Page 14 of My Solemn Vow
She giggles and shrieks. It’s loud and fills the room despite all the noise-dampening measures I’ve installed. I’d hoped if I got her to lie back down, she’d be tired enough to fall back asleep. But I was still at work at bedtime, and at my mother’s insistence, Kerrianne went to bed early.
Last night was a fucking mess. My hunt to determine how the Italians are getting information came back with a good quarry. That prey, before it died, led us to hit an Italian storehouse. We came out victorious, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t without problems.
The Italians had significantly more firepower than they’ve ever had before. Russian firepower. It’s a new development, and one we’re not pleased with. Beyond that, had I not been shot during the raid, I would have been home and could have dictated her bedtime myself.Well, isn’t this the consequences of my own actions.
I let my little girl free, and she scrambles out of bed. Waiting by my door, she’s hoping for a chase. She’s fast and, for seven, keeps me on my game at all hours of the day.
I remember a time, nine years ago, when I could come home, flop down into bed, and sleep for twelve uninterrupted hours. But I wouldn’t go back to those days, not if it meant losing her.
“Alright, go downstairs, feed Captain, and you can have thirty minutes of tablet time. I’ll be down soon.”
“Okaaay. But if I come back up and you’re sleeping.” She eyes me and must be practicing her stink eye with Grandma again because she almost looks intimidating for her forty pounds.
“I’m up. I’m up.” I nod, waving her away because I’m starting to feel wetness spread on my side.
Kerrianne closes the door behind her, and I wait a minute to make sure she doesn’t storm back in before rolling out of bed.
There’s a small red mark on my white sheets, and the tank I wore to bed has a larger red spot. I pull it off over my head and look at the sutures, finding one popped open.
The bullet would have killed a human. It was a clean shot, straight through and punctured a lung.
Our healing is faster, but that doesn’t make us invincible. From this morning’s light exertion, I’m out of breath, and when I try to inhale deeply, the pain is sharp. I cough, and blood comes up, but that’s not unusual for it only being four hours since it happened.
I need two large raw steaks, a painkiller, and the grace of God to heal my body and get through this morning. Little mercies for being wolves. The fuel for our body is simple. Raw proteins, mostly red meat for the blood loss, fish for omega-3s for inflammation, and lamb for help with muscle healing.
Of course, as a father, I firmly encourage eating other things besides proteins, which is a struggle, but for myself, I cut a few corners.
Gunshot butterflied closed, cleaned up, and dressed for the day, I carry my suit jacket downstairs to where Kerrianne is messing around on her tablet. I try to keep her screen time to a minimum, but if it’s a little bit of extra screen time or explaining why Dad’s bleeding, well, I’ll take her up north to our propertyin the woods on an extra-long hike this weekend and pray I’m doing a good enough job.
I toss my suit coat over the back of a chair, and Kerrianne is quick to close out of her game and close the case without argument.
I don’t deserve such a well-behaved child.
“Let me guess. You want a big plate of soda bread French toast, two pounds of bacon, and a bowl of fruit for breakfast?”
“It’s tradition, Dad.” She gives me snark.
I raise an eyebrow at her. The sass can only go so far because, Lord help me, I’m not having that as a teenager.
“Yes, please.” She smiles, and it’s too cute to even scold her any further.
This is the part I hate. Kerrianne is fed and dressed, hair braided and backpack put together. I have to say goodbye. I hate goodbye. We always do it at the house because it’s safer. I can get all the hugs before she goes.
Kerrianne reassures me she’ll be fine.
I threaten Sean within an inch of his life to keep her safe, at all costs. He nods, knowing how serious I am. It’s a risk bodyguards like him take when agreeing to work this closely with the pack alpha’s family. The risk is magnified when the pack alpha is so predominantly involved in the darker parts of society and his granddaughter’s life.
Kerrianne spends the drive hypothesizing what school and her class will be like, based on the info packet from Mrs. Neidermeister detailing what second grade will bring.
I half listen while reminding myself that I’m not the only parent who sends his kid to school with a bodyguard. Half of the students at Rothschild-McClintock Magnet School haveone. If I could get away with it, I’d hire private tutors and lock her away from the world to keep her safe. But she thrives in a classroom with peers, and I won’t take that from her.
How do other parents live with this?
We pull up in front of the school, and Kerrianne ambles out the back of the vehicle. Sean is right by her side with his head on a swivel, cataloging the world around them.
On the first day, bodyguards are allowed to stay the full day and report back with any potential security issues. They’ll be able to report any deficiencies in the school’s security — not that they’ll find any — directly to one of the few legitimate businesses I run. It made the parents happy, given the new security system, to have an input in its execution.
But it’s flawless. Between my eye for weak points and Royal’s expertise in state-of-the-art technology, there’s very little anyone could do to compromise the school and the safety of the students.
