The coffee was still steaming in her “”Best Wife”” mug when Elena looked me dead in the eye and told me she’d been sleeping with her boss for three years. She didn’t whisper it. She didn’t say it with tears or regret. She spat it at me like a challenge, her lips curled in a sneer that told me she thought I was a pathetic, predictable dog who would just take the beating.
“”You’re so boring, Jax,”” she laughed, leaning back against our granite kitchen island—the one I paid for with blood money she pretended not to know about. “”You sit there in your ‘quiet strength’ and you think you’re a man. But you’re just a coward. You’re afraid of the world, and you’re definitely afraid of me.””
I didn’t move. I didn’t even blink. I just watched the way the morning light hit the wedding ring she’d clearly stopped valuing a long time ago. She thought my silence was fear. She thought the fact that I never raised my voice meant I didn’t have a roar left in me.
She had no idea.
She didn’t know that every time her brother got into gambling debt with the wrong people, a single phone call from me made the problem disappear. She didn’t know that when her father’s construction business was being squeezed by the unions, it was my name—and the 1,500 men who follow me—that kept his equipment from being torched.
For ten years, I have been the invisible wall between her comfortable, suburban life and the literal monsters I lead. I am the President of the Iron Saints. To the world, I am a ghost. To my men, I am a god. And to Elena, I was just a “”boring”” husband who stayed late at the “”garage.””
“”Say something!”” she snapped, throwing a dish towel at my chest. “”God, you’re pathetic. Do you even have a pulse? Or are you going to just sit there and let me tell you how much better he is than you?””
I stood up slowly. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I didn’t call her lover. I didn’t call a lawyer. I called Hammer, my VP. He answered on the first ring.
“”Prez?”” Hammer’s voice was gravel and gasoline.
“”The debt her father owes to the Northside crew?”” I said, my voice as flat as a desert highway. “”And the protection detail on the house?””
“”Yeah, Jax?””
“”Drop it,”” I said. “”All of it. As of right now, she’s a civilian. No affiliation. No immunity.””
There was a long pause on the other end. Hammer knew exactly what that meant. It meant the wolves were officially allowed to eat. “”You sure, boss? Once we step back, they’re gonna move fast.””
“”I’m sure,”” I said, looking Elena right in her mocking, beautiful eyes. “”I’m stepping aside. Let the chaos begin.””
I hung up. Elena was still smirking, though a tiny flicker of confusion crossed her face. “”What was that? Some more ‘tough guy’ talk with your mechanic friends? You’re a joke, Jax.””
I didn’t answer. I just grabbed my keys and walked out the front door. I knew that within twenty minutes, the first of the collectors would be ringing the bell. And for the first time in a decade, I wasn’t going to be there to stop them.
“FULL STORY
Chapter 1: The Silence of the Shield
The suburb of Oak Ridge was the kind of place where people paid extra for the illusion of safety. The lawns were a uniform shade of emerald, the SUVs were always polished, and the loudest sound on a Tuesday morning was usually a leaf blower. It was the perfect place to hide a man like me.
I sat at the kitchen table, my large hands wrapped around a porcelain mug that looked absurdly small in my grip. Across from me, Elena was finishing her confession. She looked radiant, energized by the cruelty of her own words. This wasn’t just an admission of guilt; it was an execution.
“”I expected you to at least throw something,”” she said, her voice dripping with disappointment. “”But look at you. You’re just… empty. I’ve wasted ten years on a man who’s basically a piece of furniture.””
She didn’t understand that my silence wasn’t emptiness. It was containment. I had spent my entire life learning how to keep the violence inside a small, locked box. I had to. When you lead 1,500 men who live outside the law—men who settle disputes with iron pipes and high-caliber rounds—you have to be the calmest person in the room. If I lost my temper, people died. If I got “”excited,”” families were destroyed.
“”I did everything for you, Elena,”” I said quietly.
“”Oh, please. You provided a ‘nice life.’ You worked long hours at that dusty shop. You were reliable,”” she spat the word like it was a disease. “”But Marcus? Marcus makes me feel alive. He’s not afraid to take what he wants. He’s a partner at the firm, Jax. He has power. Real power. Not whatever quiet little life you think you’ve built here.””
I almost laughed. Marcus. A man who wore $3,000 suits and cried when his Starbucks order was wrong. She thought that was power. She thought power was a title on a business card.
