Page 41 of Hyde

“Russian, Gunner, and Royce went down to Arizona. Throttle is hosting the exchange,” Jasper informs me. “How’s Leslee coping?”

The fact that he referred to it as an exchange means that the Navaja have Trinity and Molly doesn’t want her to suffer at their hands. What the fuck we’re going to do with her is beyond me. I stay quiet longer than I should and Flint clears his throat, prompting me for my answer.

The office I was allowed to use a phone in, overlooks the garden and my eyes have been trained on Leslee during the entire conversation. I smile at the vision of the sun bouncing off of her hair and wonder what song it is she’s singing to herself as she pulls weeds from one of the raised vegetable beds.

“I’d like your formal permission to take her as my Ol’ Lady,” I reply and nearly drop the phone when Mom is the first onecussing with Heat chuckling in the background. I had hoped to have her on my side. “We’re together now, regardless.”

“I’ve been friends with Gunner too long to answer that without talking to him.” Jasper’s response comes quickly, and knowing him as long asI have,I swear I can see him smirking over at Flint. “Is she there now?”

“She’s out in the garden,” I answer, reaching over to tap on the window. Leslee immediately looks up and I smile, motioning for her to come inside. “On her way inside now.”

“Bree? Finn told me to find you.” I hear Riley’s voice coming over the line and they quickly fill her in on everything, except my request.

“Here she is,” I say a moment later, holding over the phone since it doesn’t have a speaker option. “It’s your mom, Bree, Flint, Heat, and Jasper. I need to talk to them again.”

“Hey, I’m alright, Mom. Not a scratch on me,” Leslee says once she can get a word in.

She settles herself on my lap, and I lean down, burying my nose just behind her ear and wonder how even her perspiration can smell good. Unable to stop myself, I dart my tongue out to taste her and get a shoulder nudging my cheek for my effort.

“That should be alright,” she’s saying a few moments later, tapping my arm to get my attention and raising an eyebrow in question. I tuned out for a moment, so I just shrug. “The priests said there is space available here until Thursday, when a retreat group comes in for the weekend.”

After answering a couple more questions, she tells her mom that she loves her and announces that I need to talk to Jasper again. Once she hands the phone back to me, she stays on my lap.

“I gotta talk to Jasper for a minute. I’ll find you outside,” I tell Leslee, thrusting my groin up with a grin so she’ll leave smiling and not annoyed with me.

“Bree, give us the room,” Flint says a moment after I hear the door open and close on their end.

“That’s my phone and my goddaughter we’re talking about,” Bree snaps back. “Neither of you have enough authorityin this worldto force me to go out there to face Riley, knowing that my son has…”

When she flounders, Jasper helpfully inserts, “Defiled her.”

“Slipped her the salami,” Flint counters and I hear the smack before he grunts.

“So, help me God.” Bree sounds like she’s being strangled before she addresses me again. “Joseph, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I love her. I’m coming home and want to take a more active part in the day-to-day there,” I inform them.

“About time,” Heat grunts.

“There’ll be a place for you,” Jasper replies. “Granted, that’ll be after Gunner kicks your ass.”

Once we agree that Bree will call and leave a message at the switchboard once it’s safe for us to return home, I hang up but remain seated, playing the conversation over in my head again.

I’d like to consider myself fairly intelligent, it just takes me a couple of minutes to catch up to the fact that the only part of the conversation that was a surprise to Jasper and Flint, was where we’re staying.

Which means, those two have planned out who will lead the Northern Grizzlies.

Wrench’s son being in the room when Bree joined them, is telling, especially since they allowed him to stay until the last part of the conversation. I know for a fact that Jasper’s son, Chris, has no real interest in it. He patched in more because he felt obligated to than for any other reason.

I go through all the current members and start to catalogue who might be on the short list for leadership, at least until Leslee catches my eye.

She stands and stretches, turning like a flower to face the sun as a random cloud shifts overhead.

I can’t resist her siren’s call.

Although I had promised myself I wouldn’t have relations with her in the small rooms we were given, I decide there has to be some place outside with just enough privacy to scratch my itch.

Leslee

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