Page 39 of Tide
“I don’t know, baby. I don’t believe much of what she says,” I tell her.
“But why would she lie?”
“I’m not lying!”
“Gag her,” I tell one of the guys. Ranger walks off, and then I hear her yelling through the gag, but my focus is on Mylah.
“I…I don’t understand, Tide.”
“I don’t think she’s tellin’ the truth, Mylah. Christian cared about you.”
“Did he, though? I mean, things weren’t great between us, Tide. Some days he acted like he didn’t even like me.”
“I don’t think he would go this far, do you?” I ask her. She shakes her head no.
“I wouldn’t think so.”
“Then it wasn’t him.” Beth continues to yell through the gag, but I ignore her.
“What if it was, Tide? You can’t kill your own son.” That came from Patch. I turn my head to look at him, an evil glint in my eye. He can see it. I could do it. I could end his life for trying to take hers.
“Wanna tell me why not?”
“He’s your son,” he says once more.
“And that means what? If he did this, he tried to have her killed, Patch. I can’t let that slide.”
“I’m not tellin’ you to either but killin’ him?”
“She could have died at Padgett’s hand. She could have been sold to someone else that would've raped and used her. Tell me again why I can’t kill that motherfucker if it was him?” I stay close to Mylah as I glare at Patch. I will do what the hell I want when it comes to Mylah. She’s mine.
“He’s your son, Tide. Think about it.”
“So that overrides the fact that she was sold?” Patch shakes his head, looking exasperated with me. I get it, I get his point but he isn’t getting mine.
“No. And I’m not sayin’ he shouldn’t pay if he did this. I’m just sayin’ maybe it shouldn’t be by your hand, brother.” I get that. I do. I nod my head and look back at Mylah. She looks sick to herstomach. I pull her head to my chest and hold her there for a long minute before she looks up at me.
“Why would he do this?”
“I don’t know. She said he hated that you were with me. I’m gonna figure this out,” I tell her.
“And if it was him?” My nostrils flare as I think about him doing this. I can’t believe he would want her harmed in that way. I can’t believe that he would do such a thing.
“Then I’ll handle him.”
“How?” She asks.
“You don’t wanna know all the details, baby. Just know that he’ll never be able to do this again.”
“You can’t kill him, Tide.” Now I step back a little and look down at her. Anger surges in my veins as I see the sympathy in her eyes. Does she feel bad for him? For a man that would have had her taken and sold?
“Don’t…just don’t.”
“He’s your son.”
“You’re mine, Mylah!”
“I know that, but he’s blood. He’s family, Tide.”
