Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Solace
D espite getting very, very little sleep the night before, I was up and awake at six. I had coffee brewing and breakfast just about finished when my mom and her live-in nurse, Claudia, emerged from the hall. Mom smiled at me, and I let a smile of my own tip my lips, even though I felt anything but chipper. I was tired, overwhelmed, and I felt like I was walking on eggshells now that Dad was dead and I worked for the Savage Crows MC.
It was definitely not the way I pictured my life going, but it was going that way, nonetheless. And I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter if I wanted my mom to continue receiving the healthcare she needed.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Mom greeted as she took a seat at the coffee table. “How was work?”
“Work was work,” I replied, wanting to leave it at that. My mom was aware of what I did for her ex-husband, which was why she panicked so easily when I wasn’t home on time. She was always afraid something would happen to me on a job, no matter how highly trained I was. And while I no longer worked for him since he was dead and I now worked for the SCMC, I didn’t want to tell her that. I was afraid how she would respond to not only the change in my job working for an entire criminal organization but also knowing her ex-husband was dead.
Mom took the remote Claudia held out to her, and Mom turned on the TV, switching to the news channel like she did every single morning. And I didn’t think anything of it because no one should know my father was dead yet. It wasn’t time for him to be at work, so no one should have known he was missing.
But someone had already found him.
“I’m standing in front of the Dukes estate, where first responders have responded to a call for a potential murder. Police sources state they found Stewart Dukes, CEO of Dukesuor, a liquor production company, dead in his home this morning. The investigation is still ongoing…”
I tuned the news reporter out, my gaze immediately locking on my mom. Her lips were trembling, and her hand was shaking around the remote she was still holding pointed at the TV. Tears welled in her gray eyes and slowly trickled down her cheeks.
I opened my mouth to say something, but then, she smiled . Like really fucking smiled. Her smile was so wide, it spread almost ear to ear. And then, she started laughing all while crying. I shot Claudia a panicked look, sure my mother was about to snap, but then, Mom looked at me.
“Did you do it?” she asked.
“No,” I said quietly. She knew I wouldn’t lie to her. But seeing her so… happy made me wish I’d been the one to do it. To end her misery long ago.
She sniffled and nodded. “Do you know who did?” she asked.
We stared at each other for a moment before I sighed and nodded. “I do.”
She tapped the table with her fingertips. “I want to meet them. I want to thank them.” She shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. I clenched the edge of the countertop. “I’ve been living in fear of that man for years , terrified he’d come back here and demand we get back together just so he has someone to beat on again.” I swallowed thickly because I never knew she feared that. She had to know I’d never let him near her. But maybe she didn’t. “I’m free , Solace.”
I nodded, my throat suddenly too tight. “You’re free, Mom,” I rasped.
She started laughing and crying again, but this time, I didn’t fear she would snap. This was a woman who’d been living on a knife’s edge for almost my entire life, and now, her abuser was dead. He was no longer walking the earth. He could no longer hurt her. He no longer held any power over her.
Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I looked to Claudia. “Can you plate Mom’s breakfast?”
She smiled at me. “Sure thing, honey.”
I headed toward my room, dialing Alex’s number as I did so. He’d given me his digits before dropping me off late last night. And apart from going to the clubhouse, this was the quickest way to get in touch with Julian.
If my mom wanted to meet him and thank him, I would do my damnest to make it happen.
“Hello?” a sweet woman’s voice answered.
“Um…” I frowned, pulling my phone from my ear to make sure I’d dialed Alex. I definitely had. “I’m looking for Alex. Do I have the wrong number?” I asked once I put the phone back to my ear.
“Not at all,” the woman said. “I’m his wife.” Well, that made sense. “Can I ask who’s calling?”
“Solace. Please let him know Solace is calling.”
“Sure.” A moment later, I heard low murmurs, and then, the phone was clearly passed off.
“Little early for phone calls,” Alex drawled. “What can I help you with, Solace?” I heard a kid yelling in the background, and then another kid yelled back. Alex sighed. “Make it quick. My kids are re-enacting the world war.”
I snorted. “I need Julian’s number.”
“For?” A kid screamed, and he growled. “Goddammit. Never mind. I don’t care. I’ll text it to you.”
With that, he hung up the phone. A moment later, my phone pinged with Julian’s contact information. After saving it to my contacts, I called him. He answered on the fourth ring sounding more asleep than he was awake, and the sound was sexy enough that my belly clenched.
Christ . Not only was he the finest man to walk the earth, but he also had to sound like pure sex? It wasn’t fair.
Fuck knew I’d bang him like a screen door the first opportunity I got.
“This better be life or death,” he growled.
“Julian?” He grunted. “It’s Solace. I… I have a favor to ask of you.”
He groaned overdramatically. “This couldn’t wait? It’s not even seven in the fucking morning yet, and I got bitched out for two hours last night because of you. Let a man get some sleep, doll.”
“You should have been on your Ps and Qs,” I retorted. He snorted, not even the least bit offended. “My mom would like to meet you. Stewart’s death has hit the news, and she saw it this morning.”
He made a small noise, something akin to a grunt but not quite. “Why me? Shouldn’t she hate me?”
“No,” I said quietly. “She’d like to thank you.”
He huffed a laugh. “That’s a fucking first.” My lips twitched. I knew as well as he did that in this business, we usually weren’t thanked for what we did. “But yeah, doll. I’ll meet her. Just shoot me a text with the time and your address, since I assume dinner will be at your place. And for the love of God,” he added before I could say anything in response, “do not call me before ten A.M. again unless you or someone else is dying, ‘kay?”
I scoffed. “You can be a real douchebag. You know that?”
He hummed. “One of a kind, doll.”
He hung up the phone before I could even open my mouth. I glared down at the screen.
“Asshole,” I muttered. But at least he’d agreed. That was about the only thing Julian Fine-as-Fuck-Asshole McKenzie had working in his favor.