Page 39 (1/2)

Prologue

Monroe

“I’m so bored,” Mila complained loudly as she sto summer vacation, and we can’t even leave the house without an armed escort”

“That’s right, missy,” Mom called froht to go to that party I know your idiot friends are having”

“Mo out with my friends”

“You want to see the this damn house without your father or one of your uncles with you”

The way her voice shook only spiked her over this sudden lockdown Ever since the attack on the MC’s clubhouse the week before, Daddy had been raging And freaking out about Mila andthe house unprotected

Our father, Ja Very little scared him, but suddenly, he was terrified For our safety

I wasn’t sure as going on—they never told us anything when it was MC-related—but the tension I was feeling co to coo out It wasn’t like I did that often anyway Only when Mila draggedout with her friends, whom I could barely stand

We may have looked exactly alike in every physical way, but ere completely different on the inside She was the wild child of the two of us, and I was happy just to curl up in ood book and disappear into an entirely different world

With a huff, Mila stomped into her room and slammed the door so hard the floor shook as I walked cal loudly to herself, asking Jesus for patience and repeatedly professing to love her children, as if she needed to re she often did after Mila threw a fit

Shaking my head at the two of them, I stepped intotocontently, I reached for the stack of books on the corner of htstand…

Only to find a small square box on top of the pile

Frowning, I sat up, exa it there, and it wasn’t typical for one of ifts

Curious, I carefully lifted the top off the box Inside was a folded piece of paper with a note in er over the sle in front of my face

It looked like a warrior holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other while he stood on the back of…a beast? Grabbing my phone, I did a quick search of the picture depicted on the medallion

Saint Michael

As I read about the patron saint, iven me a talisman to protectout every day and sweating bullets I’d felt unsafe ever since he’d co to knoe’d seen anyone following us lately

Needing to knoho had given it to

Monroe,

Wear this, and nothing will ever harer Please, precious, don’t ever take it off so I can sleep peacefully knowing you are out of harm’s way But do not tell your parents I can’t protect you if they keep me from you

Your protector,

G

I read it three ti the paper I don’t knohy I didn’t take the note and necklace down to show Mom I had no idea who “G” was, but instinctively, I kneouldn’t harm me If it was a he Heck, it just as easily could have been a woman, someone anted to watch over me in a maternal kind of way, like Aunt Raven did with all of us