Royally Chosen Christmas (Royal Sons MC #7) - Elle Boon Page 0,16

of medicine with more heads, that Gary was basically sitting in an office twiddling his thumbs. As for criminal charges? Scott wasn’t sure what he’d do or could do given that Angela was no longer alive to press charges, nor did his mother deserve that kind of attention brought to their family. Fuck, he would need to talk to her first.

“Tell your mother I had a business call I had to deal with,” he snarled.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Gary. I got eyes everywhere,” he said, the lie rolling off his tongue.

He cursed himself for not thinking that far in advance. However, his only impulse after opening Angela’s letter and seeing the evidence for himself, had been to verify Angela’s images were real and not faked. After that, he’d rushed to his mom’s house with the need to make sure Talena was safe. Lieutenant Diamond had given him strict orders not to kill a civilian. Gary was lucky he was a well-trained operative, or he’d be a dead man. Watching the bastard stride away, like the weasel he was, had him clenching his hands into fist to keep from reaching for his gun tucked safely behind his back. The slight miscalculation could cost him, but he was able to breathe easier knowing his mom and sister were both safe with him. He had the better part of two weeks, if not longer, before he had to ship out. In that time, he’d ensure both their lives were as safe as he could make them, and Gary would be out of Haven Corp and their lives, if he had any say in the matter.

“Scott, where’s Gary going?” his mother asked.

He took a deep, steadying breath before turning to face his mom, and prayed she didn’t notice the anger still raging within him. “He said something urgent came up that he had to take care of. Come on, let’s go inside. I’m starving. Look at me, my stomach’s eating my backbone,” he joked, patting his abs for affect.

His mom laughed, sliding her arm around his waist. “You’re built just like your father was. You know that man could eat an entire cow and never have an ounce of fat on him either.”

He didn’t miss the wistful tone in her words. If he’d been Gary, he wasn’t sure he’d have been so chill if his wife spoke of her deceased husband so fondly. Of course, Scott Senior was a man not many would’ve been able to live up to. He’d been six foot three like Scott was. If he’d still been alive, his mom said they’d have called him Scotty, or SJ for Scott Junior. Yeah, he wasn’t sure he’d have been good with that nickname. Scott suited him, or Hollywood as his Delta Force Team called him. “He didn’t have any fat on him because you had him running after you all the time. I remember the way we’d all go to the ocean, and you and he would run up and down the beach for hours while I played in the sand. Why didn’t you ever take Talena to the beach?”

His mom sighed as they walked but didn’t answer him right away. He didn’t press her, his focus on the night sounds around them. The sound of Gary’s car leaving a few minutes ago had eased a little of his fears but he wouldn’t relax until he’d made a few calls. While they walked and talked, he sent out a text to one of his friends who was also on leave in the area. If he was free, Scott was sure he’d have no problem checking in on Gary for him.

“The beach was a special place to your father and me. It didn’t seem right to go there with...with Gary. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past ten years or so, but Talena hasn’t wanted for anything, even if I didn’t take her to the ocean to frolic like I did with you. Trust me, she and I have our own special things we do.”

“What kind of mistakes, mom? From what I’ve seen, you’re damn near perfect. Heck, that’s probably why I’m still single. They say find a woman half as good as your mom. That’s something I just don’t think is possible. Truly, what the hell makes you think you did something wrong?” They stopped on the veranda outside the entrance to the dining room, light spilling onto the patio highlighting her blue eyes. They weren’t the same light