Page 77 of Falcon

“I would expect nothing less, darlin’. Now let’s clean you up.”

“Derek?” I whispered. He grunted so I said, “I think I understand now. And I’m sorry.”

He kissed my temple and held me tighter. “Don’t be sorry. Just tell me you know I love you.”

Leaning back so I could look into his eyes, I swallowed hard as tears, now tears of joy, bubbled up again. “I know you love me, just like I know I love you.”

Chapter 46

Falcon

After we got her cleaned up, Daisy finally passed out. I stayed and slept with her in the small bed one of the bunnies gave up for her. Once some of them started trickling back in in the early hours of the morning, I slipped out of bed and went outside to grab my bag. I needed to get the bloody clothes off before I climbed back into bed with Daisy for a while. She was so upset; I didn’t want to make her wait for me to get my shit out of the cage.

A few guys were still hanging around outside, including Linx and Pitty. “Hey fellas.”

They both raised a beer and nodded me in their direction. The torches around the yard lit up the space enough to find my way over. Linx said, “Your old lady all squared away?” I guess Hawk told everyone she was my old lady, so they didn’t question why we were going through such lengths, but I wasn’t correcting them. I liked the sound of it, and it was pretty much a done deal.

“For now. The bunnies have been pretty welcoming,” I answered as I took a beer from Pitty.

“I think I have some glass that’ll fit those windows. I can take care of it tomorrow if you want,” Linx said as he stared at my busted-up cage.

I looked it over. It wasn’t too bad. A few holes peppered the driver’s side, but those could be patched over and painted. “You got a bike I can take for a spin tomorrow? Daisy would appreciate the windows for the ride home, but I got something to take care of before we head back.”

Pitty motioned for me to follow him, and we walked over toward the huge metal building near the clubhouse. The rolling door was already open halfway, and the building was tall enough that we didn’t have to duck to walk under it. He put his beer down on a tool case and pulled a cover off an older Harley Fat Boy. “Been tinkering with this one for a bit. It’s just a project bike but she runs good. You’re free to use it for your errand.” He stuck his hand out, so I went to shake it, but he pulled back slightly. “With a condition,” he said with a smirk.

“What’s that?” I needed the bike. It would be a lot easier to get in and out without a whole vehicle and if I could leave the truck behind and have it fixed before I returned, that was a plus. But these Bristol members were a different brand of crazy than we were, so who knew what he was about to demand.

“I wanna roll with ya for it.”

I grinned slightly and stuck my hand back out. “Can use any help we can get, brother.”

After we settled that he’d be riding with us, I called Hawk for a check-in. “Hey man, got a little extra help from these guys.”

“Knox and his crew are good guys. Don’t worry about Daisy. Lacy rode up with Eagle, so she’ll have a familiar face. They should be there in a while. You get any sleep?”

I stood looking out over the yard at the few men still lingering and the bunnies trying to wrangle them inside. “A little. I’ll grab a bit more before they get here. Just getting shit in order.”

“Petrov has his guys tailing Tony, so if he moves, we’ll know. He keeps at least two guys with him for travel, and has two guys outside anywhere he goes, the club, this compound, and the house he goes to. Hard to tell if there’s any inside already.”

“So at least five assholes, if not more. If they’re anything like the ones they sent to take Daisy, I think we’re good on numbers.”

“Get in and get out, man. We’ve put off the next run until this dust settles. We can fill orders anyway.”

I kicked at the gravel. I hated that our schedule was fucked because of this asshole. “Sorry, Prez. But once this fucker is taken out–”

“Once this fucker is taken out, we’ll still be looking for another fucker to take out, man. The days of calm are behind us, I’m afraid. But right now, your main focus is Romano. Plan to meet Petrov at the restaurant for details. He may be able to throw a couple guys your way, too. Let me know when you have an ETA so I can keep him posted.”

“It’ll likely be late morning.” I looked around, taking in the darkness past the torches. It’ll be broad daylight once we get there. “I think getting in once we get the details is best.”

“Midday?” Hawk waited a few beats, likely thinking. “Considering he’s usually at the club late and, from what Petrov’s guys say, partying a while once he’s back, he could be sleeping. Easy job.”

“If he’s asleep, I’ll wake him up.” The last thing he saw wasn’t going to be his pillow; it would be my face. “But I don’t want to go to the strip club again. It’ll get messy. Too many women, and too many eyes. They won’t expect a daytime attack at his home, either.”

“Yeah, we don’t need the heat. We got out last time; not sure you can do it again. Just get it done and then get home.”

“You bet, Prez.” We ended the call and I headed back in to change and catch a few more hours of sleep snuggled up to my old lady. My old lady. Thinking of the moment we were back and able to make it official was what would push me through the next couple of days.

The vibrating of my phone in my pocket startled me awake, but not enough to jostle Daisy. But that meant it was time to go. We were still bunked up in the bunny room and everyone was sleeping; it was dark and quiet. I rubbed her head gently and kissed her nose. “Daisy,” I whispered.

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