I LEAVE HER TO SLEEP.
Heading downstairs, intent on running off a few rounds in the shooting range, I’m stopped by the sight of Aurora reading in the lounge room. In the corner of the room, a pen houses the small cat. The animal a white ball on a pillow. Setup to be the utmost spoilt creature alive, I am certain.
It’s the early hours of the morning now. Staring at my wife, it becomes evident something weighs on her as she escapes into an alternate narrative. Yet, I know better than to press her for details while she attempts to wipe her mind of them.
The lamp over her right shoulder casts a glow across the olive skin on her face and the white pages on her lap. The only illumination to the room. ‘Were you reading to my little deer when I came in earlier?’ I ask, striding to stand before her.
Unfazed, she finishes her paragraph, her eyes sliding across the page one last time before she pulls a ribbon down and closes the book on it. A sly wisp of a smile slips across her lips. ‘Yes. She likes the classics.’
‘She likes you,’ I state, fighting to remain nonchalant, stifling the hiss of disapproval that threatens to twist my outward manner. I don’t entirely disapprove of Fawn’s affections. Watching my sweet girl grow, coming to know what she enjoys and doesn’t as she explores her sexuality and accepts her beauty, is my greatest pleasure. I exhale hard, disliking the territorial growl that circles the warning sound.
As always, my wife sees straight through me, saying, ‘She has a singular taste in companions. Wouldn’t you agree?’
‘My little deer is awed by strength.’
‘Yet is so very unaccepting of her own.’
I laugh, impressed and agitated. ‘Part of me, as always, is fascinated by your attention to detail.’ Clapping my hands in front of me, I add, ‘But I’m not sure I appreciate so much of your attention on her.’
She rolls her eyes. ‘She’s yours—’
‘Yes,’ I ground immediately. ‘But she’s not entirely contented right now.’ Sighing roughly, I admit through a tight jaw, ‘And for the first time in my entire life, Aurora, I have no fucking idea how to fix this damn problem. What do I do with a teenage girl?’
Her dark whiskey-coloured eyes soften knowingly. ‘You can’t expect a young girl to not be the reflection of how she is treated. So… treat her.’
‘I thought I was… What do you suggest?’
‘Give her the world, Clay.’ She stands and sashays to place the book back on the shelf, using the few seconds to hum in contemplation. ‘Don’t keep her locked away from it.’
Unacceptable. ‘I won’t choose anything over her safety. Not even her happiness,’ I declare as I track Aurora’s movement across the room. ‘Dustin is only a few miles away, Aurora. It isn’t safe.’
‘You found him!’ She whips around to look at me, her dark brows pitched as she processes this recent development.
I nod. ‘I believe so. In the biker compound. I’m almost certain of it. He’ll be coming for her and the baby he believes to still be in her womb. I don’t know what he’s planning.’
She shakes her head slowly. ‘But it will be a massacre. My father would have had his men and your brothers break into that compound at night and take them all out. He’d call in the force. If he—’
‘Jimmy didn’t care about casualties. I do. And we won’t be putting Xander at risk.’
‘No. Or her.’ It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of agreement. Aurora doesn’t want our family anywhere near this. She doesn’t want Fawn anywhere near this. It seems my little deer is bewitching everyone.
That makes a smile slide across my lips for a moment before it falls. ‘This may get out of control, Aurora,’ I advise. ‘They may come for you. Or the girls. They may create chaos on the streets. There is no saying what they will do given the chance. I cannot have my family in the city while this is being executed.’
‘I can tell by your tone you already have a plan. Have you contacted Luca?’ Aurora asks.
‘I have a meeting with him tomorrow morning. I’ll be working from home,’ I state, my eyes landing on the kitten, a corner smile fighting its way out when those dual-coloured eyes peer up at me. ‘But we will leave,” I say, returning my attention to Aurora. “We must be seen outside the city. I may have a clean image, but Max does not. None of us can be here when the fight breaks out or we will be caught up in it. I won’t let another one of my brothers lose years again.” My regret clogs my throat. Max lost years… “And the women need to be safe so my brothers can act ruthless and meticulous. My thoughts are to spend time in Dubai and then leave the women and Xander under hotel arrest. Max, Bronson, and I fly back to the District… And we will take the compound at night with only a few men. We will try to keep it quiet and professional. If we succeed, that will be the end of it forever, and the city will barely blink an eye.”
She exhales hard. ‘Xander will be furious if you leave him out of this. If you trick him into leaving the District.’
‘My young brother will do as he’s instructed. Far be it, I would rather suffer his hate than grieve his death.’ I gaze at the woman I respect more than most. A person so entwined with my own self, with the construct of who I am today, that I barely know which of my ideals and mannerisms were mine first… and which were hers. So, of course, I know, when I add, ‘I want you away and safe, too,’ she will rebut.
‘Absolutely not,’ she scolds, and I grin at her for her predictability. ‘I won’t allow you to execute this by yourself. If any of you don’t return, you will need backup. I need to be here to send men into the compound to get you out.’
She is right, of course, but I still don’t like it. ‘If they capture us, they may come here searching for you,’ I challenge, shaking my head. ‘No. I need you out of the city. I won’t put you in danger like that.’
‘I was in danger the moment I was born.’ She bristles. ‘It never bothered my father, so don’t let it bother you.’
‘But it does bother me,’ I say smoothly.
Squaring her shoulders, she presents unwavering severity in every inch of her posed stance. ‘You can’t expect a woman to not be the reflection of how you treat her,’ she repeats, and I frown. Damn woman. ‘You have always treated me as an equal. Don’t go archaic on me now, Clay.’
Panning my eyes over her flawless features, I see the resolve. She is right. Keeping her from this will only fill her with the same disdain she harboured for her father. A man who forced her to accept this life but never gave her a voice. I won’t do that. I gave her my word decades ago that I would never pull rank on her.
‘As you wish,’ I agree. ‘You may stay in the city. Be here to make arrangements should we not return.’
‘You will return, but I’ll be ready if you don’t.’ The flare of strength crosses her eyes. ‘I’ll bring every man, woman, and child in until we find you.’
‘You sound like a boss.’ I smile at her, liking how well she wears intimidation. How comfortably it simmers just beneath her flawless skin. ‘And if things get messy,’ I add. ‘I need you to control the press. How is your relationship with Lorna? Can we count on her to mediate information to The District News?’
She smiles, unbidden evidence my bratty ex-lover still invokes endearment in my wife. ‘We still enjoy one another often. I believe we can count on her.’
Excellent.
