Royally Chosen Christmas (Royal Sons MC #7) - Elle Boon Page 0,5
her baby. Shit, he needed to call her and then call his mom. Although he wasn’t going to claim the child, he needed to make sure she was okay. Angela’s bombshell about Talena’s paternity had sent him reeling. There was one thing he was certain of, and that was if you wanted to know the truth, you go to the source.
He padded to the kitchen island, swiping up his cell and hit speed dial for his mom, Tara Haven-Dupont. Although she’d married Gary Dupont, she’d never dropped his dad’s name. Strangely enough, she’d also given his sister Talena the hyphenated name as well. The ringing on the other end seemed to go on and on. Scott was sure it had probably only rung a few times, but he was about to hang up, so he didn’t go into her voicemail. He jerked the phone back to his ear at the sound of his mom’s sweet voice coming across the line.
“Hey, Scotty, what’s the matter?” she asked, concern lacing her words.
She’d always worried about him and his sister growing up, that concern included Angela when she’d been in their home. “Hi, mom. Are you at home?” For some reason he didn’t want to ask her such an important thing over the phone.
“Yes, I’m watching Talena and a couple of her friends swim. Why, is everything okay? Do you need me to come over there?” Panic had her tone getting sharper.
“No, nothing like that. I was going to come over and see you before I fly out,” he told her.
“I really wish you would consider getting out at the end of your term.”
He was used to her request; she’d been saying the same thing since he’d reenlisted a year ago. He still had three years to go, unless he was injured, which he hoped like hell didn’t happen. “We’ll see, mom. If it’s okay with you, I’m gonna come on over.” He wouldn’t tell her it was called End of Active Service, or EAS, many called it term or enlistment. Tara was his mom, and she didn’t care what they called it. She wanted him to quit and come home, end of story.
“That sounds serious. Are you sure everything is okay? Oh, no, are you sick or hurt? Did you get shot again?”
He groaned, knowing full well she’d go on and on worrying if he didn’t shut her down. “Mom, you saw me a week ago. Did I look like I’d been shot?”
“No, but you’re a soldier, you can hide that stuff.”
“I’ll be over there in about an hour or less, mom. Don’t fret,” he said, using one of her favorite terms. God, he loved to hear her joy; both her and Talena were the reasons he knew the things he did when he loaded up and flew to some godforsaken hellhole were worthwhile. They were the innocent, and he was the...shit, he wouldn’t say brave. There had to be ones willing to do what was needed to eliminate threats. That was the altruistic version. The reality was, he was damn good at killing. A vision of Angela at the end of the hall, a look of resolution on her face made him grimace.
He didn’t correct his mom when she called him and his team soldiers. Operatives is what they were called. His fellow Army brothers could be called soldiers. His team and others like them didn’t go by such. The government used them because they were deadly and they were good at getting in, getting shit done, and getting out without the world knowing about them. He hated that his mom wasn’t as aware of what he did, but they say ignorance is bliss. He wished he could’ve been left in the dark about Angela’s situation, only knowing now he had to let his mom in on the secret.
Luckily for him, his sister Talena must’ve yelled for their mom, eliminating his need to reassure her that all was fine.
“I need to get a group of hungry teen girls something to eat or they turn into hangry teen girls. Trust me, you don’t want to see that. I’ll see you in a little bit. You be careful and watch your speed,” she said.
“Will do,” he agreed.
He heard his sister laughing, calling out their pizza choices. In a moment of indecision, he almost changed his mind about going over there. His mother hung up before he could. “Putting shit off was for pussies,” he growled out loud staring at the silent phone.