Page 37 of The Secrets We Keep

“Yes,” he admits. “He doesn’t think you’re worthy of the mother charter.”

I nod my head and turn to the two kids. “If you leave my town and never show your faces here again, I’ll let you go now. Do you understand?” They both eagerly nod their heads. “Good, get the fuck out of my sight and forget everything you’ve seen and heard here. If we see you here again, you’ll regret it. Take them out of town and make sure they understand my order,” I tell Cole and Nash. They remove them from the room, and I turn back to the rest of my members.

“What do you want us to do with him?” Axel asks with a nod toward Eric.

“We’re going to use him,” I tell everyone before turning back to Eric. “You’ll get your quick death if you lure James to us.”

“You trust him to do that?” Rowan asks.

“I trust him to do whatever he can to cover his ass,” I grunt. “He knows he’s dead either way. He’ll choose to have it happen fast.”

27

SOPHIE

I pace back and forth as Grayson helps Asher get his pajamas on and tells him to brush his teeth. It’s been such a long day, and I don’t want to be having the conversation that Grayson and I are about to have.

I’m terrified. I’m not scared for myself; I’m scared of how Asher is going to react to what happened today. So far, he’s taken it well, probably even better than I have.

Grayson’s voice pulls my attention to him as he walks back into the room. “He’s settling in. I put a show on for him to watch before bed.” I stop in my tracks and nod my head. Grayson takes in my disheveled appearance and walks over to me, cupping my face. “Tell me what’s on your mind, baby.”

I swallow hard and then meet his eyes. “I’m worried about Asher.”

He nods his head, his eyes softening. “He seems to be taking things okay.”

“For now,” I slump against him. His arms wraparound me, and he pulls me close. “What if this happens again?”

Grayson leans back and meets my gaze. “I won’t let it.”

“You can’t promise me that, Grayson,” I mutter as I pull away and walk back to the island.

“I know I can’t, but I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like that happens to you both ever again,” he tells me as he steps up to his side of the island.

“I’m worried about all of this, what if something like this does happen again?” I hold up my hand to stop him when he moves to speak. “I know that you’ll do everything you can to protect us, but what if it happens again? You can’t be with both of us at every moment of the day. You can’t stop every evil thing from happening. I’m worried that this is going to change him. That this is going to make him harder. I’m worried that he’s going to be hurt. That he’s going to be taken from us,” I finish on a sob.

Grayson eats up the space between us and wraps me in his arms again and I cry into his chest. “Are you going to leave me?” He rasps.

I pull back, my mouth agape and tears streaming down my face, but I can’t respond before Asher bursts into the room. “No! We can’t leave! Don’t make me go!” He cries.

My heart sinks at the sight of his tears. “Buddy, Iwould never leave. I would never make you leave. This is our home. I would never take you from your dad. I would never leave your dad. I’m just worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” he says as he straightens to his full height, pushing his shoulders back. “And I will be as long as we’re together. All of us,” he adds with a sniff.

I give him a watery smile and then walk over and kneel in front of him. “I promise that we’re not going anywhere. We’re a family and we’ll get through this together.”

“Okay,” he says before he wipes his eyes. “Do you promise, too?” He asks his dad.

Grayson comes over and kneels in front of him like me. “I promise that I will never leave you guys.” Asher nods his head and then throws himself into our arms. “How about I show you guys something that will prove how much you mean to me?”

I furrow my brow. What does that even mean? Asher nods his head eagerly.

“Okay, we have to be quick since it’s close to bedtime, but go put on some shoes, we’ll take a ride.”

A few minutes later we’re in Grayson’s truck and driving toward where his parents live. We stop a few blocks over in a fairly new subdivision. I look around curiously, not sure why we’re here, but the curiosity leaves my mind when we pull up in front of a house.

The ranch style house stretches out against thedarkening sky, illuminated with outdoor lighting. Its white siding is pristine, the wooden shudders and doors pop along with black accents and hanging baskets on the wooden porch. All the wood on the house is stained with a beautiful warm tone. What really pops are the lilies in the landscaping.My favorite flower.Every variation of lilies fills the landscaping. My eyes well with tears.This is the home I dreamed of.The home Grayson and I always talked about having one day.

My eyes whip to Grayson who is watching me nervously.

---