137

Zane braised himself before he nodded to his man standing guard outside the room that housed his father. His grip on Ava’s hand grew stronger and he was thankful for Jax being on her other side. Zane would have preferred it if his angel had stayed away from his father altogether, but at the same time he was grateful to have her with him. They stepped into the room and Zane found an image that he was used to. A man tied to a chair in the middle of a white room. Except that this time, the man was Zane’s father.
“Hello, father,” he said and the man raised his eyes to look at Zane.
“Son. Have you become so weak that you need your wife to hold your hand in order to kill me?” Zane’s father taunted him. Zane didn’t take the bait. He knew his father hoped to make him angry enough to loose control and kill him. Zane weren’t going to make it that easy. Instead, he sighed.
“At least I don’t need to kidnap barely legal girls to fill my bed. You talk about being a man and being tough and all that. But you can’t even get a woman into your bed by her own free will. That is pathetic,” Zane said. His father would have jumped him if he wasn’t tied to the chair.
“What the fuck are you saying? Do feel brave now that your men has me tied to a fucking chair? Get this shit off me and I will show you how much of a man I am!”
“Forget it, Amon. You are yesterdays trash. No one, except some of the old timers, want you back,” Jax said.
“If it’s not my son’s lapdog. I always thought you were a closet faggot, hanging around my son. But I hear you got yourself some skirt finally. But I can’t but to notice that neither you or my son have any offspring. I guess that makes me the only man in this room,” Zane’s father said with a fake laugh. Zane felt himself take a step closer to Ava before he could stop himself, Jax did the same thing on her other side. He saw his father frown and then look at Ava. Fuck, Zane thought and tried to distract his father. But it was too late, he could see the moment his father understood.
“You’re pregnant?” Zane’s father asked Ava. Zane felt pride as she didn’t back away or shrink. She squared her shoulders and looked the old man in the eyes.
“I am,” she told him. Zane’s father looked at him.
“A baby?” he asked.
“Yes. Let me tell you that it makes me sick to think that my sibling and my child will be born almost at the same time,” Zane told him.
“That will complicate things. If both are boys, they will be ready to take over the organisation at the same time. But your son will have grown up being known by the men. They will be more inclined to trust him. I need to take that into account,” Zane’s father said, looking like he was thinking things over. Did he still belive he could place his other son as the head of the organisation? Zane looked at his father and wondered about his mental state.
“You do know that you won’t leave this room, Amon?” Jax asked.
“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. The importance is the future, that the child takes it’s rightful place.” All three of them looked at him.
“We have Kiana and the baby. She is resting in a bedroom upstairs,” Zane told his father. His father looked up at him and for the first time he looked scared.
“You’re not going to hurt them, are you? You are not man enough to kill them,” his father said.
“I’m man enough to not take out the anger I feel toward you on an innocent child. But belive me. I will make sure that child will grow up knowing nothing about the Velky family, they will never know who they come from or what their heritage is,” Zane told him.
“No. You can’t do that! I will fucking kill you and that bitch you married and the child she is carrying,” his father shouted. Zane punched his father in the face.
“You will die in this room today, by my hand. you will not even think about laying a hand on my angel or our child,” he growled.
“I think it’s time.” Zane turned around as Ava spoke. He took a deep breath and nodded. There wasn’t much else to say. She walked up to him and Zane had to brace himself not to shout at her to stay away from his father. But she calmly walked up to Zane and gave him a kiss. Then she looked down at his father. “It’s a pity that you aren’t the man your son is. You knew what love was once, but you hoarded it and wasn’t brave enough to spread it. I would have liked our child to at least have one grandparent in their life. But I think this is better. I want my child to be surrounded by people who can teach them to be the best human they can be. You don’t fit into that. Goodbye Amon,” she said. Then she turned around and walked towards the door. Before she opened it, Ava turned around and looked at Zane. “I’ll wait for you upstairs.” Then she left the room. Zane smiled, how could he not?
“You see, father. Someone like that can never be a weakness. She is the beating heart not only for me, but for the organisation,” Zane told his father.
