Page 35 of Rush

“She’s my wife,” said Sniff, “and I won’t apologize for loving her so much that I would give her anything in the world, including a happy, healthy sex life.”

“No offense, sir,” said Rush, looking at Gaspar, “but I feel the same. I know Caroline is your granddaughter, but she’ll be my wife soon, and I plan on loving that woman as often as I can.”

Nine and Ian chuckled, shaking their heads.

“What are you two assholes laughing at?” frowned Gaspar.

“Oh, nothing. Except we both have daughters and know what you’re going through. The great thing about it is we know these men. We know what kind of man our daughter or granddaughter will marry. Can you imagine if you didn’t know Rush?” said Nine. “Look at him, Sniff, Gaspar. Six-feet-eight, two hundred and eighty pounds of some of the finest worked muscle in America. If that walked in your door and asked to date your daughter, what would you say?”

“Get the fuck out,” growled Sniff.

“Exactly,” smirked Ian. “But you know Rush. You know his character, his code, his heart. We’re so fucking lucky that our girls, our daughters, nieces, sisters, granddaughters, have chosen men in our field so that we know what kind of men they are.”

“You do know that I would never harm Caroline, right?” asked Rush. “I would sooner kill myself than harm her.”

“I know that, Rush. I don’t doubt you as a provider, protector, and even as a lover of my daughter,” said Sniff. “But she’s still my only child. My only little girl. That’s hard for any father to let go of.”

“I understand,” smiled Rush. “The good news is, we’ll be living within arm’s length of you. All of you. Right now, all I want to do is kill Grigoryan and get home so I can marry my girl.”

“You shouldn’t be walking!” yelled Moose.

“Stop telling me what to do!” said Ece. “The doctor put a walking boot on for a reason so that I can walk. God, why are you so pig-headed?”

“Because he’s a man,” smiled Gabe. She turned sharply, staring at the older man.

“And what’s with all of you looking alike? I mean, you’re all enormous, but five of you look like twins, and I think those two are twins. What the hell is happening? Are you trying to make me go crazy?”

“It’d be a short trip,” muttered Moose.

“Moose. Brother, give her a break,” said Baptiste. “Ece, these are my blood brothers. Gaspar is the oldest, Alec is the baby, and then Gabe, and Rafe and I are twins. We have four more brothers at home and six sisters. We do look incredibly alike. Nathan and Joseph are the twins of Trak. Kiel is Zeke’s son. Rush is Noah’s son. But as we mentioned earlier, we all work together.”

“And does this one have a brother?” she frowned, jerking her thumb toward Moose.

“No, I don’t have a brother. And my name is Moose.”

“That cannot be the name your mother gave you,” she frowned. “I refuse to believe that.”

“No,” he ground out between his teeth. “My mother named me Major.”

“Dear lord, your name is Major. I’m not saluting you,” she said, staring at him. Moose said nothing, holding back the sharp retort building in his chest. Nine looked at Ghost, who looked at Gaspar and Ian. But it was the silent leader who stepped forward.

“Enough!” said Trak. “We don’t have time for your petty, childlike bullshit.”

“You’ve made my father cuss. That’s not a good sign,” said Joseph.

“We have a killer to stop, and I don’t give a shit about your little love spat.” Ece and Moose both blushed, shaking their heads. “Who are these corporation heads that you spoke of yesterday?”

“I have a list,” she said, pulling out her phone. Sniff immediately grabbed the device. “Hey! What are you doing?”

“You little fool,” said Moose. “Your phone could be tracking your whereabouts and lead them straight to us. Someone could be watching every move you make.”

“No. I-I was careful,” she stammered. Realizing that she might have caused these men to be exposed, she took the seat at the table and lowered her head over her arms. The men all looked at Moose, who shook his head. From behind him, Noah shoved his shoulder.

“Damn,” he muttered, kneeling beside her. “Ece, look at me. It’s okay. Sniff is turning off all the tracking and checking for anything suspicious. We’re okay. Please, just tell us about the corporate sponsors.”

She lifted her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. The huge brown, almond-shaped eyes stared at him. Moose felt as though he’d been slapped. He jerked backward and stood quickly. Ece just stared at him, then nodded.

“Grigoryan is part of a group of men called The Elite. They are businessmen, manufacturers, that sort of thing, who believe that consumer goods should be dictated by their small group.”

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