Page 11

Ares

We were home. Passing through the gates of the Dixie Reapers compound, I felt anxious over seeing my family again, and terrified people would look at me differently. Logically, I knew they would, but I didn’t feel like the same person I’d been before. Too much had happened.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I could feel the eyes on us before I even swung my leg over the bike, the weight of their stares pressing down on me. The scents and sounds of the compound should have felt familiar, relaxing even, but today it was anything but.

“Easy, Ares,” Prophet murmured as he steadied me with his large hands. His touch was meant to be reassuring, but it couldn’t chase away the coiling tension in my gut. I’d thought I was ready to come back. What if I was wrong?

We walked side by side toward the clubhouse, boots crunching on the gravel. I knew every face that turned our way. Yet now, their gazes bored into me, sharp and probing, sending shivers skittering across my skin.

“Prophet.” The voice cut through the murmurs around us. My father, Savior, stood framed in the doorway of the clubhouse, arms crossed over his broad chest. His stern expression was one I knew all too well -- the one that spelled trouble.

“Pres,” Prophet said, his voice respectful but firm. He released my hand to stand alone, facing down the President of the Dixie Reapers.

“Good to see Ares home safe,” Savior said, his tone flat, eyes drilling into Prophet’s. “But you took your sweet time getting back here. Care to explain why?”

I wanted to speak up, to defend Prophet, but the words tangled up in my throat. Fear kept them locked tight, fear of what admitting the truth might bring upon us both. I hadn’t reached out to my family even once while we’d been gone. I knew Prophet had been in contact, which made me curious why my dad was acting like this. He’d known I wasn’t in any sort of shape to be here until now. Unless he hadn’t trusted the things Prophet had told him.

“Needed to make sure she was okay,” Prophet replied. “Wasn’t going to rush her after --”

“Enough!” Savior snapped, cutting him off. The air and my pulse raced. Why was my dad so angry?

“I assure you --” Prophet started again, but a hard look from Savior silenced him.

“Assurances don’t mean squat to me, boy. Actions do.” Savior’s gaze flicked to me then, and the unasked questions in his steely gray eyes set my blood to ice. Somehow, he knew things had changed between me and Prophet. He’d seemed okay with Prophet claiming me once I became of age, but now I had to wonder if he was really all right with it. It didn’t seem like he was.

The compound felt like it was closing in around us. I wanted to hide behind Prophet or beg him to take me somewhere else. This was too much too soon.

“Let’s go inside,” I finally managed to say, the shakiness of my voice belying my emotions. “We can talk there.”

Savior held Prophet’s gaze for a beat longer, then nodded once, sharply, and turned back into the clubhouse. Prophet reached for me, his touch a lifeline. Together, we followed my father into the belly of the beast, where our fate waited. It had never occurred to me Savior might disapprove of our relationship. What if he tried to tear us apart?

The three of us sat at a table in the corner. I scooted my chair closer to Prophet’s, which had my dad’s eyes narrowing.

“You know how I feel about Ares,” Prophet said. “I love her, and I haven’t made it a secret. Everyone here is aware of my feelings. I’m not sure why you’re so angry, Pres.”

“You never once let me talk to my daughter while the two of you were gone. When you said she needed some time, I thought you’d be gone a week, maybe two. Not over two fucking months!” He slammed his fist on the table. “Do you have any idea what it’s been like? Dessa and the kids keep asking about her, and want to know when she’s coming home, and all I could do was tell them I don’t know .”

“That’s my fault, not his,” I said. “Even after I told him I was ready to come home, I nearly changed my mind once we got here. Even now…”

I held up my hand, showing him how badly I was shaking. My dad closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn’t like him. He’d never acted this way, except for the time I got caught texting Dylan. He’d nearly blown up then.

“I need you to calm down, Pres,” Prophet said, his voice low and easy. “It’s not good for her to be stressed out like this. And it’s definitely not good for the baby.”

A hush fell over the place. My dad’s face started to turn purple, I wondered how many pieces of broken furniture would be left in his wake. He didn’t lose his temper often, but when he did, he went all out.

Tempest stood and came closer, his gaze locked onto Prophet. “Do you really think you played fair? She had no choice but to rely on you. It was just the two of you all that time, which meant it was inevitable she’d grow even closer to you, and now she’s pregnant? I thought she needed to heal. If you fucking took advantage of her…”

Tempest let the threat hang in the air, and I knew without a doubt if Prophet had truly harmed me, no one here would hesitate to lay him out. Especially Tempest. He might not always like the women who came here and ended up being old ladies, but I was the daughter of not only a patched member, but the club’s President. Tempest had always been overly protective of me. Same with the other kids.

“Shut it, Tempest,” Royal said, standing and moving closer. “Prophet has been by her side for over a year. He’s taken care of her, and I’m sure the two got close long before this happened. If you ask me, it was inevitable. Hell, I doubt I’m the only one who thinks that. Pretty sure most of us figured he’d claim her and they’d live happily ever after. Just without all the extra bullshit she’s had to endure.”

My dad slowly stood, bracing his hands on the table. “You go after my girl, take her someplace where none of us can see her, and bring her home pregnant? Are you fucking kidding me?”

The air crackled with the kind of tension that spelled trouble in big neon letters. I needed to get my dad to calm down, except I didn’t know how. Fumbling with the phone in my pocket, I sent a text to my mom. Dad is about to lose it in the clubhouse .

I saw she read the message, but she didn’t respond. I hoped that meant she was on her way, although I knew she couldn’t get here quickly. Her wheelchair made it difficult for her to hop in the car. It wasn’t impossible. Just harder than it was for people with working legs. Even all these years later, she had trouble transferring. Dad always helped her when he was around.

