Xander
Xander had a hard time figuring out just how he felt. The desire to fuck Daphne had come over him like a storm cloud, a force of nature that he couldn’t resist. Nearly blind with rage at Daphne for hiding his son from him, all he could think about was giving Daphne the punish-fucking of a lifetime. And now that he’d done it, he felt the anger that had taken hold of him dissipate. Now, as he lay there with Daphne on his chest, he was overcome with a feeling of contentment stronger than he’d experienced in as long as he could remember.
“I want to be here,” said Xander.
“You are here,” said Daphne, her eyes still closed as she nuzzled further into his burly chest.
“No,” he said. “I don’t just mean as some kind of temporary bodyguard or something; I mean that I want to be here for you and Jack.”
That roused Daphne out of her half-sleep. She sat up slightly and looked at Xander with skeptical eyes.
“Like, what—live here?”
“I don’t know,” said Xander. “I mean, now that I know that I have a son, there’s no getting rid of me. I hope you get that.”
Daphne nodded. The secret was out, and she seemed to be slowly coming to grips with it.
“So, first thing’s first: I’m going to be giving you money on a monthly basis.”
“No, no, no,” said Daphne. “You don’t need to do that.”
“No shit,” said Xander. “But that’s my kid in the other room, and I’ve got piles of cash sitting around that I have nothing to do with. I’m going to take care of my boy financially, whether you want it or not.”
Daphne nodded slowly, evidently understanding that there was no talking Xander out of this.
“Besides,” Xander said with a smirk. “It is the law.”
Daphne returned his sly expression and gave him a playful slap on the arm.
“Since when do you care about that?” she asked.
“Good point,” said Xander. “But I don’t know what to do with the money. I mean, I don’t have any problem earning it, and if all goes well in the next few months then I’m going to have more than I know what to with. I guess I’ll look into getting a college fund set up or some shit.”
“That is,” said Daphne, “if he even wants to go to college after learning what his dad gets up to.”
Xander considered Daphne’s words, realizing that she was right. Sure, he’d been pissed as hell that she’d kept Jack away from him and his lifestyle. Xander knew that while he made a good living doing what he did, he also understood that he had a unique knack for the criminal life. He’d seen plenty of idiot kids with ambitions of being Scarface on a Harley get in over their heads and end up in a shallow grave somewhere; the thought of Jack meeting the same fate was enough to make him sick to his stomach.
“I don’t know,” said Xander, trying to think of some sort of solution. “I’ll do my best to make sure he never knows about what I do for a living. I’ll keep him out of that fuckin’ world.”
“What are you going to tell him when he starts asking about what Daddy’s job is, and why everyone else’s daddy goes to work during the day in a suit while his goes to work in leather and a beard hanging down to his chest?”
“I’ll figure something out,” said Xander.
“And all this …” said Daphne, “with the guy after me now … I can’t live like this; I can’t live worried if someone from a rival gang is going to be following me home from work.”
“You won’t have to worry about that for long,” said Xander. “Once I get these fuckers stomped out then my crew will be the top MC in the area. No one’s gonna step up to us. And the president told me that once this war is over then I’ll be put in charge of distribution, which means the low-level dirty shit is gonna be left to the new guys.”
Xander saw from Daphne’s expression that she was only mildly put at ease by this.
“I just don’t want our son to be raised around violence,” she said. “I want him to stay the boy that he is now.”
“I can do something about the violence,” said Xander, “but that kid’s gonna grow up one way or another. And let me tell you this: I’ve been around enough wanna-be tough guys to know that most of them don’t have any dad around to keep them out of trouble. Boys without a father seem to get involved in the exact kind of life that you don’t want for Jack. So, if I’m around, then I’m gonna do every goddamn thing in my power to make sure that kid stays on the straight and narrow.”
“I’m still not sure about any of this,” said Daphne, “but it looks like you’re going to be here for the time being, at least until this situation is sorted out. Just promise me, promise me, that you’ll make sure that nothing happens to Jack. I don’t even want to think about something happening to him.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke.
“I swear, just like I swore to protect you, that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that he’s safe. I’ll move heaven and earth to make sure these pieces of shit don’t lay a single hand on my boy.”
Daphne wiped the tears out of her eyes and nodded.
“We’ll see,” she said. “But I want one term to all of this.”
“Name it.”
“For the time being, I don’t want Jack to know who you are.”
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” asked Xander. “I can’t tell that boy that I’m his dad? Are you out of your mind?”
“On top of everything that’s going on right now, I don’t think that telling him that his dad is back is going to be the best thing for him. He’s gonna need to take all this a little bit at a time.”
“This is fucked up,” said Xander through gritted teeth. “I’m just supposed to pretend that he’s just some kid I know?”
“You can spend all the time you want with him,” said Daphne. “In fact, I’d encourage it. That boy needs a man in his life. But until you prove that you’re going to stick around and do what needs to be done, telling him just who you are is off-limits.”
Xander was back to being furious, though he could somewhat understand her point. This business with the Devil’s Spawn had a strong chance of spinning out of control, and he didn’t want to tell Jack that he was his father only to have to go out and fight a battle that he might not come back from.
“Fine,” said Xander. “I’ll keep that shit under wraps.”
“Good,” said Daphne.
Then, a soft knock sounded at the bedroom door. Daphne and Xander scrambled out of bed and threw on their clothes just as Jack opened the door and walked in.
“Mommy,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I’m not tired anymore.”
“I think the little dude’s got enough shuteye for now,” said Xander, putting his hands on his hips. “Hey, dude—what do you say we play cops and bikers?”
“okay!” said Jack, his eyes lighting up.
With that, Xander ran over to Jack and scooped him up. Over his shoulder, he could see Daphne watching the scene unfold, a skeptical look in her gorgeous eyes.