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“The kind I’m dead serious about.” But Tiger injected a calmer note into his voice. “I’m not going to turn this into a battlefield, though. Not with Aubrey and Skye here. But what I’m showing you is my resolve. Let’s go under the other shelter over there, away from our backup, and talk about it. Get out of the rain. You willing to do that, little brother?”
Colt’s brow rose. “You haven’t called me that in a long time. It still pisses me off.”
“I only called you that because you went through your growth spurt first and it made me mad that you were an inch taller than me for a year.”
“It was fun jerking your chain about it.” They gazed at one another, then Colt dipped his head toward the second shelter. When they got there, Colt sat down on a table, boots braced onthe bench. Tiger took a similar position on the table next to it, facing him.
“There are two ways to do this. The first way, the best way, is you agree to let her live with Rose and Bill. Give them permanent custody without a fight. The second way, I throw whatever weight I’ve got behind them to win that in court.”
As Colt’s gaze flashed, Tiger pressed onward. “That’s not what I want to do. You’re her dad. You love her. You need to be a part of her life. But be as much a part of your life as you can as a long-distance dad. Let her grow up without the Fallen Angels in her life.”
“If I give them full custody, they’ll never let me see her again.”
"I will do everything I can to convince them not to do that. And if you don’t fight them, you’ll already be halfway to winning that argument. Let them have her, and ask them if it's okay to come be a part of her life, on their turf, whenever you can get away. Prove that you intend to keep her as far from your world as possible. Let Nicole have that peace and honor her memory. She was about to leave you, wasn't she?"
Colt shot him an angry look, but there was a helpless despair beneath it. "Fuck her," he said. "Fuck that bitch. She knew what she was getting into."
"Yeah, she did. But Aubrey changed it for her.”
Colt’s mouth went to a thin line, but before he could respond, Tiger sighed. “Let’s tell the truth, Colt. You love her, you loved Nicole, but you love the club and what dad wanted more. You always have. With her grandparents, shewillbe the most important thing in the world. And she’ll have her uncle to watch out for her. While you do what you do in a world no kid should ever be a part of.”
Colt stared at him, his face granite. Tiger stared back.
“Would you kill me over her, Tiger? If it was her or me?”
“Yeah. Absolutely. If you feel the way about her you should, you’d want me to do it, if it was in her best interest.”
The sound of the truck door opening had them both looking that way. Aubrey had woken up and seen her dad. She wanted to come to him. Skye was holding her back with gentle hands, but Colt gestured to her, that it was okay, and Tiger reinforced it with a nod. Fortunately outside of Colt’s view, so it didn’t aggravate him.
“Come here, baby,” Colt called.
Even knowing it should be okay, Tiger tensed as Aubrey came toward them. His eyes were on the waiting Fallen Angels. So were Neil and Lawrence’s.
Neil had told him the same rules applied as in the swamp. They’d watch his back while he focused on the part of the mission only he could accomplish.
“Unless things go bad,”Tiger had told him.“Then the most important thing is you guys protecting Skye and Aubrey and getting them out of there. I’ll slow them down and watch your six. You don’t worry about me.”
Aubrey looked okay, but even after the store stop, the stress showed. She needed to be somewhere she felt completely safe. They weren’t there yet, and she knew it.
Skye stood next to Neil and Lawrence. Her expression was strained, but her eyes were laser sharp. His emphatic direction to her, to keep Aubrey safe, would take them both out of the crossfire if anything went south here, thank God. Otherwise, if his brother tried to shoot him, Tiger had no doubt Skye would get right into the middle of things.
As Colt noted the direction of his gaze, he spoke, voice oddly neutral. “You’ve called her Mistress a couple times. Not a pet name, is it?”
“No, it’s not. I’m proud to call her that. Don’t give me any shit about it. It’s been too fucking long of a day, and she’s a big part of the reason we found Aubrey.”
A muscle twitched in Colt’s jaw, but he spat. “You trust a woman too much.”
“Maybe you trust them too little. Mom fucked up, but she loved Dad, Colt. You know she did. Maybe if you had let yourself surrender your will to your own woman now and then, you’d understand a lot of things better.”
Nicole might be alive. Tiger didn’t say that, but he guessed the implication was impossible to avoid. Colt might have had a retort for that, but then Aubrey was there. When Colt reached for her, Aubrey’s response was tentative, her gaze moving to Tiger for his slight nod before she went into her father’s arms. Colt saw it, tension thrumming through him, but he ran a hand down her back and tousled her hair. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he told her roughly. “You know I love you, right? And I loved your mom.”
“She’s in heaven. Do you still love her, even though she’s there?”
“Yeah. I do. I’ll always love her.”
Colt paused a long moment. The girl was tired enough that she moved into his touch, adjusting to lean against him, nestling her face under his chin as she got easier with the contact. Colt squeezed his eyes shut, then spoke roughly. “I probably didn’t do the right things to make her happy. Not sure if I’m made that way. But…I’m going to do right by you, so maybe that will help make up for some of that.”
Colt’s gaze went to Tiger’s. Anger was there, anguish, frustration, a million different emotions. But the words that came out of his mouth were quiet. “Would you like to go live with your grandparents? Tell me the truth, baby.” He cleared his throat. “I won’t be mad.”
