I shouldn’t get a thrill out of flustering her, but I do. I love the shade of pink her cheeks burn, and I wonder how far down her chest the flushing goes.
“Those women are something else,” she whispers.
“Yup, and I can’t think of anyone better to have my, or your, back.” I tug her behind me until we’re standing in the kitchen, near the pantry. “So, Marx, the DRMC Prez, he’s going to call Church soon. He’s asked that you attend. He has something to run by us.”
Her brows raise. “Us meaning everyone, or-”
“Us, meaning the MC and you.”
Her brows furrow in confusion. “But I haven’t done any-”
A loud whistle pierces the air and I’m almost bowled over when I see it was Dex, not Marx. “Church!”
I’m still gripping Loyal’s hand, not wanting to break our connection, and I’m sure she doesn’t want to either judging by her hand tightening on mine as she straightens her shoulders.
“Let’s get this over with.”
Loyal
I let Vex tug me into Church behind him, only letting go of his hand when he shows me to my seat and then pushes me in. As soon as he sits down next to me his hand finds mine again, clasping it in my lap. His thumb strokes the back of my hand and the motion soothes me into feeling safe, even if I do jump when Dex bangs the gavel.
“Shhh, you’re safe,” Vex whispers, his warm breath in my ear making the hair on my neck tickle a little.
“Fucking good to see you all, just sorry it’s for a shitty reason,” Dex starts, nodding at the original DRMC.
“Won’t be for long though,” Marx, who I learned is the Prez of the DRMC assures us. “As you all know, Fox and Nitro are moonlighting at Rose Grove PD.”
“There are some real pieces of shit there,” a man with “Fox” on his vest growls out, the DRMC men all nodding in agreement.
“Well said, brother,” Marx nods. “One of those pieces of shit is the reason we have two little girls that witnessed a murder.”
Curses go around the table and Vex tenses beside me, the heat and rage radiating off him.
“How old are we talking?” Dex asks.
“They’re six. And they’ve seen some shit,” Marx answers, looking directly at me. “This is where you come in, Loyal and Vex.” My eyes shoot up to Marx’s. “We need to keep the kids safe, but not so far away that they can’t be called to testify if that’s what it comes to.”
“What do you mean ‘if that’s what it comes to’?” Vex asks suspiciously.
“If we do things the way Moss would like us to, one of his dirty cops will face the justice system and the girls will need to testify against him.”
“There sounds like a ‘but’ in there,” Dex grunts.
Marx tips his chin. “There is. I have a whole MC and their Ol Ladies baying for blood.”
“So where do you need them sent?” Omen asks, rolling out his shoulders.
“Nowhere. For the moment, anyway. What we need is for Vex and Loyal to pose as their parents.”
I sit there, not moving. Not making a sound. Did he just?
“You want us to pretend to be their parents?” Vex looks at me, stunned. “Why us?”
A man wearing a leather vest that says “Wire” raises his hand. Marx gives him a nod and he turns to address me directly. “You were chosen for your looks. The girls are red haired and have dark eyes. You two know each other very well, and up until Vex came to prospect, you worked together. You have the background to make this believable. I’ve changed their paperwork, created a whole life for you and them.”
I stare at him like he’s lost his mind. Or maybe I’ve lost mine because I swear he wants me to pretend to be Vex’s what? Wife? Girlfriend? Mother of his children? A mother! Holy moly I have to pretend to be a mother!
“Take a breath, just breathe, sweetheart. You’ve learned how to deal with panic attacks in your training. You know you need to breathe.”
