Promise - Book 3 (Hope)

Marco

“It can’t be…are you absolutely certain?” I knew something seemed off about the incident at the warehouse, but I had pushed the thoughts aside and focused on Hope and getting her here. I almost lost her.

“Thank you Miguel. I will be in contact soon.” Fuck…I need to tell Slade.

“Marco, she is awake and is asking for you.” her mother is going to hate me after this.

“Thank you.” each step feels like I am dragging lead weights, that is until I see her beautiful eyes. I don’t know if I could have survived losing her and I am going to make damn sure I never have to find out.

“Hope!” I take her hand and the feeling sends electricity through my veins.

“What’s wrong?” shit…I can’t let her know. She needs to rest and heal, not fucking worry.

“Nothing, I am just glad to see your beautiful eyes. How are you feeling?” please let it go, Hope…please.

“Like I got shot and slept for 2 weeks. You…you are upset about something.” pull it together Marco, we are going to fix this. We are going to protect her.

“Its nothing. I need to talk to Slade, but I will be back in a few minutes.” I don’t give her time to react… can’t. Luckily Slade follows me out and I lead him down the hall to the elevator that will take us to the parking garage.

“Marco, where the fuck are we going?” we step on the elevator and the moment the doors close I break.

“The man who shot Hope…he was hired by my father. I had felt like something was off and one of my contacts confirmed it. That is who I was talking to.”fuck he looks pissed.

“Why? What would he stand to gain from this?” I had wondered the same thing, but slowly all the pieces clicked into place when I was talking to Miguel.

“By sending men to help you deliver your justice he would strengthen your trust in him and by eliminating Hope…he would not have to bear the shame of his son marrying a girl from an MC.” I cannot believe how fucked up this whole thing is. He was willing to kill the woman I love to save face.

“I assume it is obvious that I will not let this slide.” he has to be blaming me…had I never gone after Hope, she wouldn’t be here. She would be safe at home with her family. I blame myself.

“Nor will I, sir. I have Miguel gathering intel for me and I am asking for your help.” that grin…that evil wicked grin…

“Are you really prepared for what comes next? Are you prepared to be responsible for the death of your own father? Because that is the only thing awaiting him now.” this is nothing less than I had expected him to say.

“For Hope…yes.” I expected him to be mad…possibly even kill me…but instead he places a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Then we have work to do. I will get the men together and explain what happened and we can all figure out what to do next.” I step off the elevator with Slade exiting behind me. “What are we doing down here?”

“Miguel!.” my trusted friend steps out of the shadows near the elevator and makes his way to my side. “Slade, this is my contact and long time friend. He has dug up some information, but I need to warn you…your men are going to be out for blood and I don’t know how they will feel about me after this.” Slade’s eyes are burning with an intense anger that mirrors the anger burning in my veins.

“The initial attack in the warehouse that resulted in the death of one Amara Donovan was orchestrated by Hector. The men were told that they were to eliminate the female target only. Hector believed that the woman that would be traveling with them was Hope. He took extra precautions the second time around. He sent him men to ensure the correct target was taken out. I have my contacts monitoring Hector’s activities as we speak and will be forwarding his itinerary to Marco shortly.” Migue is all business, but I see the twinge of concern pulling at his features as he waits for Slade to lash out at me.

“So he…your father… ordered a hit that not only nearly killed my daughter, but also led to Amar’s death?” His question is more of a statement, but his tone makes my blood run cold.

“Yes.” I try to hold back my anger and the ache in my heart as the betrayal tears at me.

“Marco, did you have any prior knowledge of your fathers plans.” I had been expecting his to assume this. I look him dead in the eye as my emotions rage like a storm.

“No, sir.” he nods as I wait for him to come unhinged.

“Do you know what Hope told me when I told her she needed to stay away from you? She said that you are not your father…his actions are not yours. So I ask you now, what do you think we should do here?” I close my eyes and take a deep breath before tell him what I have already told myself.

“I am going to fucking kill him.” his next move catches me completely off guard…he pulls me to him and hugs me tightly.

“Hope was right, Marco. I know it does not mean much right now, but you have my blessing.” As he steps back his face turns to stone again. “I will text Cheri and let her know we had some business to tend to and that we will be back this evening.”

Miguel sent my father’s itinerary for the week before I even made it out of the garage. I follow behind Slade as we make our way to the club house and I marvel at how calm I am about what we are about to do. Once we arrive we quickly make our way inside and Salde wastes no time rounding up the men, but it is not his men that hold my attention. Sitting at the bar is a frail woman who looks more like a specter than a human. I feel a heavy hand land on my shoulder and turn to see a tall, dark haired man with a patch with the name ‘Rain’ stitched onto his cut over his right breast.

“That is Shae. She is Amara’s mother.” he gestures with his head for me to follow him to the meeting hall, but my next actions draw all the men back into the common room to watch on in awe. I approach the woman at the bar and drop to my knees at her feet.

“I am so sorry for what my father did to your daughter…to you. I vow to you that he will pay for what he took from you. I would not blame you if you hate me for my father’s actions…I know I do.” I feel wetness on my cheeks from the tears that are falling freely. The common room is silent aside from the few stuttering breaths behind me. I feel the faint feeling of a hand on my shoulder as I watch the woman drop to the floor in front of me. I wait for her to lash out…to enact her revenge, but I feel my heart shatter when she throws her arms around me as we both fall to pieces. After a few minutes she pulls back and reaches into her back pocket, pulling out a picture. She leans in close and whispers something into my ear. She places the picture in my hand and I quickly place it in my pocket and give her a reassuring nod. I help Shae back to her bar stool and as I turn everyone quickly files into the meeting hall. Slade talks to the men, but I don’t focus on what he is saying because I got a text from Miguel informing me that my father had made a last minute change to his itinerary. During his surveillance he had also discovered that my brother had been a willing participant in my fathers plans. I quickly begin devising a plan that will enable us to enact a plan to end them both, but I make sure that I will be the one to face my father…alone. I am pulled from my silent scheming when Slade loudly calls my name and I make my way to his side where he has me walk the men through our game plan. As per my father’s original itinerary, he and my brother were to be attending a business meeting with Theo Yates, a billionaire with a pension for human trafficking…a real piece of shit through and through. We discuss how we are going to infiltrate the heavily guarded building and, thanks to Miguel, we have the blueprints which show an old service door that is only covered by a single guard. After we finish with our planning everyone heads out of the room aside from myself and Slade.

“Marco, I can read you like an open book.” he looks to the door to ensure no one is in sight before continuing. “Your father won’t be there, will he?” I lower my head and let out a deep sigh.

“No, but my brother will. My brother was working directly with my father and is equally responsible for what happened. Slade, I NEED to be the one who faces my father. Please give me this.” His fists are clenched tightly at his side and he is pulsing with anger.

“We will take care of Carlos and Theo, but if you fail to eliminate your father…” I do not give him a chance to finish his sentence.

“I will not fail. This is not the best timing, but I want you to know that I love your daughter. I have known since the first time I saw her. I swear to you on my life that I will not fail her.” He quickly pulls me into a tight hug and steps back.

“Can you ride?” I give him a wicked grin.

“Fuck yes I can.” he waves for me to follow him as he leads me to the garage and stops in front of a beautiful black harley with metalic purple flames, a matching helmet rests on the handlebars.

“This was Amara’s. I think it only suiting that you take her with you for this.” He turns to walk away, but stops. “You are a good man Marco. Welcome to the family, son.”