Page 60 of Lockout

She searched my eyes, then nodded, but before she could say anything there was a knock on my front door. We both turned as Hush appeared in the doorway.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes dropping to the ground where condoms littered the floor like confetti. “Uh, should I come back?”

“No,” I said. “Please tell Cables here that my sister sent me the largest shipment of condoms known to man back in the day on deployment.”

Hush took in my request, then started to laugh. It boomed around the room and I saw Keely start to smile despite herself. “Daph did. She also made sure that the box she sent got searched. She said it would keep him in line.” Hush scratched his chin. “It didn’t work. For him or his brother.”

“Thanks,” I told him.

Hush nodded, then paused as he turned to leave. “Cables?”

“Keely’s new name,” I said, giving her a wolfish smile.

She stuck her tongue out at me.

“What’s it stand for?”

“Out,” I said, not giving him an answer. I liked that she and I were the only two who knew what it meant, though the others could call her by it if they wanted. Just like I sometimes called their old ladies by the names they’d chosen. We weren’t super strict about using the nicknames men chose for their old ladies, though. Sometimes we did. Other times we didn’t.

Hush left and I looked down at Keely. “Satisfied?”

“Sorry,” she mumbled, staring down at her feet.

I bent down and grabbed one of the foil packets, then pointed to the expiration date. It was well over a decade ago. She blushed further but didn’t say anything.

Using my fingers, I tilted her jaw upward so I could stare into those mesmerizing blue eyes. One thing was certain, she was going to make life interesting. I doubted I’d have very many boring days with her.

CHAPTER 24

Keely

“Wait,” Dani said, frowning. “He’s calling you what?”

“Jumper Cables. Cables for short,” I muttered, glaring at her.

Seek burst out laughing while everyone stared at her in confusion. She shook her head as she tried to pull it together. “Jumper Cables.” When Kit just arched a brow, she explained, “I assume it’s because she starts shit. Right?” She looked over at me for confirmation.

“How did you knowthat?” I asked.

“That’s what they do,” she said with a shrug. “They start up things. And youloveto start shit with Lockout. You can’t help but push his buttons.”

She wasn’t wrong. It was one of my favorite pastimes. Even now that we were together, which all the women were thrilled about, I still liked to get him all worked up. I didn’t plan to pisshim off yesterday with the condom thing. That was justmebeing angry and maybe a little insecure.

I did my best to be calm and collected, but often the only place where that happened was the courtroom. The rest of the time, I was a bit of a hot head. And so was Lock, at least where I was concerned.

I’d felt terrible when he’d told me those condoms were a gift from his late sister. It made sense now why there’d been birthday cards and handwritten letters at the bottom of the box. He’d taken them out and sat me on his lap on the bed and read through them. Daphne had written to him often and her words on the page showed me the kind of woman she was. She was funny and kind, much like her brothers.

We all looked over as Priest, Toxic, and Ricochet walked past. They were all tense.

Jenny rested her hands protectively over her pregnant belly, watching her husband as he helped prep the guys for whatever was going down tonight. All we knew was that almost everyone was going and they were leaving armed to the teeth.

Lockout was staying here with us. And so was Isla, which had made her as grumpy as her little feline friend whenever anyone tried to get her to stop sharpening her nails on the furniture in the clubhouse.

A tug on my shirt made me glance down. My gaze softened as Caitlyn stared up at me. “What’s wrong, Buttercup?”

“Daddy’s leaving,” she said in a soft voice.

I looked over at Jenny, whose face was distraught. All of this was still tough on Caitlyn, and Priest was her comfort, her protector. I opened my arms and Cait climbed into my lap, giving her mom a soft smile before cuddling up in my embrace. “They’ll be back before you know it,” I told her.

---