Page 12

Prophet

Our return home hadn’t gone quite the way I’d thought it would. I’d expected Savior to hug his daughter and give her a warm welcome. Instead, he’d been pissed at me, which had upset Ares. I’d do whatever it took to make her feel safe again. I worried all the progress we’d made was about to go down the drain.

“Let’s go home, Ares,” I murmured, giving her hand a squeeze.

The farther we got from the clubhouse and Savior, the less tense Ares became. I drove us straight to the house and let her go inside while I unstrapped the duffle from the bike and carried it to the bedroom. We’d washed everything before we packed it, so all we needed to do was put them up.

I hoped this house would be a sanctuary for her. It had been in the past. Even if the rest of the compound put her on edge right now, I needed this space to be a place she could stay without feeling as if she was being judged.

Ares stood in the living room. Everything remained the same as it had been the last time she came over. I winced when I realized it was exactly the same, which meant I’d need to change the bed and wash the sheets. Lavender may have stopped by, but I doubted she’d gone quite that far. Dusting, mopping, cleaning counters, and stocking the fridge had probably been more along the lines of what she’d taken care of. Once Ares had gone missing, I hadn’t really thought about general housekeeping things. Besides, I’d liked the fact my bed smelled like her. Not that we’d shared it before, but she’d taken a nap here more than once.

“Safe,” she whispered, looking around the house. My heart ached for her. If her dad wasn’t the club president, I’d go back and kick his ass. Did he have any idea the damage he’d done to his daughter today? Fucking asshole!

“Always,” I said. “No one will ever hurt you in this house, Ares. It’s our place. Yours and mine.”

I gently led her to the couch and made her sit. Handing her the remote, I went to the bedroom and quickly stripped the bed and remade it, I went to toss the sheets into the washer before I joined Ares again. Taking a seat next to her, I pulled her against me. A motorcycle drove past the house, and she immediately tensed, her gaze shooting over to the front door. I hated that she felt so unwelcome. Yeah, I definitely needed to hand Savior’s ass to him. What the fuck was wrong with him?

Another engine came by the house, but this time, it sounded like they were pulling into the driveway. If I wasn’t mistaken, it was one of the club trucks. What the fuck was it now? I hoped it was only the clothes Dessa said she’d send over for Ares, but after the welcome we’d received, I couldn’t be sure.

“Stay here,” I said, standing and heading to the door.

When I opened the door and saw Sam on the other side, I relaxed. If anyone here would be supportive of Ares, it would be him. While his daughter hadn’t gone through quite the same thing, she’d been a victim just like Ares.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “Just dropping off a box of stuff for Ares.”

“Thank you,” she said softly from where she sat in the living room. I wasn’t sure he heard her, until he flashed a smile in her direction.

“Where do you want me to put it?” he asked. “Or would it be better if I didn’t come inside?”

“It’s okay,” Ares said, her voice still so low I could barely hear her.

I motioned for him to come inside, and he carried the box to the hall. I told him which room was mine, and he placed it inside the door. He gave Ares a little wave as he left the house, and I shut the door behind him, twisting the lock. I’d never really locked the doors here before, but I thought it was best for Ares.

“You don’t have to deal with that stuff right now. We can just relax tonight.”

She shook her head. “Better to get it out of the way.”

I held her hand on the way to the bedroom, then opened the box to see what Dessa had sent over. On top lay a picture of Ares with her family. She quickly looked away and I realized it was too soon to put the photo out. Instead, I tucked it in my bedside table drawer.

We worked in silence, sorting her items and putting them into the dresser or closet. When Lavender had checked my fridge, she’d apparently come in here too. I hadn’t had a drawer emptied before, or the closet organized in a way that would leave room for Ares’ items. But both were ready for her. I really did owe Lavender and Wire a lot.

Right after we put away the last of her things, Ares looked around the room, her hands trembling. I lifted her into my arms and she buried her face against me. Carrying her to the living room, I sat with her on the couch again, giving her the remote. I didn’t care what we watched. She could put on whatever would make her feel less stressed over being here.

She cuddled closer, and I wondered if the situation with Savior was going to cause more of a setback in her recovery than I’d thought. Not that she didn’t like being close to me even when she was having an amazing day. This time it felt more like she needed me to comfort her. Much like she had in those first days we’d been in Gulf Shores.

I didn’t know if she was actually watching the TV or not, but I let the movie play. She’d chosen a romantic comedy, and I figured she needed something lighthearted like that. As long as we were spending time together, I didn’t really care what we watched.

I shifted my hand so I could trace lazy circles over her arm. At the beach house, I’d discovered doing things like this seemed to help her. It would pull her from whatever dark thoughts were haunting her. She leaned in closer, practically gluing herself to my side, and I used my other hand to trace patterns on her thigh.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Better?” I asked.

“Getting there,” she whispered. “You seem to always know exactly what I need, even before I do.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that. While I liked knowing I could offer that to her, I hated the fact she needed me to. If I could go back and change things, I’d have stopped her from going home that day. Maybe if I’d been there when she left Joker’s house, I could have walked her home, and I’d have noticed the cut in the fence. It would have allowed us to take the Lathems down then and there. Or I could have invited her over to my place.

But I couldn’t time travel, and I couldn’t erase the things that happened to Ares. All I could do was be here for her, give her my support, and make sure she knew she wasn’t alone, no matter how bad things got.

