Page 61 of City of Salvation

I couldn’t handle the look on his face and needed to add some levity back into the moment. I didn’t do well thinking about how much he worried about me. Or worse, how much I worried about him.

“Do I get to learn how to parallel park in the next lesson?” I asked.

CHAPTER 26

DEX

A FIRM SQUEEZE, MAYBE SOME LIGHT SUCKING

Getting ridof a body would be far easier if we were in the funeral business.

“Imma buy a crematory,” I announced, wiping the beads of sweat threatening to run into my eyes. They were already stinging like bitch from all the sand we’d managed to kick up.

I winced at the thought of getting on my girl in this condition, but unless a shower randomly appeared out in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere, my bike would have to endure my crusty ass. Without a doubt, I’d need to burn these clothes after tonight. It was too bad I hadn’t brought extra—I could’ve added these to the roaring inferno we presently had going.

Going home in my birthday suit was a no-go. I knew from experience that my ball sack didnotlike being out on the open road. He was more into being cradled and caressed.

Maybe a firm squeeze every now and again…some light sucking.

“You’re the only mother fucker I know who will randomly start talking out loud about their junk as if it were another person. You name ‘em something stupid too, likeGoliath?” Torque called out, busting up when I looked at him in confusion.

Fuck, I was tired. I hadn’t realized I’d said all that out loud.

I’d sent Nikki home with Ryan after our attack. The woman was constantly surprising me. I could see the fear in her eyes when we’d been shot at, but she’d swallowed it down and taken action. If only I could get her to lower her guard enough to let me in. We’d made some progress when she’d given me a glimpse into her past, but she still guarded herself like Fort Knox.

Needing to pull my mind off my “roomie,” I turned my thoughts back to what Torque had asked. He was right, my dick did have a name. It’d started as a weird joke that was created in a sleep-deprived haze during sniper training. I smirked, knowing they would lose their shit when I told them what I’d landed on.

“Big Poppa, aka Biggie Balls,” I said.

The moment the words were out, Murphy’s wheezing echoed through the quiet desert.

“When the fuck did a herd of geese show up?” I teased, my cheeks hurting from how wide my smile was. Fucker had one of those laughs that made you concerned he might go into cardiac arrest or something. Torque wasn’t much better, rolling on the ground, slapping it like it’d disrespected his mom.

The assholes who’d attacked us were Reapers, which wasn’t a surprise—I knew they’d continue their search for Nikki eventually. We got lucky there was only one car with the two men. It could have been way worse, like when Ryan, Gunner, and I had gotten pinned down with the box truck.

My gut was telling me shit was going to get messy soon.

Boe walked over, his pudgy face pinched in a scowl at thesight of us. “I finished getting the last of the accelerant on the burn pile. Let’s get them on before the smoke calls too much attention,” he said.

I could feel his eyes on me with that last part, but I ignored him. Boe and I didn’t exactly get along, but that was nothing new. HethoughtI was an idiot, and Iknewhe was one.

Torque let out a gag from beside me. “How the fuck can you do that without—”gag—“without throwing up?” he asked, referring to my task of removing the Reapers’ chompers and other potentially identifying body parts. One body was already burning.

A squelching noise emitted from the dead asshole’s mouth as I pulled the final molar. “Easy. I just remind myself there’s no way I’m leaving that shit out here and chancing a murder charge,” I said with a shrug, peeling off my latex gloves and tossing them into the biohazard bag along with homeboy’s phalanges and teeth.

I left out that this was one of the least fucked up things I’d done. At least this guy wasn’t feeling any of this shit—but that was only because it was hard to understand someone with a mouth of bloody gums.

This was all precautionary. I didn’t want any charges coming back to the club or my brothers. I’d used my one get-out-of-jail-free card. Gunner was a full outlaw now, so there wasn’t anyone to save our asses this time.

Heavy footfalls sounded from behind me. “Please, making sure the evidence is gone is theleastDex can do. He’s already brought enough fuckin’ heat down on the club.” Everyone stilled at Boe’s remark.

Boe and I patched in together. He’d never been all that thrilled that I’d been voted in as enforcer, which meant I had Pres’s ear when he didn’t. Guy had a real complex aboutwanting to be in charge. Truth be told, I’d always thought the fucker was pining after the President patch.

“Don’t you agree,Dexy boy?” he asked, cocking his head to the side, the question laced with taunting sarcasm. “What’s this, the second time you’ve fucked up over pussy?”

How had I never gotten in the ring on a fight night and beat his fucking face in?

Torque stepped between us, blocking my line of sight. His muscled arms spread placatingly like he was breaking up a schoolyard dispute. It always made me chuckle how diplomatic Torque was. Probably easy to have decorum when you could kick anyone’s ass—anyone’s except Ryan’s. I’d never let him live down that he got choked out by a five-foot-two Latina.

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