Page 20 of Gunner

Emma cuts in. “Before I have to turn the hose on these two…” She gives them a stern look, making Throttle laugh while Sienna blushes. “Why don’t we drop these off with the other desserts and head inside for a drink? I think the boys can fend for themselves for a while.”

Sienna tugs at Lily’s elbow. “Yeah, let’s get a real drink and gossip.”

“Sure, that sounds nice.” Seemingly more relaxed, Lily begins to walk away with the girls, but briefly turns back to give me a kiss. “See you later… Gunner.”

Not letting her get away with sassing me, I pull her in close and kiss the fuck out of her. If she’s going to be away from me for a while, I want to make sure she remembers who the fuck she belongs to.

“Have fun, Sunshine. And behave yourself.” I lightly swat her ass as she walks toward the clubhouse.

“Oh, we’ll make sure that she does,” Emma chirps, and I know it’s a lie. Once those girls bring out the wine, all hell breaks loose and somebody is getting carried to bed.

When the women are out of sight, I pivot my attention to my brothers, only to find them staring at me with shit-eating grins on their faces.

“Talk, brother. You been keepin’ secrets?” Throttle asks, sipping his beer while Sentinel waits for my answer with his arms crossed over his chest, his sleeve tattoos on full display.

“Beer first,” I toss over my shoulder and stalk off to one of the coolers.

“Chicken shit!” Sentinel yells, and they both chuckle at my expense. We may be grown-ass men but we can gossip just like the girls. I think I’ll let them stew for a little bit though. Speculate on my relationship with Lily. Only one person here knows the truth.

Spearing my hand into the ice, I pull out a chilled bottle when a bulging forearm wraps around my neck, tugging me off balance. I push off the muscular body that matches my own, finding my best friend standing next to me, his wide smile spreading from ear to ear.

“Tell me I didn’t imagine seeing Lily Carter walking in here with you.”

“Yeah, she’s a figment of your imagination,” I deadpan.

“Fucker.” Crusher laughs while shaking his head.

Crusher and I go way back, ever since high school. He was there when Lily and I dated the first time and he’s always known how much I loved her. Even when I tried denying it to myself so it wouldn’t hurt so bad when I let her go.

“Yes, that was Lily,” I explain, still somewhat shocked she’s back in Carnage after all this time.

“Oh, shit. Good for you, man.” He sounds sincere, but his expression is pensive. “Pretty sure she’s even hotter now than she was in high school.”

I smack the back of his head, knocking any thoughts of Lily out of his mind. “Stop looking at my girl. And she’s a mama now. You can’t just go around calling moms hot.”

Crusher’s mouth gapes open. “First, moms are so fucking hot.”

I roll my eyes, but let him continue.

“Second… What the fuck you say? About a kid? That ain’t yours?”

I won’t deny that a part of me burned with jealousy when she introduced Caleb. I’ve always wanted us to be together and someday have a child of our own, maybe even a few. Things didn’t work out how I thought they would, and there’s no one to blame for that shit but myself. At the same time, even after only spending a few hours with him, it feels like he was always meant to be mine, just like his mother.

“He’s a good kid. Asks a million questions, but doesn’t seem to cause any trouble.” Without thinking, my eyes search for him, wanting to make sure he’s okay. Caleb is running away from another kid who has his hand outstretched. Guess they’re playing tag, and from the looks of it, they’re all having a good time.

“What about his dad? He around?” Crusher asks, taking a sip of his beer. “You know some of these assholes don’t take too kindly to other men being around their kids, especially a son.”

My face contorts with anger. “Yeah, that’s where it gets fucking complicated.”

I then go on to tell Crusher about my run-in with that motherfucker Snake at the grocery store. His face grows hard the more I fill him in on the situation, his shared outrage now simmering behind his eyes.

“You better talk with Venom. He’ll wanna know about this, particularly since it involves the Outlaws,” Crusher advises.

He’s right. I need to do it, but I’m hesitant, concerned with how Prez will perceive my woman. She may have hooked up with that piece of shit Striker, but it was a moment of drunken weakness. She doesn’t deserve to even be considered in the same atmosphere as those Outlaw assholes. Though that won’t stop Prez from considering Lily to be one of them.

We barely avoid war with those motherfuckers because they’re always up to fucking something. We leave them be, as long as they stay out of our fucking way. But things are constantly so volatile between the two clubs that we have to stay on high alert. Always watching and ready to hand out fucking ass beatings on sight. That’s why when I found out about Lily and Striker, I knew I couldn’t keep this from Venom, let alone the rest of the club. We’re a family and we watch out for each other. Shit like this is important to share, whether I like it or not.

I spot Prez standing by Throttle and Sentinel, all eating burgers fresh from the grill. I stalk toward them, my eyes fixed on Venom.

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