“Thank you,” she said. “For everything. Saving me. Giving me time to process what happened to me. Just… thanks for being you.”

“That’s not something you should say thank you for. I love you, Ares. Everything I’ve done is because you’re my other half, the one person in this world who means the most to me. Seeing you happy makes me happy. So don’t make me out to be some angel or some shit. I was being selfish and nothing more.”

She smiled a little and turned her face into me, breathing me in. “Can we stay like this a while longer?”

“I don’t have any plans. You?”

“No.”

“Then I guess you have your answer.” I watched the movie she’d put on, and when it was time to start the next one, I realized she’d fallen asleep.

I went ahead and watched a second movie to make sure she was actually sleeping. When she didn’t budge the entire time, even though I’d put on one of her favorites, I knew it was time to turn off the lights and head to bed.

I stood and lifted her into my arms, carrying her to the bed. After I placed her on the bed, I stripped off her leggings, managed to somehow remove her bra without waking her up, and left her to sleep in her T-shirt and panties. I smoothed her hair back from her face, then kissed her forehead.

“I’ll be right back.”

I quickly went back to the living room to shut off the TV, turned off any lights we’d switched on, and double-checked the doors and windows. Even though the compound was safer than your average neighborhood, we’d all learned just how easily it was for someone to distract us and sneak inside. I hadn’t said anything to Ares, but I’d noticed some of the fence had been replaced with a brick one while we’d been gone. I wondered if Savior was going to do the entire compound like that. From a distance, it had looked like there were spikes along the top of the bricks. I still didn’t think that would be enough to keep anyone out.

I’d have asked Savior about it if he hadn’t been such a dick when we got here. Plenty of time to check-in with Saint tomorrow. I knew he’d tell me what was going on, without the extra drama. Although, I hoped Dessa had made her point tonight. If anyone could make Savior back down, it was her.

Returning to the bedroom, I stripped down to my underwear, then slid under the covers, pulling Ares into my arms.

“Thank you,” she whispered. I didn’t know what the hell she was thanking me for now. I just kissed her on the forehead again, and hoped she had a good night’s sleep. Her breathing evened out, and her body relaxed against mine.

I stayed up, keeping watch over her for a while longer, making sure she wasn’t going to have any nightmares. With the stress she’d endured today, anything was possible. She hadn’t had one in weeks, but… I knew she wasn’t completely over what happened to her. Hell, she might never get completely over it. All we could do was take it one day at a time.

When she rolled away from me, I eased out of bed. Pausing, I waited to make sure she wouldn’t wake up. She continued to sleep, so I grabbed my phone and slipped from the room. I went to the kitchen, where I paced as I called Savior. It was late, and he’d probably be pissed I was calling, but I didn’t care right now. There were things that needed to be said.

“This is Savior,” he said when the call connected.

“I need you to listen and not talk. Think you can do that, Pres?”

He sighed. “What do you want, Prophet? I already got an earful from Dessa.”

“Do you have any idea what you did today? Between me and the doctors, we’d gotten her to a good place. She wasn’t as anxious, stopped having nightmares, and she no longer jumped at every little thing. I didn’t worry as much about her suddenly wandering off in a dark direction in her mind. Until now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“The shit you pulled when we got here. That was the last thing Ares needed. I know you were mad she’d been gone for so long and hadn’t bothered to reach out to you or accept your calls when you tried to reach her. I get it. But none of that was an excuse for you to be a dick today.”

Savior growled. “Watch it! I can still kick your ass out of here.”

“Yeah, you can. And guess what, your daughter would go with me.”

“Are you threatening me, you little shit?” I could tell he was getting twice as pissed as earlier. I needed to bring him back down, but honestly, he wasn’t going to like hearing what I had to say.

“Look, Pres. My priority is your daughter. What she needed today was for you to welcome her with a hug, maybe a few of our brothers or their women coming to greet her in a peaceful and calm environment. Instead, you picked a fucking fight.” It was quiet for a little too long. I glanced at the phone to see if the call had dropped, or if he’d hung up. “Pres?”

“I’m here. And you’re right. Is Ares okay?” he asked.

“She wasn’t in the best shape when I brought her home, but I think she’s doing okay right now. The sound of motorcycles passing made her tense up again. I think she worried you would come to the house. Or that someone else would decide to make her feel unwelcome in her own home.”

“Ouch. That fucking hurt,” he muttered.

“Good. It was meant to.”

“I’ll keep my distance until you tell me Ares is ready to see me,” he said. “It’s going to fucking kill me, but I want what’s best for her. As much as I hate to admit it, I think that’s you.”

“Thanks for saying that, Pres. Means a lot.”

“Go take care of our girl. And let me know if there’s anything she needs. Looks like I have a lot to make up for.”

We ended the call and I went back to bed. Ares hadn’t budged, and I curled my body around hers. I hoped things would be better for her tomorrow. If she wanted to hole up in the house for a few days, then I’d let her. Eventually, I’d have to give her a nudge to venture out around the compound at the very least. There were plenty of people here I knew would be happy she was back.

Maybe I needed to call Lavender tomorrow and see if she’d get in touch with some of Ares’ friends and have them stop by. I didn’t know what else to do to prove to her she belonged here, and people were on her side.

“Love you, Ares. And so many others do too. You’re going to be okay.” I kissed her shoulder. “We’ve got your back.”

She mumbled something in her sleep, and I hoped she’d heard me… I’d rip the moon from the sky and give it to her, if that was what she wanted.