“He is right. The men would do anything for Mrs. A. If she asked them to gather every dandelion in the city, the city would be filled with our men picking flowers. She makes us stronger and better,” Jax agreed. Zane’s father just shook his head.
“I don’t give a fuck what you think. I used to hope that when your time came, you would get to see mom again. I think she would have liked that. But now I know if you get the chance, she will kill you with her own hands. Maybe that will be your own private hell,” Zane told his father. He reached for the gun that he had in a holster at the small of his back. The first bullet pierced his fathers heart, the next two hit him between the eyes.
“Are we done?” Jax asked.
“We are. I think I might need that fucking fake vacation once all of this is done,” Zane told his friend as they walked out of the room.
“I like that idea,” Jax told him.
“Do I need to wash up?” Zane asked his friend. Jax looked at him with appraising eyes.
“Yeah, you have some on your chin,” Jax said. They stopped by the gym and Zane made sure all the blood spatter was gone before they headed upstairs. Ava stood in the hallway and gave them a smile as they came walking.
“Linda is done looking over the wounded, she asked me to tell you she was heading home to make lunch for the two of you. If you hurry you can probably catch her,” she told Jax. He grinned.
“Thanks, Ava. I’ll be back after we have eaten,” he said and sprinted of. Zane pulled Ava into a hug and let himself enjoy it.
“I have asked Anna to send our lunch up to our room. I told her I needed a lay down and no one argues with the pregnant one,” she told him.
“Are you okay?” he asked. Zane was worried that the stressful days were taking a toll on her. He didn’t know how to shield her from all of this.
“I’m fine, the baby is fine, we are both fine. But I wanted us to get a chance to talk. they walked up to their room and not long after one of the girls brought up a tray with food for them. Ava patted a spot on the bed and Zane didn’t object. He leaned back and rested his back against the headboard as Ava got comfortable between his legs, leaning back against his chest. It was tricky eating like that, but Zane didn’t complain. He enjoyed it far too much to make a fuss. As they both were finished eating, they sat in silence for a while. Zane had wrapped his arms around Ava and placed one hand on her belly. He liked the feeling of keeping both of them safe. “How are you really doing with all of this?” Ava asked. Zane took a moment to think about the question.
“There are a lot of conflicting emotions. He was my father and a small part of me still see him as this hero that I wanted to be like when I grew up. But I can also see him with grownup eyes and then I see a mad man that tortures young women and can’t see his own limitations. I know that the organisation would be worse off if he had succeeded. And I know he wouldn’t have shown the compassion you show Kiana. He would have killed you and our baby in a heart beat. I think I mostly feel relieved. I didn’t know how much he was weighing on my mind. The constant need to keep him in check, worrying about what he would do. It feels like I finally can breathe, that I’m free. But there is also the child that can’t understand how I could kill my dad,” he told her. Ava turned her head and gave him a soft, long kiss on his cheek and then snuggled into his embrace.
“I’m sorry that it had to be by your hand and I’m sorry he couldn’t be the father you deserved to have. But thank you for protecting all of us. You are a good man, Zane,” Ava told him. He snorted.
“Angel, I keep telling you I’m not,” he said.
“And I keep telling you that you are. I’m not saying you are a saint. I’m just saying that you are good. You care and you protect. That makes you good,” she insisted. They had had this conversation more times than he could count.
“Let’s agree to disagree on this one.”
“Whatever you say, honey. Is there anything you need from me?” she asked.
“No. I just want to sit like this for a while longer before we need to face the world again,” he told her.
“We can stay like this for as long as you want,” she said. It didn’t take his angel long before she fell asleep. Zane thought about laying her down on the bed and curl up beside her. But he suspected it would wake her and he was happy sitting with her in his arms. He played with her golden hair and watched her. It reminded him of how he had used to lay awake when they first had met to look at her. Back then he thought it would be the only time he could look at her. He was happy he had been wrong. As his wife and the mother of his child, he could look at her when ever he pleased. Still, he loved watching her sleep. Especially when she snuggled up closer to him and she smiled in that special way she only did in her sleep. It was a smile filled with contentment and happiness.