Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 76953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Sesame and butter for me. Everything and cream cheese for you. And a knife so we can cut it up.”
“Baby, I’m shot, not five.”
We ate in relative peace for a few minutes, with a nurse coming in just to check on me.
But it wasn’t long before there was someone else darkening the doorway. Someone I’d been dreading but knew would show up sooner rather than later.
“Fal, listen,” Gracie said, unfolding from her seat and trying to square her shoulders to seem more sure of herself since she wasn’t usually someone for confrontation.
“Goose, this isn’t about you.”
“It is, actually.” Her voice was sounding shaky already.
“I need a couple of minutes with Perish.”
“Fine,” she said, biting off the word. “And you can kick him out if you want. But that’s not going to stop anything. So you’re just fucking yourself over for no good reason.”
Fallon’s brows went up at the curse, but he just stepped to the side and waved toward the door.
“You don’t have to be such an asshole,” she snapped as she walked past.
He turned to watch her go, but when he faced me again, there was a smile tugging at his lips.
“Brought some fire out of her.”
“She’s exhausted and in pain. It’s making her bolder than usual.”
“I think we both know it’s not that. Gracie’s go-to is crying when she feels like shit. This is something else. She’s… happy with you. And I’m a threat to that.”
“When’d you find out?”
“You hear the way she screamed at her father to make him let her go so she could get to you? Then.”
“Surprised you didn’t just let me bleed out there.”
To that, Fallon sighed.
“Look, I’m the last person who is gonna say I did everything right in life. I mean, I was fucking the president of a rival MC in secret.”
“It worked out in the end.” They were married, had a litter of kids, the whole deal.
“Look,” Fallon said, moving to the foot of the bed. “The rules exist for a reason. But the uncles, cousins, and I have been vague about them.”
“Okay…”
“For very obvious reasons, we don’t want guys in this club to use and toss aside our cousins.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“And, for the most part, that’s what the guys are interested in. The girls don’t need to be anywhere near that shit. That said, none of us are in the business of telling the girls or the club members who to love. So if that is what this is, we might be able to come up with a punishment that doesn’t involve you in a fuck of a lot of pain.”
Some part of me wanted to insist it was too early.
But that feeling I’d been pretending not to notice in my gut, in my chest? There was really nothing else to call it.
“I love her.”
“Figured. And Duke’s been here already with the ‘don’t hurt my girl’ spiel, right?”
“Right.”
“Remember that comes from all of us.”
“I know.”
“Figure once you’re recovered from this shit, you’re taking over prospect duties for three months for lying. I think I’d be satisfied with that.”
“Gotta tack anything else on in the future, I’m game. It’ll be worth it if I can be with her.”
To that, he nodded.
“I’m gonna make her come back to the clubhouse to get some rest. And so you can rest.”
“Good. She won’t admit it, but she feels like shit.”
“Yeah. Her folks will bring her the meds from Hailstorm so she can get outta pain and sleep. You take what they give you too. Don’t need to badass your way through this.”
“Boss’s orders to take drugs. I like it.”
He smirked at that. “You have a guard shift ‘round the clock.”
“That necessary?”
“Being cautious. Got busy saving Gracie, so we didn’t get a chance to round up more of the crew to pressure test them. So for now, you have guards, Gracie is at the clubhouse, and the other girls and kids stay at Hailstorm. I’m hoping by the time you’re released, it’s all over.”
“I’m sure I don’t have to ask this. But Cameron?”
“Handled.”
“Was Gracie the one to handle it?”
“Not gonna lie, almost. If he was left alone, it would have happened eventually. But, no. I… handled it so that’s not on her.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded. “Get some rest, Perish.”
He moved out. Then it was Dezi moving into the room.
“The nurses ask, you got a big-ass family,” he said. “Donut hole?” he asked, holding out the carton.
I shook my head.
“Dibs on the remote. My stories are on.”
Then, I shit you not, one of the club’s biggest badasses watched fucking General Hospital while munching on a whole fifty-count box of donut holes.
And me?
I counted my fucking blessings.
I got to have the club.
And I got to have the girl.
I was one lucky fuck.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Gracie
When I eventually made it back to the clubhouse, someone had already moved all of my stuff out of the basement and into Perish’s room.