Page 51 of Force At Third

He shakes his head. “Time has a way of working things out. Remember who she is. The harder you push, the harder she’ll pull.”

What the fuck?

“You telling me?—”

“I’m team Gwen all day, every day. Whatever makes her happy.”

“That’s a cop thing. You get trained on how to dodge questions and leave people more confused than they were before they asked?”

He smirks briefly. “It’s not a skill; it’s a gift.”

“Yeah, well, it’s fucking annoying.” I clench and release my fists. “Give me an answer to one question.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“You in love with Gwendolyn York?”

He looks me dead in the eye. “Love her like a sister.”

“You’re not her brother.”

“Not all families look the same.” His eyes narrow. “You’re getting this for free, and you leave it right here.”

Might be a fool’s move, but I nod.

“Deb and my mom, they’ve been together for years, so when I say like a sister, that’s exactly what she is to me. That also means if you fuck her up, I will ruin your life.”

No sane man would find comfort in a threat, but I’m clearly not sane these days.

He rolls his eyes. “Go grab your boys and tell them to pull a Benjamin out and place a bet.”

Once that’s done, we head to the bleachers, and I’m wondering how the fuck I missed Deb was gay, wondering if that’s another thing Gwendolyn didn’t fully disclose, like the fact her father’s family is fucking loaded. Searched that shit on the web the other night because five mil is a lot of fucking money, and who the hell puts the condition of being married to get a trust fund?

I slide in next to Roman and Pope and shake the shit off, zone in. Gonna enjoy a day off. The fucking weather.

Abe O’Donnell is pitching, Jase is on first base, Justice is on second, Zandor is on third, Xavier is at short, and Cyrus is catching. Outfield is Ranger, Max, and I think Brand Falcon, Jase’s country star son-in-law.

“You recording?” Rome asks Pope, who leans over his shoulder and shows him the screen.

I see Chloe, and she is beaming.

“You did this?” she asks.

“My idea to do something as a group, but when I mentioned batting cages to Abe O’Donnell, he set this in motion,” Rome tells her.

Kid’s good. Really fucking good.

The girls run in, now up for bat.

“Batter up!” Amias, who’s umping the game, yells.

Zandor walks up, holding a wooden bat.

They talk shit for a second before the girl gets on the mound.

“Oh my God, Bekah, look at that butt,” comes from Xavier’s wife, and she and Zandor’s wife, Bekah, laugh when he shakes his ass.

“Strike one!” Amias calls.

---