Page 73 of Ethan's Sky

He’s always coming in here talking about wanting the guys to teach him how to kick butt so he can protect his mom. He’s got everyone around here’s respect for taking his position as man of the house seriously and wanting to take care of Violet.

But what worried us was when his interest in protecting his mom from bad guys suddenly shifted to an obsession. He started asking some very specific questions about what to do if someone grabbed his mama or threw her down. Wanting lessons on how to break a choke hold and flip people off his back. All kids love that shit, but it was the way his face changed when he talked about it. Almost like he was reliving something he’d experienced before.

I’ll never forget the way his face lit up when Declan pulled him into a‘private club meeting’in the locker room last month.

It was Dec, me, Hawk, Gabe, Jake, and Mack. We all stood in a circle around the boy. Dec got down on one knee, down to Carter’s eye level and explained, “This is a very secret meeting. Now club business is not to be discussed with anyone who is not a member of the Kings of Fury MC. Do you understand? Can you keep a secret?”

“But I’m not a member of your club. I’m just a kid.” He looked so serious I almost had to laugh.

“Well, that’s what this meeting is about. We’d like to make you an honorary member until you’re old enough to be a real prospect. Do you know what that means?”

“No sir, Mister Declan. I don’t.”

“It means you and your mom have the protection and loyalty of the Kings. If you’re ever in trouble or scared, or if you need any kind of help, the Kings will be there for you.”

“What do I have to do?” Carter was mesmerized. His eyes so wide and full of hope. It nearly broke my heart. You’d have thought Superman himself had told the kid he could be a superhero when he grows up.

“You have to work hard in school. Keep your nose clean and out of trouble. And always, always, take care of your mama. She’s a special lady and she needs looking after. You’re the man of the house, so that job falls to you. But like I said, if you ever need any help…if a problem is too big for you, you call, and we’ll handle it for you. You got me?”

“Mister Declan, sir? How do I call you?” Dec chuckled then handed him a cell phone.

“All our numbers are already programmed in this phone. You know how to use it?”

“Yes, sir. I play games on Mama’s phone all the time. She showed me how to use it to call my grandpa and 9-1-1.”

“Good. You think you can handle being a little King?”

“Oh, absolutely! Can I have a leather vest like yours?” The room filled with laughter.

“Not yet. You’ve got to earn your cut, but I do have this for you,” Gabe says, handing him a black zip front hoodie with the club logo on the back, and his name on the front. “If you want it.”

“Oh, please! Oh, please! I want it! I really, really do!” he spun around so Gabe could put it on him.

“If a bad person comes to try to take me away or tries to hurt my Mama,” he pauses, looking down at the floor, fidgeting with his fingers. “I can call you, and you’ll make the bad person go away and never come back?”

Gabe grabbed both his little hands in his big ones, looking him square in the eye and promised him, “Yes. We will. You’ll never have to worry about bad people anymore. You’re a little King now. That makes us family. The Kings of Fury take care of their own.”

I’ve never seen a little kid smile so big before in my life.

We never did get the full story about what he was talking about or who the bad people might be. But since she works for me, and the club essentially, I’m sure Declan’s done a background check and been digging into her past. Whatever he’s found he hasn’t told. me.

It took a little while, but after hearing how we made Carter a “little King”, I think Violet’s warmed up to most of us. Especially Hawk and Declan. I can’t say for sure, but I think Dec is sweet on her, but I like my teeth too much to give him any kind of shit about it.

“You think you can hold down the fort while I head down for a sparring session, Vi?”

“Sure thing, Ethan. Go on, I’ve got the front covered.”

I take off for the stairs leading to the indoor cage. I’m itching to break something, and if all I have available is the young guys who think they can take me in my own cage…so be it.

Pushing past the hanging bags along the wall, I head to my locker to grab my wraps. There are a couple of guys taking turns on the bags, while Anna is running a self-defense group on the other side. She used to hold the classes upstairs in one of the classrooms up there, but she moved them down here so they could watch us grapple and use our moves as examples while teaching the women how to break another person’s hold on them. Kieran thought the women would be a distraction, but the guys surprised him when they began helping Anna teach. Some of them take turns being the attacker, holding them, pinning them, and allowing the women to work through their escape in a more realistic scenario. Training to take down a man who has you by forty to fifty pounds is one thing. Doing it, is another. And after the guys stepped in to help, the women in Anna’s classes have improved dramatically.

I’ve almost got my hands wrapped when I finally notice there’s a fight happening in the cage. It’s not until I hear her voice that I realizewhois fighting in my cage.

Skyler.

Fuck.

“Will you quit fucking around already, Cash? You’re holding back. I know you are. If you’re not going to fight me for real, then get out and let someone else take your place.” She sounds pissed.

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