Chapter Twenty-Six
Eros
I’d never been nervous for my father to meet anyone I was dating. The women he’d seen me with were nothing more than one-night stands.
No one had ever been important to me, that I’d cared what he thought about them.
But Janea was different. We hadn’t really discussed our relationship, just that we have something.
We both agreed to put no labels on it, but after all this was over, we were going to explore it.
And I had no doubt she would be my old lady.
My father sat at the bar, drinking a beer with some of the guys waiting for us. Rosie, one of the club whores was serving drinks today and giving all her attention to the guys who came with my father to help with this situation.
Now Janea seemed calmer, even though this had to be a hard time for her. We were supposed to meet over an hour ago, but I had to have my fill of her body, and she needed to relax. So, I licked her pussy and fucked her until she begged me to stop.
She was anxious about what was to come next, but I didn’t blame her. She wanted to kill her father. I didn’t think she was having second thoughts, but if she didn’t feel anything about what she was about to do, I would actually be more concerned.
My father’s boisterous laugh echoed through the space, as he pulled Donna, one of the other club whores onto his lap.
He whispered something into her ear, and her complexion turned red.
Donna had been sticking close to him since he arrived.
My father wasn’t a one-woman man, but whenever he visited, which wasn’t often, Donna was the woman he spent his time with. They gravitated toward each other.
After my mom died in a car accident when I was younger, he never settled down with anyone.
She was his one true love he said, and no woman was worth him showing that kind of love again.
They had been married for ten years when she passed but had known each other for much longer.
Years later, my father was almost sixty, single, and he still liked to party with the brothers and the women.
And I didn’t ever see him giving this lifestyle up until he died.
I grabbed Janea’s hand and walked to the bar. When we reached him, I clapped him on the back. He looked up at me and smiled.
“Pop, I like for you to meet someone.”
“Give me a minute, sweetheart,” he said to Donna.
She stood and went to the side of one of the other brothers at the bar. My father stood from his stool and faced Janea. “Goddamn it, boy,” he said, before I could introduce them to one another. “Now I see what all the fuss is about. Hi, beautiful. I’m Ozias, but everyone calls me Axe.”
Janea’s beautiful smile crossed her face as she stuck her hand out toward my father. “Hi, Axe. I’m Janea Thorne. It’s so nice to meet you.”
My father looked down at her hand, then back at her. “I don’t shake hands with beautiful women, sweetheart,” he said, then pulled her in for a hug. “Welcome to the family.”
Janea pulled away, laughing. “Thank you. I wish we were meeting under different circumstances. But thank you for coming.”
My father shrugged. “Whatever my boy needs.”
He faced me and then pulled me into a hug. He slapped my back a couple of times. “You did good, son. She’s fucking stunning,” he whispered in my ear. “Don’t fuck it up.”
I laughed as we let go of each other. “I don’t plan to. I think she’s the one.”
“Shit, I can see why,” he said, laughing.
“You ready to get this done?” I asked him.
His attention slid back to Janea, and warmth filled his eyes I’d only ever seen happen with his grandson.
“You seem like a sweet girl,” my father said.
“You got to be if my son is going through all this for ya. Do you really want to be a part of this?” he asked.
“Niko filled me in on everything, but the decision you made will affect you for the rest of your life, darling. My son cares about you, so that means your well-being is something I care about, too. I want you to be sure because this is going to get ugly.”
I asked her over and over again, was she absolutely sure she wanted to be a part of this.
I had no problem handling everything, so she didn’t have to.
I wanted to spare her from the trauma she would experience because I love her.
I didn’t want anything to hurt her. But she assured me she wanted to see it through.
For her mother’s sake. I understood. I really did.
I just wanted her to be prepared for what would happen, especially the emotional turmoil after everything was done.
Revenge was a sweet thing, but it came at a high price.
She would never forget what it felt like taking a life.
Some enjoyed the adrenaline rush, most loathed it.
However, taking the life of someone she loved—a parent no less, that shit would stick with her until the day she died.
She had to be absolutely sure she wanted to be a part of this because once it was done, there were no take backs. Her father was going to be dead.
A small smile blanketed her face. “I loved my father once, but that man no longer exists. He needs to pay for what he did to my mother. She deserves justice, and this is the only way she’s going to get it.”
My father gazed at her for a moment, then gave her a curt nod. “If you’re ready, I think it’s time to get this over with.”
I wrapped my arm around Janea’s shoulder and pulled her into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head against my chest. “Thank you for doing this for me,” she said, her voice muffled against my chest. “I love you, Niko.”
My heart stopped beating inside my chest. I had already confessed my true feelings to her, but I didn’t expect her to say it back anytime soon. But hearing her say those three simple words that carried so much weight made me feel like I was floating on cloud nine.
“I love you, too, sweetheart. Let’s get this done so we can move on with our lives.”
She nodded. “Let’s finish this.”
Falling in love was something I never expected to happen to me. I always thought it would be me, Ambrose, my Pop, and my club. I was prepared to die a single man never really knowing what true love was, then Janea came into my life. And now, I was looking forward to our future together.
“Savage Order! Demons United! Let’s ride!” I shouted. “We got shit to do!”
Cheers erupted around the clubhouse. The boys had been restless, but tonight all that ended. Today marked the beginning of the end for Roger Thorne.