Page 64 of Callum

Fuck, I’m ready for this to be over.

We turn in unison toward the Church, but the Father stops me with a hand on my shoulder. The rest of my brothers move past us, leaving me alone with the ancient dickbag. “Yes, sir?”

“Looks like you’ve learned two lessons recently,” his finger stabs painfully into the bruise from Rosalind’s fist against my cheek. “Anything I need to know about?”

I will kill him before I ever say her name in his presence again.

“No, sir. Just relearning my place within the Family.”

The Father smiles, but it doesn’t look any more genuine than before. “Good,” his hand snaps against the stinging cut on my cheek, and I grit my teeth to keep from lunging at him. “Come on.”

The Church is the same as it always has been, the smell of wet earth and pervasive chill settling around me the moment I’m through the doors. I’m barely two steps inside the building when I hear the Father say my name.

“Callum has returned from his time away,” I turn to see the old bastard talking to a large group of other old bastards. I instantly recognize Harrison Danner among them, but I don’t see Malik hiding in any of the pews.

“How’d the mission go, my boy?” Jim Myag watches me closely from his spot at the Father’s side, but I force my face into a neutral mask. What mission?

The Father doesn’t step in to explain what the fuck Jim is talking about, but I’ve spent a lifetime improvising around these useless fucks. This time is no different. “It kept me from home for far longer than I had hoped.”

“But were you successful?”

My eyes catch on Grant standing behind the men, a murderous look on his face as he stares a hole in the back of the Father’s head. Suddenly, it clicks. The Father told all these assholes that I was gone on a “mission” for the Family. He wouldn’t admit that I was able to walk out his front door without repercussions.

“Of course, he was successful, Hobb.” Lachlan slaps the older man on the back, making him jump. The moment Hobb realizes the Mouth has a hand on his shoulder, he turns deathly pale, a visible shake wracking his body. “Callum wouldn’t be standing here if he hadn’t been successful.”

The way Lachlan keeps repeating the word “successful” tells me he has no idea what’s going on either. He’s just agreeing with the Father’s lie because he knows that his being on the Father’s side will piss the old man off more than anything else.

“Callum was a great help to the Family,” the Father cuts in before Lachlan can say more. “And we are all glad to have him back in the Family now that the threat has passed.”

Merrick coughs over the sound of Maddock mumbling about “threats, my ass”. Grant shoots them both a dirty look before loudly announcing it’s time to take our seats.

This is going to be a long day.

—

“Callum, wait.” Grant frowns down at his phone, one hand raised as if to physically stop me from getting into my car. What could he possibly need right now? I just want to go home and take the world’s longest shower before burying myself in Rosalind.

Something about the way Grant’s brow pulls between his eyes has my spine straightening. “What’s wrong?”

“Follow me.”

Grant leads us to his blacked-out Maserati Levante, and I almost make fun of him for not riding his bike today. It’s gotten far too cold for that now, with winter well and truly upon us. It’s going to snow later today, and I make a mental note to stop by Anita’s for more supplies before I go home.

Home to Rosalind.

We sit in the car for a moment while Grant fiddles with his phone. After a second, a soft buzzing sound fills the car around us. “Interference?”

“Just a precaution,” he shrugs, but I can see how tight his shoulders are. “Don’t want anyone hearing this until we know more.”

That gets my attention. “Know more about what?”

“The night that Rosalind went to the hospital, there was another GiGi giving birth at the same time.” I see him consider saying it could be a coincidence, but we both know he doesn’t believe in coincidences. “She went into labor at thirty-nine weeks and gave birth to a girl.”

“You think she has my baby?”

“No.”

“What?”

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