She had no clue that the “”dusty shop”” she hated was the nerve center for an empire that stretched across three states. She didn’t know that the reason she could walk through the local park at midnight without a care in the world wasn’t because the neighborhood was “”safe.”” It was because every criminal, every low-life, and every shadow-dweller in this county knew that touching a hair on her head would result in a visit from the Iron Saints.
“”I gave you peace,”” I told her. “”You have no idea how expensive peace is.””
“”I don’t want peace! I want passion! I want someone who actually stands up for himself!”” She leaned in, her face inches from mine. “”I’ve been seeing him in our bed, Jax. While you were ‘working.’ And I’m going to keep seeing him. I’m moving him in as soon as you pack your pathetic little bags.””
That was the moment the last thread snapped. Not the cheating—I’d suspected that for months. It was the realization that I had spent a decade protecting a woman who didn’t even recognize the shield I’d held over her. I had negotiated with monsters, bribed officials, and broken bones to keep her world pristine.
I stood up. I was a head taller than her, my shadow swallowing her whole. For a second, just a second, I saw a flash of fear in her eyes. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by her usual arrogance.
“”What? You gonna hit me?”” she challenged. “”Go ahead. Give me a reason to call the cops and take the house today instead of next month.””
“”I’m not going to hit you, Elena,”” I said. I pulled my phone out and made the call to Hammer. I told him to drop the protection. I told him to let the world in.
As I walked toward the door, I passed the framed photos in the hallway. Our wedding in Maui. That trip to Italy. All of it paid for by the “”boring”” man she despised.
“”Where are you going?”” she yelled after me. “”We aren’t done! I want to know when you’re going to be out of my house!””
“”It was never your house, Elena,”” I said, pausing at the threshold. “”It was a fortress. And I just opened the gates.””
I stepped out onto the porch. The morning air was cool. I could hear the distant rumble of motorcycles—my brothers, responding to the change in the wind. I didn’t feel sad. I didn’t even feel angry anymore. I just felt light.
As I walked to my truck, I saw Mr. Henderson from next door waving at me. He was a retired teacher, a good man. He didn’t know I was a “”God”” to outlaws. He just knew me as the guy who helped him fix his lawnmower.
“”Everything okay, Jax?”” he called out.
“”Fine, Bill,”” I said, climbing into the cab. “”Just finally finishing a long shift.””
I drove away, watching Elena in the rearview mirror. She was standing in the driveway, hands on her hips, looking triumphant. She thought she’d won. She didn’t see the black sedan turning the corner at the end of the block—the one belonging to the men her brother owed $50,000 to.
She didn’t know that for ten years, I’d been the only thing keeping that car from stopping in front of her house.
Today, it didn’t just stop. It parked.
FULL STORY
Chapter 2: The Myth of the Silent God
The Iron Saints’ clubhouse wasn’t a dive bar. It was a sprawling industrial complex on the edge of the city, camouflaged as a shipping and logistics hub. To the city council, we were Miller Logistics. To the streets, we were the law.
When I pulled my truck into the lot, the gate guards didn’t just wave; they stood at attention. They saw the look on my face. Word travels fast in a brotherhood of 1,500. By the time I cut the engine, Hammer was already walking down the front steps, his heavy boots thudding against the pavement.
Hammer was sixty pounds of muscle and bad intentions, with a beard that reached his chest and eyes that had seen too many wars. He’d been my father’s best friend, and he was the only man who knew the full weight of what I’d been doing for Elena.
“”She finally pushed you, didn’t she?”” Hammer asked, his voice a low rumble.
“”She didn’t just push, Hammer. She jumped,”” I replied, walking past him into the cool, dark interior of the “”War Room.””
The walls were lined with maps, ledgers, and monitors showing feeds from various interests we held across the state. This was where the “”boring”” Jax Miller spent his nights. Not fixing motorcycles, but managing an economy of loyalty and fear.
“”The Northside guys already called,”” Hammer said, leaning against a mahogany table. “”They wanted to know if the ‘No-Fly Zone’ over the Ridge was still in effect. I told them you were… reconsidering.””
“”It’s not just reconsidering,”” I said, looking at a map of the suburb I’d just left. “”It’s gone. Elena thinks she’s found a ‘powerful’ man in Marcus Thorne. Let’s see how Marcus handles the guys who don’t care about his law firm’s reputation.””
