“Ye just fuck right off wi’ that shite,” Aisling lightly said.“I don’t mind bein’ an Enforcer.I finally feel like I’m doin’ some good.I don’t belong at the wheel, though.This is my strength.”
“Just be prepared that if you stay in the US and make it permanent, I will be riding your ass to take a larger part in that,” Dewi said.“All bullshit aside, we need more people like you.And no matter how much I shit I give you, know that if I didn’t think you should be there, you absolutely wouldn’t be there.”
“Well, thank ye.”Aisling was completely uncomfortable accepting the effusive praise from her former antagonist.
“Just one condition,” Dewi said.
“Ah, well, there’s the gaff.What is it?”
“If you’re going to throw non-English words at me, warn me, huh?I don’t have time to learn other fucking languages, and if I do, it really should be Spanish.”
Aisling smiled.“Aontaím leat.”She started laughing at Dewi’s aggravated grimace, especially when Dewi flipped her off.
And damn, did it feel good to laugh.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Gillian
Gillian shieldedher eyes from the sun with her hand while gently bouncing the baby on her hip.She resented Peyton keeping her and the baby here without giving her more details.The raid was over.
Yes, she was enjoying spending time with Dewi and Badger, and everyone.And also yes, staying out in the pool house meant more privacy than staying in the main house, but that wasn’t thepoint.
At least the lab raid had gone far better than anyone expected.She and Trent were working in conjunction with Trevor’s people to rapidly build out new identities for all the rescued victims.
But she wanted Peytonhome.Dewi and Ken had returned over a week ago with everyone else.It’d been almost twoweekssince the lab raid,and she wanted her goddamned husband back.
He insisted he would return soon with a surprise.Peyton had insisted this was a good surprise, but she would withhold judgment until it was revealed.
The last time she was “surprised” by Peyton, she thought he was dead.
“Those three,” she called out to the construction crew who were tagging trees to save on the new property.
They gave her a thumbs-up and began tying neon pink marking ribbons around the trunks.
“You don’t seem happy,” Beck snarked.
“I’m not,” she growled.“Goddamned Peyton and his Prime fucking edicts.And his fucking ‘surprises’.”
“Little pitchers,” he teased, tipping his head toward the baby, who looked up at Gillian.
“Great,” she snarked.“At this rate, my swear jar will fill up faster than Dewi’s.”
He snickered.“Not sure that’s possible, but I also don’t think that should be a ‘challenge accepted’ kind of sitch.”Beck held a large tablet and was pinching and zooming through aerial photos of the section of the property where they currently stood.“This should be more than enough area,” he said.“For the community center, school, clinic, and offices.And there’s plenty of land to spare for commercial growth, if we wanted to add a convenience store like Webb’s in Idaho.”
“I agree, but I want to make sure we don’t create future problems for ourselves logistically.We need to be able to build roads through here, if necessary, for construction equipment to access the site without taking down more trees than necessary.And considering how many people were rescued, I have a feeling we’ll be building some of them homes here.Many of them don’t have family, and I suspect they’ll want to live either here or in Idaho, surrounded by wolves and protected.”
“Ah.True.”
“Did Nami select her house plan yet?”
“Yep.She’s going through and picking out the customizations she wants now.”They’d already laid out the various plots and assigned them: Beck and Nami, Malyah and Joaquin, Carl and Mateo, Martin, and one that they’d quietly set aside for Aisling and Tamsin in hopes they’d be staying, although it was increasingly looking like they might.
Other plots had been laid out in reserve for Enforcers to choose from, if they wanted to move there.
“I mean, it’s all on the pack’s dime anyway,” Gillian said with a smirk.“You’re family.Like hell will we let you pay for that yourself.I mean, unless you want gold bidets or something.”
Beck grimaced.“Hell, no.As it is, I had to insist she could pick granite counters if she wanted, because she kept trying to go for Formica ones to save money.”
