Page 28 of Mama & Pops

I thought about that until I heard the rumble of Mama’s bike in the distance. She was back with the boy. “OK.” I’d figure it out. It would be tricky, but I had an idea. Now, if only the man I needed would meet up with me.

The boy rode behind Mama. He had a backpack on his shoulders, his arms wound tightly around her middle, and a big smile on his face. The second Mama stopped the bike, the kid was off and running to his father. “Dad!”

“Hey, sport.” Taz smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Liam, already the most observant and intelligent kid I’d ever met, noticed.

He slowed just before he was close enough for Taz to reach out and grab him, actually taking a couple steps backward. “Dad?”

“It’s OK, Liam. Remember I told you I’d be back and what would happen?”

“Yeah?” The kid looked wary.

“It’s time.”

Father and son seemed to communicate silently before Liam finally nodded, putting his shoulders back proudly. “All right. I’m ready.”

“You don’t have to go if you really don’t want to,” Mama said before Taz could reach for the boy. “You can stay with me and Pops.”

Liam gave her a look so adult it gave me a pang in my chest. No kid his age should have that look. Like he was preparing for battle and had no doubt in his mind he was up for the task. And he knew it was to the death. “Yes I do, Mama. I have to go.”

“Liam --”

“Let it go, Mama,” Taz said gently. “I will protect him with my life. I swear it.”

“You fuckin’ better, you son of a bitch,” she bit out.

“Taz, are you sure?” I asked. “Really fuckin’ sure?”

“I am, Pops. And I’m no longer Taz. You can call me El Diablo.”

Chapter Ten

Pops

Once back at the clubhouse, I hurried her back to our room where I locked us in. Then I explained what I’d learned from Taz. El Diablo. Whatever. She was understandably furious.

“If I found out you had anything whatsoever to do with this, Pops, I’ll fuckin’ kill the fuckin’ fuck outta you.” She was trembling with rage. Which was what she wanted me to see. What she likely wanted to keep to herself was the sheen of tears glistening in her eyes and on her eyelashes.

“I swear to you, Jo. I got played as much as you did. More, even.”

“How could you possibly have gotten played more?” The look she gave me said she was not only calling bullshit, but she might carve out my liver, cover it in said bullshit, then shove it back inside me just to watch me die from gangrene, then celebrate my death with a gleeful smile. It made me want to grin at her. Which would have probably set her off. So, I did the only thing I knew to do. It might not be the best decision, but it was the only thing I could think of. Probably because it was the thing that was foremost on my mind.

“Because the meddling in our lives put me in a position to meet you. Then you made me fall in love with you. So no matter what happens to either of us from this moment forward, I’m never gonna be the fuckin’ same.”

Mama opened her mouth, probably to give me a piece of her mind, then blinked as if my confession was the last thing she’d expected. “I… what?”

“You heard me.”

For the first time since I’d met her, Jo looked like a young, vulnerable woman. It didn’t hold with the confident, powerful warrior I knew her to be, but it endeared her to me all the more. Because, I knew without a doubt, I was the only person in her world who’d ever seen that particular look on her lovely face. She gave that trust to me. No way in hell I was gonna let her take it back.

“You can’t love me.”

“No?” I stepped closer to her, reaching out to pull her into my arms. She didn’t resist, but braced her hands on my chest so I couldn’t get as close as I really wanted. “Why not?”

“I’m not a woman a man like you looks for, Mike. I’ll never be the obedient wife who defers to her husband. I take charge of my own life and, occasionally, the lives of those around me.”

“Fully aware of all that, Jo. You know I can be a take-charge kinda guy, but I’m more than willin’ to let you be you. If that means I follow your lead, I got no problem doin’ that. I think I’ve proven that over the last couple of years. I ain’t gonna hold you back. I’m just gonna follow where you go and protect you with my fuckin’ life.”

There must have been a God somewhere smiling down on me, because that must have been the exact right thing to say. Mama threw herself into my arms, tightening her arms around my neck and clung to me, sobbing like I’d never known the woman was capable of. Again, I’d be willing to bet my life she’d never let anyone see this side of her. In fact, I had to wonder if the woman had ever let herself cry like this.