“”You know what happens next,”” Hammer warned. “”Her brother, Leo, is a degenerate gambler. He’s been using your name as collateral for years. The only reason he’s still got all ten fingers is because the creditors were afraid of a Saint’s retaliation. If they know you’ve walked, they’re going to collect from the nearest blood relative. That’s Elena.””
“”I know,”” I said.
A younger prospect named Maverick entered the room, carrying a tray of coffee. He looked at me with genuine awe. To these younger guys, I was a legend—the man who had unified five rival gangs into one cohesive organization without firing a single shot in five years. They called me the “”Silent God”” because my word was enough to move mountains.
“”Maverick,”” I called out.
“”Yes, Prez?”” The kid practically vibrated with nerves.
“”Get the word out to every chapter. The woman I was married to is no longer under our colors. If she calls, no one answers. If she’s in trouble, no one moves. She wanted a life without me; she gets the world without me.””
Maverick nodded quickly and scrambled out.
Hammer sighed, pulling a cigar from his vest. “”You’ve spent ten years being her guardian angel, Jax. You really think you can just watch her burn?””
“”She thinks the fire doesn’t exist, Hammer. She thinks she’s safe because the world is ‘nice.’ I want her to see the world as it really is. I want her to see what happens when the Silent God stops speaking for her.””
I thought back to a night three years ago. Elena had been complaining about a “”rude”” man at a restaurant who had been staring at her. She thought I was a coward because I didn’t confront him. She didn’t know that the “”rude man”” was a high-ranking hitman for a cartel who had mistaken her for someone else. I’d spent that entire night in a back alley, settling the “”misunderstanding”” with a suitcase of cash and a very clear threat, while Elena slept soundly, dreaming of her boring husband.
I stood up and walked to the window. In the distance, the skyline of the city glittered. It was a beautiful view, but all I saw were the debts, the secrets, and the fragile peace I’d maintained.
“”What’s the first move?”” Hammer asked.
“”We wait,”” I said. “”The Northside crew is already at her door. Leo will be the next to fall. And then, when she realizes Marcus can’t protect her with his billable hours, she’ll come looking for me.””
“”And then?””
“”And then,”” I said, my voice turning to ice, “”I’ll show her why I was the only thing she should have ever been afraid of losing.””
FULL STORY
Chapter 3: The First Cracks
Elena’s world started to crumble at 10:14 AM, exactly forty-four minutes after I left.
She was in the kitchen, already on the phone with Marcus, laughing about how “”easy”” it had been to break me. “”He just walked out, Marcus. Like a beaten dog. I told you he didn’t have the guts for a real confrontation.””
There was a heavy knock at the door. Not the polite rap of a neighbor, but a sequence of three thunderous blows that made the china in the cabinets rattle.
Elena frowned, telling Marcus to hold on. She walked to the door, expecting the mailman or perhaps the gardener. When she opened it, she wasn’t met with a uniform. She was met with two men in tracksuits with cold, dead eyes. One of them was holding a clipboard; the other was holding a heavy wrench.
“”Elena Miller?”” the one with the wrench asked.
“”Yes? Can I help you?”” she said, her voice still holding that suburban authority.
“”Your brother, Leo. He’s behind on his payments. Fifty-two thousand. He told us your husband would cover the interest this morning. We’re here for the check.””
Elena laughed, a sharp, brittle sound. “”You’ve got the wrong house. My husband is a mechanic. He doesn’t have fifty thousand dollars. And my brother’s business is none of our concern. Please leave, or I’ll call the police.””
The man with the wrench didn’t flinch. He actually smiled. “”See, that’s the thing. We usually don’t come to this neighborhood. Jax Miller told us this was hallowed ground. But I just got a call saying the ground ain’t hallowed no more. In fact, I was told it’s just dirt.””
Elena felt a cold shiver run down her spine. “”Who told you that?””
“”Jax did,”” the man said. He stepped forward, forcing her to take a step back into the foyer. “”He said he’s out. Which means the ‘Miller Discount’ is over. Now, we can do this the easy way, or we can start taking things out of this house that look like they’re worth a few grand. That TV? That rug? They’re a start.””
“”I’m calling the police!”” Elena screamed, fumbling for her phone.
