Page 112 of Priest

I smirk. “Sounds about right.”

“I know it’s kinda early days, but my mom’s single,” he says to my dad as the van begins to move. “You know, if you’re interested.”

“Oh, yeah, she hot?” Dad snickers.

“She produced me.” Nevada shrugs. “And I get a lot of pussy because of my face and my?—”

My dad reaches out and slaps him upside the head before he can finish. “That’s no way to talk in front of a lady.” He thumbs behind him toward the backseat. “I hope you don’t talk to your mother with that filthy mouth.”

“Nah, she washed it out with soap when I was a kid. She gave up when I was a teenager.” He seems proud of that fact.

“Guys, do you mind?” I swallow hard. “More importantly; did we lose anyone?”

Nevada shakes his head. “Element of surprise and a lethal shot, courtesy of Bronco. Nice to know he’s good for somethin’. Though, I don’t mind the Irish. They fight dirty.”

“Gotta respect that,” Dad puts in.

I chuckle. It’s all I can do. Bella straddles across my lap, trying to pull at my shirt to check my wound. My hands rest on her hips.

“I fuckin’ love you,” I whisper.

Her eyes meet mine. “If you ever leave me again…” She shakes her head. “I can’t do this without you. I don’t want to?—”

I press my lips against hers. “I don’t want to either.”

“For fucks sake, get a room already.” Nevada snickers, earning another slap around the back of his head.

I press my forehead against hers. “Nothin’ is ever gonna tear me away from you. I’m sorry this happened?—”

“It’s okay.”

I shake my head. “It’s not okay, Bella. This is all my doing…”

Then she gasps. “Oh, God. Are Jinx and Dexter okay?”

I nod. “They’re okay. Thank fuck for hard case pet carriers and that whole nine lives thing.”

“Jesus, those poor babies.”

“They’ll be okay. Riot took them to my room at the clubhouse.”

“I don’t know how much more mayhem I can cope with,” she whispers. “Please tell me it’s finally over.”

I stroke her ass with my palms. “It’s finally over, little one. It’s well and truly over. Nothin’ can hurt you anymore.”

“What about all the destruction?”

I press my mouth to her ear. “Can you keep a secret?” She nods. “Callaghan’s gonna get a nice big bonus for weedin’ out the biggest human trafficking organization this state has ever seen, not that he did jack shit. He’ll be promoted and honored. Cash and the club will be pardoned for anythin’ they’ve done, in exchange for handing over Caruso and any men that remain.”

Her face looks ashen as her mouth forms an ‘O’. “Holy shit.”

I stroke her cheek. “The feds may hate us, but they hate human traffickers more. Callaghan has had these assholes on his radar ever since they came back to New Orleans. Leo will get blamed for the attack on the compound, and turnin’ against his own people. The club and the Irish will be exonerated.”

“Wow, you can do all of that?”

I chuckle. “Not me specifically, but Cash is very persuasive. Let’s just say he and Callaghan have a history, and though they hate one another, they have one clear objective; to get the bad guys.”

She sighs, cupping my face as I run my hands up her arms. “I think I need a vacation.”

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