Page 110 of Sinful Mates

“It’s voted then.” Slade slammed his gavel weakly, all the fight gone out of him. “Get the fuck out of here. Watch your backs. Report any trouble to me immediately.”

When the room cleared out, Aaliyah clambered off me to go to him, cuddling his barrel chest. “What are you going to do?”

He put one arm around her and speared his hair. “Call in backup.” Jerky movements retrieved his cell from his pocket.

Castor barged back in and slammed the door shut.

“Give me a secure line, Genius,” Slade ordered.

“Done.” Castor came to stand beside Aaliyah, providing feathered touches along her back.

As the man answered, Slade pressed his speaker button and put his cell on the table. “Dash, I need your help.”

He called the president of the riding club that was coming onboard as the Lithgow chapter of Jackals’ Wrath MC to cover the Wolves’ territory and everything east of ours. Contracts were only just drawn up and signed, the ink still wet. Back-out clauses in effect for thirty days.

“What do you need, Slade?” Dash asked, voice thick with smoke like my president’s.

Slade’s chest thrummed with contentment at his mate’s nearness and the willingness of his new associate. “I have product that needs immediate delivery. High risk, high reward.”

He went on to explain the situation, the plan, execution, and risks.

“We’ll do it.” Dash’s agreement shook me, and I leaned on the table for balance. This guy was either mad or a thrill seeker. His first job for the Jackals, and he gambled with prison time. “Let us prove to you that you chose the right men to expand your club.”

Slade’s elation warmed the bond. “Are you sure? No backing out if you say yes again.”

There was a short pause on the other end.

“Lock it in. We’ll meet you wherever you need us.”

“You won’t regret this, Dash.”

“Don’t make me, Slade.”

CHAPTER38

Aaliyah

“I don’t want you going.”I fisted Slade’s cut, fighting the severe ache in my chest. “I can’t lose you. Any of you.”

My gaze darted from him to Alaric to Castor, their apprehension contributing to my turmoil. Our freedom hung in the balance. Our family. Our lives.

I just got Mia back and now it seemed I had to make a sacrifice of my mates. Was that how the damn balance of Maat worked? One or the other?No. This greedy fucking heart wanted them all.

Zethan’s face as the cops arrested and cuffed him flashed in my mind. His downturned mouth, apologetic eyes, remorseful heart. The whisper ofI’m sorryandI love youas they hauled him from the clubhouse, taking him to the police station for arraignment tomorrow morning.

Pain as my chest split in two as they tore my mate from me. Fear at them coming back again for another mate. Then another, until none were left. Maybe getting me as an accessory. Being torn from Mia again, abandoning her to the system, handing her the life I strived to avoid.

Fuck. I was a goddamn awful mother. Regret pinched at my sides, and I struggled to breathe.

Castor paced the corner of the room on the phone with the club’s solicitor to get him prepared for emergency representation.

“Sugar, please, I have to get the Pharaoh off my brother’s property.” Slade tried to console me with his hands skimming along my arms. “What am I supposed to do? My men don’t want to do this.”

Fuck. Backed into a corner. Again.

I didn’t care and tugged harder, begging, desperate, selfish. “Let Dash and his men deliver it.”

Anything to protect the men I loved and gave my heart to.

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