Page 85 of Honorable Sins

I don't want to go anywhere, but Mick's right. I need to get Fitz out of here.

Our son shakes his head though.

Mick takes a deep breath, his chest expanding against my back. "Okay, a mhac, we'll all go."

It's a huge concession for my husband. He's putting our son's feelings ahead of the mob, but I'm not surprised by that.

We matter more to him than even the mob he's sworn to lead.

"No," Fitz says firmly. "We need answers before anything. There are immediate security concerns."

"Stop sounding like you're twenty instead of twelve," I admonish our son with emotion laced exasperation. "Your da will get the answers."

"I want to be here." Fitz draws himself up, flicks a glance to the man in the chair and then back to me. "I deserve to be here."

"That's not—"

"Tell me your concerns and I'll make sure I cover them during interrogation," Mick says, like his son's assumption he might have identified security issues his father wouldn't have doesn't bother him at all.

It probably doesn't.

Mick's arrogance is bullet proof against pricks to his pride. He doesn't even feel them, much less allow them to pierce his certainty of self.

Our son is a lot like his father in that regard.

"I'm not sure I'm going to survive your childhood without divine intervention," I tell my son with complete sincerity.

"You're not going anywhere," my son and husband say in unison with equal force.

Okay, then. "I have no plans to do so."

"You broke security protocols to come here," Fitz accuses.

Crossing my arms, I give him my best mom look. "You think you have a single leg to stand on in that regard?"

"I thought Sadie was in danger. You knew I was okay."

"Your actions scared your mam and she had to see for herself you're okay. Own it. Our actions, justified, or not, always have consequences and some of them are harder to live with than others."

Fitz opens his mouth. Closes it. And then after a few seconds of contemplative silence says, "I understand, da." Then he looks at me, green eyes burning with sincerity. "I'm sorry, mom."

"You are never allowed to do that to me again."

"I know."

"No, you don’t." My voice breaks. "You can’t."

And he will scare me again. It's inevitable. Even if we weren't in the mob. That's the nature of parenting and watching your children grow into independent adults. Especially smart and resourceful ones.

Fitz stiffens his shoulders. "I thought he had Sadie."

"I know, sweetheart." And the would-be kidnapper timed it perfectly so Fitz couldn't get through to Sadie or her parents.

"I knew it could be a trap." There's no apology in his voice now, just honesty.

"Good." I don't question why he chose to go suspecting that.

He'd made a promise to Sadie. We all did. Fitz made sure we kept them. He walked into a kidnapping attempt and gave his family enough time to save him.