Page 62 of Redemption

“Stay till morning. It’ll be safer to go in daylight,” Jennings says. “Everyone else, we’re on lockdown. We’ll keep the men outside Lex’s place, and we’ll send someone out to Karmen’s.”

“I’ll do it,” TK says. “My daughter’s out there.”

Patriot stands. “I got you. Kai can stay here at the clubhouse.”

“I’m going to Lex’s place,” Colt says.

His father shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, son.”

“She’s still my wife. Plus, my kids are in that house, just like Klaire’s in Karmen’s. No one’s going to protect my family better than me.”

“Some might argue otherwise,” Zane says, his voice quiet but still loud enough to be heard. The nerve of this motherfucker after all the damage he caused.

His nostrils flare. “You got something you wanna say?”

“I’m just saying, Lex would be here with the kids if you weren’t such a fucking dipshit. We wouldn’t need to station people outside her house because she’d feel like this was her home like it’s always been.”

“And who the fuck started all the shit by making her feel like her house wasn’t really her home? Because it didn’t fucking start with me, that’s for damn sure.”

His brother-in-law stands, fists clenched. “Fuck you, Colt. We’ve moved past all that.”

“You have, but has she? Because it’s continued to come up through our entire relationship. Starting when we were kids. Hell, she hates celebrating her birthday because of what you put her through. It’s not all in the past.”

“Yeah? Who sent her running with just a dance tonight? Wasn’t me. Wasn’t Dad. It was the man who has her looking like a goddamned skeleton with skin. You want to pass judgment, maybe look in the fucking mirror, Colt.”

“Fuck you,” he says and moves towards the door. “I’ll be at my wife’s house protecting my kids.”

As he walks out, even he hears how absurd those words are. He really has become his father.

Chapter 23

Griffin’s Beach

Lex

Lex sighs as Shep clutches the beer she gave him. It’s been about fifteen minutes of him sitting there, silently stewing, and she just sits and waits for him to speak. Sharing the intimacies of her marriage wasn’t on her to-do list for the evening, but she didn’t exactly have a choice. Not if she wanted to keep her friendship intact. He just needed to know.

“I can’t fucking believe him,” Shep growls. “The images you’ve painted won’t leave my fucking head.”

“This is my problem, not yours,” she says and looks at the door as someone knocks. “He’s your brother, and that doesn’t change anything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he says and takes a drink from the can.

She stands and walks over to the front door. Opening it, she jumps as her stomach drops. “Colt.”

“Hey,” Colt says and pushes his way inside. She continues to stand, holding the door open like an idiot.

His nostrils flare, and she can tell by the rise and fall of his chest just how angry he is. Really angry. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m here to relieve Shep. The club is on lockdown, and I’m staying with you and the kids.”

Shep stands and glares. “Are you sure you should do that? The club won’t need you in twenty minutes, and then you’ll take off leaving your family behind like you’ve been doing for a fucking year?”

“Don’t you start with me, too,” he growls, his fists clenched at his sides. “I’m not in the fucking mood.”

“Too?” Lex asks. “Who already started with you?”

“Your brother,” he says and takes the door from her. Nodding towards it, he glares back at her friend. “You’re free to go to your new wife.”

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