Chapter Ten
Eric
I stormed into my father’s hideout, pissed off and glad that I didn’t have a gun on me at the moment.
If I had, I would have shot him dead.
They had gone after Amy, an innocent party in this feud between him and Grant Travis.
And she had nearly died tonight.
My hands shook as I walked back down the hall and shoved open the door, watching as my father scrambled up from his bed, a shriek coming from the woman who was currently occupying it.
“Get the hell out,” I said to her, not caring.
I wanted a word with my father, and it wasn’t for anyone else’s ears.
Luckily, she didn’t hesitate, gathering her clothing and squeezing past me buck naked before I shut the door behind her.
“You are fucking lucky I don’t have a gun on me.”
My father didn’t even flinch, reaching for his pants and pulling them over his thin hips.
“What? Are you still pissed about them knocking you out?”
I growled. When I had awoken, I couldn’t believe that they had jumped me and knocked me out. But it was then that I had realized there was a reason, and it was because they were going after Travis or someone in his family. My first thought had been of Amy, and I had raced to her house, my heart freezing in my chest as I saw the flames licking out of the side.
They had set Amy’s house on fucking fire.
I had never been more frightened in my life to see those flames coming out of her house and no sign of her. When found her in that hallway, my thought had been to get her out of there immediately, not caring, with the flames singeing my own t-shirt in the process.
Now that she was safe, I had questions that needed answers.
“Why did you go after Amy Travis?”
He shrugged, pulling a shirt over his head.
“To make a statement. I wanted Grant, but Richard thought this would get his attention even more.”
“She nearly died!” I shouted, barely restraining my fury.
My father looked up at me, a peculiar expression on his face.
“Don’t tell me you care for the bitch. She’s the enemy, Eric, and if you are fucking her, you must not have told her who your dear old daddy is. Otherwise, she would never let you touch her.”
I hated the fact that he had pinpointed every concern I had right now with Amy.
“It’s none of your fucking business.”
Grayson put his hands on his hips, letting out a small bark of laughter.
“How about that? Hell, if I had known you were fucking her, I would have gotten you to get some secrets out of her. Well, it’s no matter. I think we got Grant’s attention tonight.”
I stared at him, not believing that this man in front of me was my father. I had known what kind of business he was in when I got involved, but killing innocent people for the greater good…? I was not into that kind of business.
“What if she had died?” I asked him, my voice tight.
“What if?” he answered with a shrug. “You need to grow a damn backbone son. These people, as soon as they find out who you are, will shun you and you will have a target on your back as well. Trust me on this. They only look out for themselves, not anyone who has put twenty fucking years into making them look good.”
I crossed the room and jacked him up against the wall, much like he had done to me the other day.
“Do not fucking mess with her again, or I will shoot you in the balls and leave you to bleed out. You understand?”
He didn’t flinch, his eyes hard as he stared at me.
“You need to be reminded who you are talking to son. One well-placed word and I could ruin everything for you.”
I released him, knowing his threat was real. If Amy found out who I really was, she would consider me in cahoots with the man before me.
I couldn’t let that happen.
He must have seen the dejection on my face, for he laughed.
“Damn son, you got it bad, don’t you? A good bit of ass will make you think crazy things.” The smile then disappeared and his eyes grew hard. “Just know: if you cross me, I will kill you without hesitation.”
I turned and walked out of the room, back out of the house and to my bike. I had two choices. I could turn my father in to Grant Travis and hope for the best, or I could protect Amy the best I could until he was caught by Grant’s minions. If I turned on him, he was going to kill Amy to prove a point to me. I knew that after tonight. He knew my weakness, and he would exploit it for what it was worth to suit his needs.
I couldn’t let that happen to her. I had to protect her the best I could and hope that this shit would blow over soon enough.
Because if she found out who I was, I would lose her completely.
Straddling the bike, I pulled out my phone and searched for Amy’s number, firing off a text to her to find out how she was feeling. She wasn’t far from my thoughts at all, and I was still worried how much the smoke could impact her pregnancy.
God, if she had died tonight, I don’t know what I would have done, but none of it would have come out too good. Amy, whether she liked it or not, was everything to me, and I hadn’t realized it until that moment, when I knew her life was in serious danger. If I had my way, I would put her on this damn bike and drive away from this town, from this life, just to keep her safe.
But that couldn’t be the case, not yet. Not until my father was dead and this feud was called off.
My cell pinged, and I let out a breath as I saw her response, that she was okay and staying with her father. At least she would be safe there, given the amount of Horsemen security he would have surrounding the house. I imagined Grant Travis wasn’t going to allow many of his family members to leave without detail from now on, and I wouldn’t either.
I sent her a few words before tucking the phone into my jeans and firing up my bike, pulling away from the dismal place that my father called ‘home’ these days.
This all had to work out in the end. Amy was my future, that child was my future, and I would give my life to protect them, either against my family or hers. I had suffered too much in my life to have this to be taken away as well.
Someone had to be feeling bad for me eventually, and I hoped it ended up with Amy in my arms.