Page 184 of Savior
“For what it’s worth, I regret everything, Dean… Everything, besides Maddie. I tell mom all the time.”
I scoff, both at his words, and with an envy of the ease in which he’s able to call her mom. But it seems we have something else in common. Crazy really must run in our DNA, if he’s talking to slabs of marble, too.
“I don’t blame you if you can’t take me at my word on that.” He persists. “But I hope after tonight, you’ll believe me when I tell you, as soon as I realized it was you, personally, that Legion had it out for, I’ve tried to find out why. I wouldn’t stand by and let him kill you.”
That may be so, but it doesn’t explain why Legion has thus far kept Daniel around. There’s a reason behind that, as well. Everything Legion does, has a fucking reason. A reason upon reason…
I don’t bother looking up at Daniel. “You sure it ain’t because he gave you a dose of your own medicine?” I mutter, picking at a weed near the base of Madeline’s headstone. I toss it haphazardly towards my father’s plot beside her.
“Lucinda and I are over. I don’t give a shit who she’s fucking.” Daniel sighs. “I know now, she only married me for Maddie and the money.”
“Where is Maddie?” I ask, almost regretting the words as soon as they leave my mouth. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of asking anything of him. But I do worry for her… I know I always will.
“Lucinda took her to her cousins, until all this shit blows over.”
I nod. For once, she seems to have done what I told her to do. And I can breathe a slight sigh of relief, that at least Maddie is safe.
Another long bout of silence stretches between us as we both stare at Madeline’s headstone.
“I heard Vanna’s gonna make you a father, congratula-”
That’s the last thing I hear, before I realize I’ve somehow managed to get him on the ground, my forearm against his throat, my body pinning him down on the wet cemetery lawn beneath us. My breath hisses through my clenched teeth, as rage over rules my ability to speak. Even in the darkness, I can see the fear mixed with pain in his eyes. But it isn’t physical pain. It’s remorse.
“You don’t get to say those words to me.” I manage to choke out. “You don’t ever… get to say those words to me.”
He doesn’t say anything at first, only stares up at me with that hurt look in his eyes. I shove myself off of him, getting back to my feet and wincing from the sharp pain in my side. The knife wound, forgotten for a moment, now screams at me as I stagger back.
“The fuck is wrong with you?” he gets up slowly, watching me.
“You know damn well.” I growl, sinking back to my knees as I clutch my side once again.
“I get it, Dean.” He says, a slight twinge of resentment in his tone. He points to my side. “I mean that, asshole.”
“A parting gift from your cunning leader.” I mutter.
“Maybe we should get you checked out.”
“Maybe you should worry about yourself.”
He frowns at me. “Maybe you should stop being such a prick! I realize I hurt you. That I fucked up royally. I regret it more than anything I’ve ever done in my life!”
“I’m not going to forgive you… And I’m not ever going to forget.” I glare back at him.
“Mom would want you to forgive me. She’d want us to be brothers again. Especially now. We need each other.”
“The fuck we do.”
He stares at me for a moment, before he speaks again. “What if I tell you, that I forgive you?”
His words take me by complete surprise, and I’m not sure how to react to them. Vacillating emotions that I can’t put words to, wash over me.
Daniel lets out another sigh, shaking his head. “That came out wrong… I’m sorry. You did what you could, Dean… when we were kids. I never put the blame on you when you couldn’t protect us. We were both just kids. There’s nothing to forgive. But Mom would want us to reconcile. I admit I wronged you, in a really bad way. I deserve your resentment. But we are family, Dean. And we need each other.”
“I’ve survived without you.” I say, glaring at him now. “Hell, I’ve survived despite you.”
“Well, I might not. I’ve lost my usefulness to Legion. He knows I led your crew to that shed… Dean… I didn’t know what he was about at first. And I was pissed at you. I had Lucinda in my ear constantly rehashing the terms of the buyout.” That much I can believe. He goes on, “None of the other crews would take me in because they’re all loyal to you. When Legion did, it was easy for me, in that mind frame I was in, to answer his questions about you and the MC. I let my anger at you and the Saviors, as well as Lucinda’s manipulation, cloud my judgment. But now I’m useless to Legion. I’ve served whatever purpose he had for me. He knows by now that I turned on him. He took out Preacher for the same reason.”
“You have proof of that?”