The clubhouse doors swung open a few minutes later, and I stared with wide eyes as I watched Wire and Lavender come in, with my mom clinging to Wire’s back like a monkey. I bit my lips, trying to stifle the laugh that bubbled up.

“Savior, so help me, if you scare our daughter off when we haven’t seen her in months, you’re going to sleep outside,” she said as Wire eased her down into the chair beside my dad.

“What the fuck, Dessa?” He narrowed his eyes at Wire, but the hacker just shrugged and took a step back. Lavender came over to me and patted my shoulder. I reached up to take her hand, grateful for the support.

“Our daughter sent a text that you were about to lose your shit,” she said.

My dad stared at her. “Did you just cuss?”

“It seemed appropriate. Besides, it’s not like I never say bad words.”

My dad glared at me before turning back to Mom. “Did she also tell you that she’s pregnant?”

Mom paled, and I knew she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. I glanced at Prophet who gave my hand a squeeze.

“It’s mine,” Prophet said. “And no, I didn’t take advantage of her. I asked her repeatedly if she was sure. The last thing I’d ever do is hurt Ares. I also asked her to marry me.”

The color came back to Mom’s face, and she gave us a smile. “Well, in that case, this is good news, isn’t it? The two of you have been close since before Ares turned eighteen. I was honestly surprised you didn’t try to claim her the second she was of legal age.”

“Will you stop?” Dad growled as he looked at Prophet again. “I gave you permission to hang out with Ares, and to date her when she was ready. No one said a fucking thing about you knocking her up. Considering the amount of trust I gave you when it comes to my daughter, couldn’t you have at least attempted to play things by the book? My permission didn’t extend quite that far.”

“Dad, you do realize he’s not the only one to blame, right? It’s not like he forced me to have sex with him.”

Dad held up a hand. “No. Just… no. I don’t want to hear that word in relation to you. Ever. When you give me grandchildren, I’d like to think the stork dropped them off. If I think about the real reason you have kids, I may murder that boy sitting next to you.”

I rolled my eyes, all the tension draining from me. “Dad, seriously? First of all, he’s not a boy. And secondly, should I ask where Junie came from? Because I doubt she was grown in a cabbage patch or delivered by a bird.”

“That’s different.”

No, it really wasn’t. I got it, though. I was his little girl, and he didn’t want to think about me doing naughty things with a man. Didn’t matter if that guy happened to be an officer in the club and one of his most trusted men. When it came to me, no one would ever be good enough.

“He helped me heal, Dad. You have no idea what I went through, and I really don’t want to tell you. I felt so broken I wasn’t sure I’d ever be the same Ares you once knew. Prophet helped me put the pieces back together and helped make me strong again.”

Prophet leaned in and kissed my temple. “No, sweetheart. You were already strong. All you needed was a reminder.”

“Are you taking Ares to your house?” Mom asked. “You haven’t been there in two months. Does it need to be aired out? Fridge cleaned?”

“I took care of it already,” Lavender said. “Once we knew they were heading back, I went over to make sure everything would be ready for them. We might have hacked into his shopping apps to figure out what sort of items they’d been buying.”

I felt Prophet tense next to me and I leaned into him. The amused look Lavender shot me told me she’d realized something had been missing off the list -- condoms.

“Dr. Myron and Dr. Sykes were vacationing in the house next to ours,” I said. “Dr. Myron already checked me over, ran some blood tests, and he’s the one who confirmed my pregnancy. And Dr. Sykes gave me unofficial counseling during the two months we were there.”

My dad sighed. “Fine. I can see I’m outnumbered. But you need to come by the house if not tonight, then tomorrow. The kids need to see you. They’ve been worried.”

“Pres, I know you aren’t happy about this, but please know Ares is everything to me. Her and our child. I’d walk through fire for them, go straight to hell and fight the devil, or die if that’s what it took to keep them safe.”

My dad stared at him for the longest time. I wanted to chime in that I didn’t like that last part about him dying for me. If he did that, what would be the point of me living? Placing a hand over my still flat belly, I realized I’d have to push through the pain because I now had someone depending on me.

“Words are cheap, boy,” Dad finally responded, his voice low and controlled. “Love isn’t worth a damn without action to back it up. I realize you care for my daughter, and you put a lot on the line to go rescue her. Even took care of her for two months. But your job doesn’t end there. Two months compared to a lifetime? That’s nothing.”

“Then watch me,” Prophet challenged, his jaw set. “Watch how I protect what is mine. You’ve known me a long time now, Pres. You know I’m not a man who bends or breaks. I’ll stand by Ares, today, tomorrow… forever.”

Wire sighed. “Pres, I think it’s time to stand down on this one. You did your job by raising Ares and protecting her. Now it’s his turn. Got to let her go.”

Lavender elbowed him. “Will I have to remind you of those words when it’s Livvy’s turn?”

Wire glared at his woman. “I will examine every inch of that man’s life, and if he’s found lacking in any way, I’ll fucking crush him before he gets a chance to make a move on our girl.”

She shook her head and laughed softly. “All right, Papa Bear. Take it easy. Besides, you aren’t the only one who plans to thoroughly check out the guys she brings home. Don’t forget, your wife is rather skilled with a computer too.”

Wire tugged her against his side, his arm going around her waist. “Never said you weren’t.”

“Then let our actions speak for us,” Prophet said. “We’ve already faced a lot. Whatever comes our way, we’ll handle it together. Ares isn’t someone who will stand in my shadow. Her place is beside me.”

Mom smiled. “I knew I liked him. Come on, Savior. Take me home, and let these two get settled in. Ares, I’ll gather some of your things and have someone drop them off within the hour. You can come pack the rest tomorrow.”