The man reached out and snatched the phone from her hand with terrifying speed. He didn’t break it. He just put it in his pocket. “”Call Marcus,”” he mocked, having heard her conversation. “”See if his law degree can stop a wrench.””
For the next hour, Elena watched in paralyzed horror as two men she didn’t know walked through her “”perfect”” home, cataloging her life like they were at a garage sale. They weren’t even aggressive; they were casual. That was what terrified her the most. They acted like they owned the space.
When they left, they took her jewelry box, her laptop, and the keys to her SUV. “”This covers the interest for the week,”” the lead man said. “”Tell Leo we’ll see him Friday for the rest. Or we’ll see you.””
As soon as they were gone, Elena ran to the landline. She called Marcus, hysterical.
“”Marcus! Some men were just here! They robbed me! They took everything! You have to call the police, you have to do something!””
“”Men?”” Marcus’s voice sounded muffled, distant. “”Elena, I’m in a meeting. Did you call the cops yourself?””
“”They took my phone! Marcus, they mentioned Jax! They said Jax told them they could come here!””
There was a long silence on Marcus’s end. “”Jax? Your husband? Elena, what kind of people is your husband involved with? If this is some kind of domestic dispute or organized crime thing, I can’t get involved. It would ruin my standing at the firm.””
“”What? You’re a lawyer! Protect me!””
“”I’m a corporate litigator, Elena. I don’t deal with… people who use wrenches. Look, maybe you should just call Jax and apologize. Figure out what he did. I have to go.””
The line went dead.
Elena stood in her empty foyer, the silence of the suburb feeling suddenly predatory. She looked at the spot where her favorite Persian rug had been. For the first time in ten years, she felt the cold. She realized that the “”peace”” she had found so boring wasn’t a natural state of being. It was a managed environment.
And the manager had just quit.
FULL STORY
Chapter 4: The Wolves Circle
By Wednesday, the “”Silent God’s”” absence was felt across the entire county.
In the backroom of a local diner, I sat with Sarah, a woman I’d known since childhood. She was the only civilian who knew the truth about the Iron Saints. She’d watched me grow from a troubled kid into the man who held the city’s underbelly together.
“”You look tired, Jax,”” Sarah said, setting a plate of eggs in front of me.
“”I’m just watching the clock, Sarah,”” I said.
“”The word is out. The Northside crew, the dockworkers, even the petty thieves—they’re all realizing the leash is off. You really think she deserves this? She’s a brat, sure. She’s a cheat. But these people… they’re sharks.””
“”I didn’t throw her to the sharks,”” I said, my voice low. “”I just stopped being the cage. She wanted to know what a ‘real man’ looked like. She thought power was Marcus’s bank account. I’m letting her see what power actually looks like when it’s used against you.””
My phone buzzed. It was a text from Hammer. Leo’s been picked up. They’re holding him at the old cannery. They want Elena to come sign over the deed to her father’s business to clear the debt.
I closed my eyes. Leo was a fool, but he was family—or he had been. Elena’s father, a man who had worked forty years to build his construction company, was about to lose everything because his daughter thought she was too good for a “”boring”” husband.
“”I have to go,”” I said, standing up.
“”Where? To save her?”” Sarah asked.
“”No,”” I said. “”To watch.””
I drove to the old cannery on the edge of town. I didn’t take my truck; I took one of the club’s unmarked bikes. I parked a block away and walked to the shadows of a neighboring warehouse.
A black SUV pulled up to the gates. Elena got out. She looked a mess. Her hair was unwashed, her eyes were puffy, and she was wearing a simple hoodie instead of her usual designer gear. She looked small. Vulnerable.
Marcus wasn’t with her.
Two men met her at the gate. They didn’t show her any respect. They didn’t call her “”Mrs. Miller.”” They grabbed her by the arm and shoved her toward the entrance.
Inside the cannery, I could see the flickers of light. I moved closer, ghosting through the industrial ruins. I found a vantage point on a rusted catwalk overlooking the main floor.
Leo was tied to a chair in the center of the room, his face bruised. Elena was standing in front of a man named Vinnie, a mid-level enforcer who I’d personally spared from a prison sentence three years ago.
“”Where’s your husband, Elena?”” Vinnie asked, circling her. “”Usually, when I have a problem with Leo, Jax shows up with a quiet word and a briefcase. But today? Today, Jax is nowhere to be found.””
“”He… he left me,”” Elena whispered.
