Page 18 of Papa's Beloved

Two things happen next: Tully comes back with food and Gambit gets a call from Stormy. I recognize her ringtone. I help Tully distribute breakfast while Gambit wraps up his phone call.

He motions for me and I follow him outside.

“What’s up?”

“Stormy wants us to vote on Nay.”

“What?”

“She thinks if the brothers vote for Nay as your ol’ lady, it will help her get past thenot good enoughfeeling.”

The thought hit me between the eyes and rattled around inside my brain while my President and best friend waited for me to respond. Could it work? Would it work? There’s only one way to find out.

“Do it.”

Not every brother was here this morning. We had a dozen but hadn’t called all hands on deck.

Gambit sends off a text to everyone. I read it and smile.

Church motherfuckers. After we take out the trash.

??

That little crown made me chuckle harder. Genni, Gambit’s thirteen-year-old adopted daughter, set the crown as Gambit’s signature for all his text messages. I think it’s cute as fuck and it gives the brothers no end of fuel to bust the Prez’s chops.

I hear the rumble of sleds while I polish off the last of my all the way hash browns. I had them with steak and eggs. The rest of the brothers pile into the main room of the Woodshed. Hell, we have a kitchenette, TV and pool table out here.

Cobra comes in looking like hell.

“Who’s ass am I beating for waking me up this early?”

“Guys in holding. You can have the first punch,” I chuckle.

Gambit stands up.

“Suit up, boys.”

We head into the anteroom, where we don protective garb. Garb, we’ll burn as soon as we’re finished. We can wash our clothes and get the blood out, but this is easier and we don’t haveto worry about missing something. I slip the protective booties over my shit kickers with a grin.

“Doc, you’ve got the best ideas, man.”

“It’s a close second to man. I’ve had to don them a few times in emergency situations in the field. I kept a sterile suit shrink-wrapped in my gear.”

“You saved my ass more than once in the field,” I say, patting the older man on the back.

He only has five years on Gambit and I. We all served in the Marines. We wound up in D-force with Doc and a few of our other brothers on our last tour.

Gambit leads us into the back part. We stop by the cells and grab the prisoner. A disgruntled Cobra drags the guy out by the hair of his head. He lifts his tied hands and puts a large hook through the ties. When he is satisfied, he gives a thumbs up and Everest hits the button to lift the guy off the floor, leaving him on his tiptoes.

“Did he have an ID on him?” I ask.

“Nothing,” Simmons replies.

“We found a set of keys on him,” Vega adds.

“We’ll find out what they go to,” Gambit says.

Vega digs in his pocket and produces a set of keys.

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