Page 95 of Overstaying His Welcome

With a nod, he led me through the building. Even though I only knew a few basic signs so far, it felt odd to not be communicating with him as we went. I’d learned through Tank through the years that Takeshi could be introspective. The man had a lot of opinions on things, though he never shared unless it was necessary.

I appreciated the impact he’d had on their lives. It didn’t mean I felt any less awkward trying to keep up with his long strides while also taking in the space around us.

A door at the end of the hall led us into a room that was even colder than the rest of the building. It was there we found Tank.

And Lune.

And Pratt.

Along with… well, the whole fucking NightShade team.

Every single guy was there, dressed in all black with weapons in their hands. A few knives, a gun, a bat, and even a whip.

That’s when I took in the men strapped to poles in the center of the room. Their arms were raised above their heads and hooked in a way that kept them from touching the ground.

Blood covered their bodies from various wounds. Their heads hung down, and their chests only moved the slightest bit.

They were alive. Maybe just barely.

“What in the world is going on here?”

At the sound of my voice, they all turned. Tank was the last to look my way. When he did, I watched in real time as the fire in his eyes burned away. As he came to realize who I was, he shook his head.

“Chance? How did you find us?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry about that. Why didn’t anyone tell me this was going on? I can’t believe you left me out.”

Tank blinked at me, then turned to the other guys. He gave them questioning looks, to which each of them simply shrugged.

“Are you — are you mad I didn’t invite you to this or that I didn’t tell you? I’m confused.”

I threw my hands up. “Both, you big idiot. I want to know what’s going on in your life. And I want to support you through good and bad times. And even torture times, I guess.”

His shoulders shook with laughter as he turned off the blowtorch in his hand. I hadn’t even noticed the damn thing until he handed it to Ronan.

Then he was in front of me, a smirk in place. His clothes were drenched in blood. I couldn’t tell from looking at them with how dark they were, but the scent of copper was overpowering the closer he stood.

“I didn’t want you to see this side of me,” he admitted.

“Baby, I’ve seen every part of you there is. Even this side, which I’ll admit is kinda hot despite the blood, is something I want to be a part of. I love you. That’s not going to change just because you’re bending the law a bit.”

“More than a bit, some might say.” I turned to see Mindy spinning a longsword around. She wore a big grin, the sight more fierce due to the blood splatter across her face.

I shook my head. “No Stabler?”

“He’s off convincing the director to make me his partner. We figured it best to keep the team together, you know. It worked so well the first go round.”

Tank cleared his throat, which made me look back to him. His smile was timid. More so than I’d seen in years. Maybe not even since that night in the bar when we first met.

Back then, I was concerned he’d know who I was and that my political career would end before it began. Now here we were, and I didn’t give a fuck who knew. I’d buy out all the ads I could to share our love with the world. He was mine, and I was damn proud of the fact.

The murderous side of him wouldn’t be advertised, of course. There was only so much help I could provide if he got into trouble.

Which reminded me — “We should get married,” I told him.

“Married?!”

I nodded. “Yes. It’ll offer you better protection. Plus, there won’t be eyes on you if we’re legally connected. They’ll assume that I wouldn’t dare marry someone with criminal ties.”

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