His father was waiting for him at the table.
“I made you a coffee; I figured you’d need it.” He pointed to the cup on the table.
“Thank you.”
“Are you going to be staying awhile?”
He glanced over at his father, seeing his slight weight loss along with his grief. The loss of his step-mother had hit his father hard.
“Yeah, I’m staying. I’m going to lay my cards out here, Dad. When I go back to the clubhouse, I’m taking Amy with me.”
“Reese—”
“No, don’t cut me off. I mean it; Amy’s mine. She has been mine for a long time. You know this.”
“I promised Brenda when I married her that I would always keep Amy safe. I can’t let her down. Amy’s all I’ve got of Brenda now.”
“I killed him, Dad.”
Silence fell between them. Staring at the man he’d loved his whole life, the same man he admired and respected, Joker waited for him to speak. His father, and even Amy, could call him Reese, but he wasn’t Reese anymore, he was Joker, VP of the Soldiers of Wrath, and he wouldn’t change. So much had happened in his life that he didn’t even know if it was possible to change. The only thing that had remained the same was his love for Amy.
“What?” David asked.
“I killed him: Amy’s father, the fucker who ruined her childhood and put her into years of nightmares and therapy. He’s gone, and he’s never coming back. You don’t need to protect her anymore. Amy’s protection is my job. It’s time for you to go out and find someone for yourself.”
David cut him off laughing. “What the fuck has happened to you, son?”
“I grew up.”
“Killing men doesn’t make the problem go away. Bruce hasn’t been around for years, and Amy’s still fighting what he did to her. It’s not just going to go away because you killed him.” David slammed his hand down on the table. “Amy’s delicate. She needs to be cared for.”
“And you don’t think I’ve got it in me to care?”
“I don’t think you’ve cared about anything for a hell of a long time. Soldiers of Wrath, Demon, and the crap related to the club have been your life. I love you, son, always have and always will, but you’re not coming into Amy’s life with the intention of taking her away. You do that and you’re going to send her on a downward spiral. I won’t let that happen.”
“I love her. She’s all I think about, all I care about. You’re not going to keep her from me.”
“Then you better show me that you’ve got her best interests at heart. I don’t mind you being here. Just don’t rush Amy. She needs to have her life and live it, and you need to respect that.”
Joker clenched his teeth together, angry at himself and his father. His father was right, but then he was always right and that just pissed Joker off.
“I’ll stay.” He picked up his coffee, finding it lukewarm. Swallowing down the dark liquid, he nodded at his father before heading back to Amy’s bedroom.
Entering the room and finding Amy already fast asleep in her large bed, he removed his jeans and shirt. He’d been so long without her that he wasn’t going to spend another night not sleeping with her.
He was down to his boxer briefs and climbed into bed, making sure he didn’t make any sudden moves. He didn’t want to wake or frighten her. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he moved in closer, molding his body against hers.
“I’m going to love you for the rest of our lives. I’ll give you everything, and if anyone tries to hurt you, I’ll kill them.” He kissed her temple, resting his head near hers, and breathing her in.
For the first time in years, he closed his eyes and slept.
Amy slowly became aware of the warm body behind her. Turning her head, her heart stopped pounding when she saw Reese asleep next to her. Breathing out a sigh, she allowed herself to just look at him. In sleep he appeared much like the boy she’d known growing up. There were no frown marks or hard angles decorating his face. He was completely relaxed. One of his arms was underneath her head while the other lay across her waist.
This was the first night in months that she hadn’t woken up frightened. She must have been really tired not to notice when he crawled into bed with her.
“You’re awake,” he said, opening an eye.
“How did you know?” she asked, smiling.
“You moved, and baby, you’re not a light mover. You tug on the bedding and shift a hell of a lot. There’s nothing covert about you.”
She giggled.
“That’s a sound I could get used to.”