Page 56 of Trick's Elite

He refused to leave Stiletto alone, though, so Ranger and Rock were hanging with her. Once, he had let Skull have lunch with her while he showered, but for the most part, he was with her around the clock. Twice, he’d seen Brute in the parking lot. Part of him felt bad for shutting his older brother out, but his bear huffed and roared every time he considered letting the man near her. He wasn’t ready for that.

Shaking off the disturbing and depressing thoughts about the state of his relationship with his brother, Trick walked his bike back into a spot in the clubhouse parking lot and swung his leg over. He sighed and headed inside. He had sent a group message to all the Shifty Sisters, the name the Ol’ Ladies had coined themselves, so he wasn’t surprised to see them gathered in the main room of the place.

Diamond was the first one to greet him. She rushed over, her medium brown curls bouncing with each step, and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so happy to see you. The kids miss the hell out of you. How’s Stiletto? Does she need anything else?”

As Trick hugged his sister-in-law, he kissed the top of her head. “Nah, Sis, you all set her up good. She has enough comfy clothes and snacks to last her the next five years.”

She backed off and playfully swatted his stomach. “I’m happy to see you can still use your arm. We’ll talk later about you refusing treatment ona gunshot wound.”

Trick just grinned as his bear plopped down inside of him, content for that moment.

“Damn men,” she mumbled as she stepped aside and let each of the other Shifty Sisters give him hugs.

The last of the women to approach him was Kisy. She didn’t hug him, and she just stared at him, contemplatively, for a long moment. “You truly love her,” she finally said.

Trick gave a nod, unsure where the conversation was going, but intrigued, because Kisy rarely did what was expected.

Wearing her Tiger’s Claw cut, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “Well, guess I’m in a pickle. The Shifty Sister in me wants to hug you andsqueeabout you finding your mate. The Claw in me wants to growl and hiss about who she is. What’s a girl to do?”

“You could just congratulate the man and remember that she did some crazy-ass shit that you would have done in that fucking field had we been in their position,” Dragon, her mate, called out from his seat on a bar stool off to the side.

“Hush, you,” Kisy called back and stuck out her tongue at him.

Trick watched as Dragon’s eyebrow went up. Then his brother said a single word. “One.”

The smile that stretched across Kisy’s face told Trick entirely too much about what that single word meant. She looked at Trick again and said, “I really am happy for you. Not all the Claws think she’s a bitch.”

“Good to know,” Trick said on a chuckle. “And thank you.”

Stiletto

Munching on crackers and cheese with two of her favorite Howlers, Stiletto was enjoying her recovery time more than she thought was possible. Ranger was all about telling her stories and handing her the throw pillow to hug when the funny parts happened, so she could mitigate the pain. Some of his stories were about when he was a kid, and others were about the Howlers or from when he was in the service. He even had a funny story to share about her surgeon, Blade.

While Ranger was telling his stories, Rock was often shaking his head, but he also smiled. The love between the two was evident. They might not share blood, but they were most definitely brothers.

Rock was usually quiet, but from what she understood, that was just his way. If she needed anything while he was there, he was the one who got it for her. And before he left, he always asked if she needed him to bring her anything the next time he came. She could tell that he thrived on being the provider, and she decided that Diamond was a very lucky woman. She couldn’t wait to get to know her and to be able to tell her that.

“So, Trick mentioned something about it being pizza and movie night,” Ranger said as he unscrewed the top from his water bottle. “What time should I arrive?”

Stiletto smiled. “I don’t think your brother wants you third-wheeling our date night, so you’ll have to scratch out your plans to be here after eight.”

Ranger rolled his eyes dramatically. “Ugh. Fine. Guess I’ll find my own date.”

Rock tossed a cracker at him. “You promised Miles and Hunter that you would come try out the new bike ramp they built.”

“I did.” Ranger nodded. “Are you feeding me?”

Rock raised a brow. “Have you ever come to my house when you weren’t fed?”

As the two men bickered, Stiletto felt her eyes start to fill with tears. She’d gotten awfully emotional since meeting Trick, but she couldn’t say she was upset about it. Clearing the lump in her throat, she said, “Thank you for making me feel welcomed in the family. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

Both men looked down and visibly swallowed. She let them have their privacy, but she knew they felt her words.

“Okay. So, I want to play poker. We’ll use crackers as chips, and I’m going to beat both of your asses.”

“I ain’t scared,” Rock commented and reached for the deck of cards on the table. “Bring it on, Sis.”

Trick had just left the room to meet the pizza guy in the lobby, and Stiletto was resting, having had a long day, when the door opened and closed. Expecting to see Trick returning to grab his wallet or something, Stiletto was surprised to see Brute standing there.

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