“”He didn’t just leave you, sweetheart. He vacated the premises,”” Vinnie laughed. “”Do you have any idea how much money we’ve lost because of your husband? The ‘peace’ he kept cost us millions in potential revenue. We only played along because we knew if we touched his family, the Iron Saints would burn our houses down with us inside.””
Elena looked at her brother, then back at Vinnie. “”He’s just a mechanic. He’s just a biker. How could he have that much power?””
Vinnie stopped laughing. He leaned in close to her. “”A mechanic? Jax Miller is the only reason this city isn’t a war zone. He’s the most dangerous man I’ve ever met because he doesn’t have to raise his voice to make you die. And you? You’re the woman who cheated on a God.””
Vinnie pulled out a stack of papers. “”Sign the company over. Now. Or Leo loses a hand, and you stay here with us for the weekend.””
Elena looked around the room. She looked for the “”passion”” she had craved. She looked for the “”real power”” she thought Marcus had. All she saw were the cold eyes of men who saw her as nothing more than leverage.
She picked up the pen, her hand shaking.
I watched from the shadows, my heart like a lead weight. I could have stepped down right then. I could have ended it with one word. But I didn’t. She had to understand. She had to feel the weight of the world she had invited in.
She signed the paper.
“”Good girl,”” Vinnie said, patting her cheek condescendingly. “”Now, get out. And tell your husband… thanks for the gift.””
Elena stumbled out of the building, sobbing. She stood in the gravel lot, looking up at the gray sky. She looked like she was waiting for someone to wake her up from a nightmare.
I stayed in the shadows until she drove away. Then, I stepped out into the light of the cannery floor.
Vinnie saw me and froze. The men around him reached for their belts, then stopped when they saw the “”Iron Saints”” patch on my vest.
“”Jax,”” Vinnie said, his voice cracking. “”I… we did exactly what you said. We kept it professional. No permanent damage.””
“”You did well, Vinnie,”” I said, my voice echoing in the hollow space. “”Now, give me the deed.””
“”But… you said—””
“”I said I was stepping aside from her,”” I said, stepping into his personal space. “”I didn’t say I was stepping aside from the business. My father-in-law worked for that company. It belongs to the Saints now. And you? You’re going to give it to me, or I’m going to stop being ‘The Silent God’ and start being the man I was before I met her.””
Vinnie handed the papers over without a word. He knew better than to argue.
I walked out, the deed in my pocket. I had the power. I had the company. I had the club. But as I watched Elena’s taillights disappear in the distance, I realized I’d never felt more alone.
FULL STORY
Chapter 5: The Reckoning
The climax of the week came on Friday night at the Iron Saints’ annual “”Charity Run”” gala. It was a high-profile event held at a luxury hotel downtown—a way for us to wash our money and show the city we were “”pillars of the community.””
I was dressed in a tailored black suit, looking every bit the CEO of Miller Logistics. Hammer was by my side, looking uncomfortable in a tuxedo.
“”She’s here,”” Hammer whispered, nodding toward the entrance.
Elena walked in, wearing a dress she’d clearly had to beg or borrow. She looked frantic. Behind her, Marcus Thorne was trying to pull her back, looking terrified.
“”Elena, we shouldn’t be here,”” Marcus hissed. “”These people are dangerous. I saw the news about the cannery—””
“”Shut up, Marcus!”” Elena snapped. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on me.
She marched through the crowd of bikers, politicians, and socialites. The room went quiet as she approached the head table. People knew who she was, but more importantly, they knew what she had done. The respect that once greeted her had been replaced by a cold, hard curiosity. She was a curiosity now—a fallen queen.
“”Jax!”” she screamed, ignoring the security. “”You have to stop this! They took the business! They took my car! My brother is in hiding! You can’t let this happen!””
I took a slow sip of my drink and looked at her. “”I’m not letting anything happen, Elena. I’m just not stopping it. There’s a difference.””
“”You’re a monster!”” she sobbed, collapsing to her knees in front of the table. The “”strong, passionate”” woman was gone. She was a broken child. “”You did this! You’re the one who knows these people! You’re their leader!””
The crowd gasped. The secret I’d kept for a decade—the separation between my life with her and my life with the club—was being shredded in public.
I stood up, and the entire room held its breath.
