overnights get the right care.”
“Taking care of Josh in the day and sick animals at night? You really are a nurturer, aren’t you?”
“It’s nice to feel useful.” Even though the words were peaceful, her tone made it sound as though she’d rather be anywhere but there at that moment.
He stepped closer to the car and leaned on the door, right on the other side of Liv. “Do you have a problem with me being here?”
Her eyes widened. “I have a thousand problems with you being here.”
“But now that you know what brought me back and the reasons I left, do you still feel the same way you did yesterday?”
“Yesterday you broke into my house and I wasn’t sure you weren’t about to kidnap Josh out from under me.”
The Vengeful Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 5) Page 7