Page 31 of Razor
"Mommy, you okay?"Dante's small voice came from beside me, making me jump again.I hadn't heard him approach, too focused on the security feeds.
I turned to find him watching me with those perceptive eyes that missed nothing, his small hand reaching out to touch my arm.Four years old and already he could read tension in a room like some children read picture books.
"I'm fine, baby," I lied, forcing my face into what I hoped was a reassuring smile."Just looking at some pictures."
"You're scared," he said, not a question but a simple observation."Is the bad man coming?"
The bad man.His name for Tyler, the father who'd never deserved the title.The fact that my son could so easily recognize fear in me, could connect it immediately to his former tormentor, made my chest ache with a familiar mixture of guilt and rage.
"No, baby.I'm just being careful," I said, smoothing his hair back from his forehead."Like how you look both ways before crossing the street.Being careful doesn't mean you're scared."
He considered this, tilting his head slightly."Daddy will keep us safe."
Daddy.Razor.The man who'd somehow earned my son's complete trust in just over a week.The man who was right now fighting with his club to protect us.I picked up my phone again, looking at his terse message.My thumbs hovered over the screen before typing a reply.
"Be careful.I love you."
I stared at those last three words before hitting send, surprised by how easily they'd formed.I hadn't planned to type them—hadn't even consciously acknowledged the depth of my feelings until seeing them on the screen.But they were true.Somehow, in the chaotic whirlwind of our Vegas wedding and the week since, I'd fallen in love with the man who'd married me to keep me safe.
The words disappeared as I sent the message, leaving me wondering how Razor would respond—or if he would acknowledge them at all.
"I'm thirsty," Dante announced, already heading toward the refrigerator.
"I'll get you some juice," I said, grateful for the distraction.As I poured apple juice into his favorite cup—the blue one with Spider-Man that Razor had bought him—my eyes kept darting to the windows.The afternoon sun was beginning to fade, shadows lengthening across our yard.Soon it would be evening, then night.The dark always made threats seem more imminent, more possible.
"Let's check all our locks again," I suggested after Dante had his juice."Want to help me?"
He nodded eagerly, always happy to be included in "grown-up" tasks.Together we moved through the house, a routine we'd established in the first days after leaving Tyler.Dante followed solemnly behind me as I tested each window, confirming the locks were engaged.Front door: deadbolt secured, chain in place.Back door: locked, wooden security bar wedged into the sliding track.Side door to the garage: locked, alarm sensor showing green.
As we completed our security check, I felt myself calm slightly.The house Razor had transformed into our home was solid, secure.The walls that had initially felt like a cage now represented protection, a barrier between us and whatever—whoever—lurked outside.
My phone remained silent, no response yet from Razor.I checked the security feeds once more as Dante returned to his cars, sipping his juice between engine sounds.The shadow by the tree line haunted me, that brief movement confirming what I'd sensed in the sandbox.We were being watched.Found.Followed.
But this time, unlike with Tyler, I wasn't facing the threat alone.
Razor
I slammed my palm down on the table, the sound echoing through the chapel like a gunshot.Several brothers flinched, not used to seeing the club's normally calm treasurer lose his cool.But this wasn't about club finances or business deals.This was about family—my family—and Mustang was brushing off a legitimate threat like it was nothing more than a woman's hysteria."This isn't just about Ophelia," I said, my voice deadly quiet in the sudden silence."It's about our word.Our honor.When did Wicked Mayhem start breaking promises?"
Mustang's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, his face hardening into the expression that had made grown men piss themselves during territory disputes.But I held his gaze, fifteen years of respect warring with my newfound protective instinct.The air in the chapel felt electric, brothers shifting uncomfortably in their seats as they watched the confrontation unfold.
"Careful, Razor," Mustang warned, his voice dropping to that quiet register that usually preceded violence."You're crossing a line."
"I crossed a line the moment I put a ring on that woman's finger," I replied, not backing down."Made her and her kid my responsibility.Made them club family.And club family gets protection—that's always been our code."
Socket nodded from his place further down the table."He's right, Prez.We don't leave our own hanging."
"She's been his old lady for what—a week?"Mustang scoffed, leaning back in his chair."Convenient how you're suddenly all about family values."
The jab stung, but I kept my expression neutral."Doesn't matter if it's been a day or a decade.Marriage means something in this club.Always has."
A few murmurs of agreement rippled around the table.Loch cleared his throat, speaking up from his seat across from me."Razor's right.We made a deal with Hades Abyss.Pretty Boy pulled our asses out of the fire with that Heathens situation last year.We owe him."
"And I'm telling you," I continued, pressing my advantage, "the threat is real.Ophelia survived for years with that abusive judge's son.She knows when she's being watched.If she says someone was there, someone was there."
Mustang's fist crashed down on the table this time, rattling the ashtray and empty beer bottles."Don't tell me how to run my club!"he roared, standing to tower over the table."Watch yourself, Treasurer.Don't forget who's in charge here."
The room fell dead silent.Challenging the president directly was dangerous territory.I'd seen men stripped of patches, beaten, even exiled for less.But the moment I saw fear in Ophelia's eyes, my priorities changed hard and fast.The line between risk and necessity no longer looked the same when it came to protecting her and Dante.