“”I spent ten years being your husband, Elena,”” I said, my voice carrying to every corner of the ballroom. “”I spent ten years making sure you never had to know a man like Vinnie. I made sure you never had to worry about where your brother’s money came from or why your father’s business was never touched by the mob. I was your boring, quiet husband because that was the only way you could stay innocent.””
I looked at Marcus, who was trying to blend into the wallpaper. “”And then you chose him. You chose the ‘real power.’ So, tell me, Elena—why are you asking the ‘boring mechanic’ for help? Why isn’t Marcus saving the day?””
Elena looked at Marcus, who wouldn’t even meet her eyes. Then she looked back at me, her face pale with the realization of the truth.
“”You… you really are him,”” she whispered. “”The Silent God.””
“”I was,”” I said. “”But tonight, I’m just a man who’s moving on.””
I pulled the deed to her father’s company out of my jacket and tossed it on the table. “”I recovered this. I’ll be returning it to your father tomorrow. He’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve to suffer for your mistakes.””
“”Jax, please,”” she reached for my hand. “”I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll do anything. We can go back to how it was.””
I looked down at her. For a moment, I felt a flicker of the old love. But it was like looking at a photo of someone who had died.
“”We can’t go back, Elena. Because now you know what’s under the bed. And you’ll never be able to sleep soundly again, wondering if I’m there to protect you or if I’ve finally decided to let the shadows in.””
I turned to Hammer. “”The gala is over. Let’s go home.””
As I walked out of the ballroom, the bikers formed a corridor, their faces grim and loyal. I passed Elena, who was still on the floor, surrounded by the very people she used to look down on.
She had her passion now. She had her excitement. And it was destroying her.
FULL STORY
Chapter 6: The Final Goodbye
The divorce was finalized three months later. It was the fastest legal proceeding in the history of the county, mostly because Elena didn’t ask for a single cent. She was too afraid to ask for anything that might have a string attached to me.
I sat on the porch of my new home—a small cabin in the woods, far from the suburbs and the city. I still ran the Iron Saints, but I did it from a distance. Hammer handled the day-to-day. I had earned my silence.
A car pulled up the gravel driveway. It was Elena.
She got out, looking different. She was wearing simple jeans and a flannel shirt. The designer labels were gone. She looked older, but there was a clarity in her eyes I hadn’t seen before.
“”Jax,”” she said, stopping at the bottom of the porch steps.
“”Elena.””
“”I just wanted to say… thank you. For giving my dad the business back. He doesn’t know how you did it. He thinks you’re a hero.””
“”I’m not a hero, Elena. I just settle debts.””
She nodded, looking at the trees. “”I moved to the city. I’m working at a library. It’s quiet. It’s… boring.”” She let out a small, sad laugh. “”I never realized how much work it takes to keep things quiet.””
“”It takes everything,”” I said.
“”I’m sorry,”” she whispered. “”I know it doesn’t mean anything now. But I really didn’t see you. I only saw what you did for me, not who you were.””
“”Most people don’t,”” I said. “”That’s the burden of the shield. If you do your job right, no one even knows you’re there.””
She stood there for a long moment, perhaps waiting for me to ask her to stay. But the air between us was cold, filled with the ghosts of ten years of secrets.
“”I should go,”” she said.
“”Take care of yourself, Elena.””
She turned to walk back to her car, but paused. “”Marcus is in trouble, you know. He got caught up in some embezzlement scheme at his firm. He’s facing ten years.””
“”I know,”” I said. “”I’m the one who sent the files to the DA.””
She froze, then slowly turned back to me, her eyes wide. She finally understood. I hadn’t just stepped aside. I had cleaned house.
“”You really do see everything, don’t you?””
“”I have to,”” I said. “”It’s the only way to keep the world from burning.””
She got into her car and drove away. I watched her until the dust settled on the road.
I went back inside and sat at my wooden table. My phone rang. It was Hammer.
“”Prez? We’ve got a situation at the docks. The Northside crew is pushing again.””
I looked at the quiet woods outside my window. I looked at the life I had built and the peace I had finally found for myself.
“”Tell them to wait,”” I said, my voice steady and cold. “”The Silent God is busy.””
I hung up and picked up a book. The house was quiet. The world was at bay. And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t protecting anyone but myself.
I spent my life being a shield for someone who didn’t want it, only to realize that the person who truly needed protecting was the man I’d forgotten to be.”
