Page 52 of Naughty Santa Daddy

Without hesitation, I shift Alex to the side and glower toward the man stepping into view. I watch the gun in Rabbit’s hand, as the man’s never been a great shot. Hell, he’s barely gotten his hands bloody from what all I’ve been told. Shifting a few feet over, I manage to put myself fully between Rabbit and Alex so he can’t hurt her. I don’t have any idea where Miller snuck off to. I’m betting on him coming around a corner somewhere to take this asshole out. “Carlo’s dead. Enzo’s dead. You got no one else, Rabbit.”

“I’ve got a backup plan.”

The one thing that being in prison taught me was to recognize a lie. And the dipshit pointing a gun at me is lying his ass off.I need to distract Rabbit.“Tell me about it,” I say, needing him to talk and buy some time.

“Why? So you can track me down once I escape?”

Just as I expect, Prez rises from behind Rabbit like the fucking Grim Reaper himself. The bastard blubbering on is clueless. Giving him a condescending wink, I eagerly watch as Miller puts the barrel of his gun against the man’s temple. The traitor offers up his gun without so much as a fight. It certainly won’t bring him an ounce of grace from any of us.

Especially me.

“Get your ol’ lady out of here, Goliath. You know where we’ll be when you get her taken care of,” Miller tells me.

For the first time in my life, I’m torn on what to do. Then I hear my woman telling me to go.

“Absolutely not. You need to leave, along with the Jokers. I won’t raise this baby alone while you sit your big ass behind bars.”

Parole is a real thing, and Alex understands that. If I go back in, I’m in for more than a dime.

She directs her attention to Prez, “If I’m going to take my place as head of thefamiglia, I need to prove myself not only to me but to everyone else as well. Even Braxton needs to know who I’m willing to be. He may not like it, but he’ll have to learn to accept it at some point. I’ll call the cops once you’re all gone.” She holds her hand out, waiting for Miller to hand over his gun.

When he doesn’t move and looks to argue, she interrupts, embellishing, “Lawyer, remember? My fingerprints have to be on the murder weapon to sell the story to the cops.”

The surprise is evident on her face when he eventually hands it over with a nod. “I’ll be in the shadows watching,” he responds, not able to give up his control completely.

“No. You have business to take care of, and so do I.” Then she focuses back on me, her voice softer, yet still commanding. It’s sexy as fuck, not gonna lie. “This is our life now; we’re two sides to a coin. We live in a blended world with a blended family of mafia and MC.”

My attention shifts to the blood on her arm. There’s not a ton, but it’s enough to have me wanting to burn down the fucking world for seeing her harmed in any way. She has to be able to see the turmoil in my irises as I attempt to fight against my instincts.

“I’m fine. Now, go. Please, for me, for our baby.”

Miller is already gone by the time I get done kissing her and making her swear she’ll be careful. She talks about not wanting a life without me in it, but the feeling is mutual. After having her, I don’t think I could ever live with myself if something happened to her to steal her away from me. I’m confident Prez has taken Rabbit to the van. The brothers will secure him and wait for me to deal out his due since it’s my woman’s life that was on the line with this fucking mess. I relish the thought of beating the life out of his worthless hide. Still, I can’t leave Alex alone standing amongst the dead. Amongst the family she once trusted.

“You won’t be alone.”

“I know,” she confirms, watching as her Papá slowly makes his way to us. He’s lost plenty of blood given his ashy complexion. “Papá will be with me.”

Off to my right, I catch sight of Lorenzo making his way toward us. He’s been wounded but is still very much alive. He needs to suffer. “I’m glad you’ve still got him, but we will be having a talk tonight.”

“Later, when we’re alone. When this is behind us,” she whispers, going a little softer for me, making me want to cave to her. “Stay safe, my Santa. I love you more than the entire North Pole.”

She’s trying to lighten my worry with her words, but they’re no use. I’ll worry and fret over her and our baby for the rest of my life. Pulling her to me, I kiss her fast and hard before eventually letting her go. The sound of sirens far off in the distance tells me someone on the docks has already called the cops, and I’m officially out of time. “I love you,” I say one last time and send anod to her father. If he doesn’t protect her, I’ll put a bullet in him myself.

Running for the door, I glance back to find Alex standing tall and proud. The light seeping in from a few of the closest dirt-covered windows makes her appear angelic.

She looks every bit of a true warrior.

A leader.

Yeah, my woman’s one badass little elf. A naughty one, but she’s all mine.

I lock eyes with her one last time as I get to the door. She offers me her smile, and it lights up my entire world, brighter than any Christmas tree ever could. I give her one back before disappearing from sight.

Chapter 19

Darlene Tallman

Darlene Tallman

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