Page 21 of Trick's Elite

“Okay.”

Grabbing his phone from the counter, he headed out to the front porch and sat down on the top step. With a sigh, he added finding a couple comfortable chairs for the porch to his to-do list. He liked the thought of hanging with her out there while he worked, and she read one of her books. Speaking of, he needed to grab her more books as well.

As he compiled his list, he dialed Axle’s number and put his phone to his ear.

“Hey. Ya good?”

Trick rubbed the top of his head. “Yeah. Uh… I think I’m finally getting somewhere with her.”

“You two working things out?”

“She woke me up with a knife to my throat.”

The instant change in Axle’s tone from calm to pissed wasn’t a shock to Trick when he growled, “She didwhat?”

His bear went on alert, but Trick told him to calm the fuck down. “It’s fine. She was upset that I had her stuff and hadn’t told her. It worked out in the end.”

“You and fucking Bullet,” Axle grumbled. “I don’t fucking understand you guys. His woman pulled a gun on him, and he springs a woody. Your woman pulls a knife, and you think that’s a step forward in your relationship.”

Trick chuckled. “Be honest. If Gorgeous felt the need to threaten you with a weapon, you’d have her bent over your desk in no time.”

It was Axle’s turn to laugh. “Fair point.”

“We talked, Prez. Trust has to start somewhere. She’s given us what she knows about the academy, and I’ve been doing my best to show her who we are. We made a deal. We’re going to trust each other from here on out. Part of that is believing that she’s going to actually honor that deal.”

“I just… I don’t like you not having backup. She’s a worthy opponent.”

“She’s not an opponent, Ax. That’s the point. She’s my mate. I’ll be damned if I’m having one of my brothers chaperoning us for the rest of our damned lives.”

“Fine. I get it. Take the next couple months to work on your relationship but check in every once in a while. We want to give the academy time to let their guard down before we act. That means you have some flexibility here. Use it to figure things out with Messer.”

“Stiletto.”

“Huh?”

“Figure things out with Stiletto. That’s the kind of knife she pulled.”

Axle’s chuckle was low. “If she can accept the fact that we’re not monsters, she might fit in around here after all.”

“Might be able to teach the other Ol’ Ladies a thing or two.”

“Fuck me,” Axle groaned. “I might have to forbid that shit.”

“Good luck with that.”

They laughed, and when they settled again, Axle sighed. “Seriously, Trick. Take time. Focus on your mate. Gather intel when you can. The takedown can wait.”

Nodding, even though his president couldn’t see him, Trick felt the gratitude for his found family swell inside of him. “Will do. Can we… not mention the knife situation to anyone?”

Axle snorted. “Yeah. I don’t need Pike and Dragon getting their fucking boxers in a wad over it.”

“Thanks, Prez. Couple days, I’ll check in.”

“Do that.”

Then Axle ended the call.

Pocketing his phone, Trick stood and returned to the cabin. He had just stepped inside when the bathroom door opened. Stella entered the kitchen and stopped, looking across the space at him.

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