“He’s a drug lord in another town and brother to Lindsey.”At her confused frown, he added, “Yes.She’s a third-grade teacher, but he keeps his business far, far away from her.She’s never been a part of any of it.”
“Oh.Okay.”
“Let’s get up and get out of here.I’m starving, and I want to grab something to eat before Race tells us all to roll out.”They both found their clothes and got dressed.He waited for her at the door, but before he unlocked it, he kissed her again.“I’m not sure what time we’ll be back.We may come in for something to eat at some point or, if things are going well, we might not be back until late.”
“I understand.It’s fine.Just be careful while you’re out there.”
“I will, baby.Nothing can stop me from coming back to you.”He prayed he didn’t just lie.If things went well, he would be back without incident, but no one ever knew for sure how things would play out.The one thing he did know was that he wouldn’t rest until he’d eliminated Tinker once and for all.
18
Jed
Jed was on his way back from chasing down leads when he called Cutter, asking him to bring Sadie to her apartment.She reminded him before he left that they would need a change of clothes while staying at the clubhouse, and asked if someone might be able to take her to her apartment to grab a few things.He hated that she was forced to stay there, but with all the brothers out searching for Tinker, he couldn’t leave her alone.Knowing the prospects and a few of Preacher’s men were providing protection while they were out eased his worry a little.
He planned on asking her to move in with him, hopefully before the baby was born.He would rest easier knowing she wasn’t climbing up and down those stairs in her condition, possibly taking a tumble down them during bad weather.The thought of her falling down those stairs made him physically sick.
From what he’d seen of her apartment, they didn’t have a lot of stuff to move.The furniture came with the apartment.All they had were their clothes, a few personal things, and a Christmas tree.It would be so much easier to move them before she started buying a bunch of baby stuff.When it was time to put the crib together, he’d like to only have to do it once and not have to assemble it, take it apart, and reassemble it at his house.
Just thinking about her and Oliver moving into his house excited him.He couldn’t wait to ask her and planned on doing it the first chance he got.
Headlights turned down the alley, illuminating the interior of his truck.He recognized the vehicle as one of the club’s as it pulled in next to him.Sadie was already smiling as she got out of the car.Cutter rolled down the passenger side window and greeted him.Jed thanked him for bringing her and waved him off.
“Why are you smiling so big?”Her smile was infectious as he took her hand in his and led the way to the stairs.
“I’m so happy to be out of the clubhouse.No offense, but it’s nice to have a moment without a large group of people being all up in my space.”She started up the steps.
“No.I get it.Lockdowns are rough.Too many people in too little space.That’s why we built the rec center.The kids would go stir crazy, and the older they are, the rougher they play.”They weren’t in an official lockdown, but the brothers liked having their families watched over while they were out looking for Tinker.No one wanted to risk giving the fucker a different target when he couldn’t get his hands on Sadie.
He unlocked the door and entered first.He flipped the light switch on and told her to wait by the door while he took a look around.He was almost to the mouth of the hall when he heard her locking the door.He checked each room before returning to her.“Okay.We’re all good.Let’s pack what you need and head back.”
Sadie pulled a laundry basket from the hall closet and went to her room first.“How long am I packing for?”
“I don’t know, but pack for several days.We’ve had some promising leads, and we’re all hoping this ends in the next couple of days.”
She pulled out a pair of jeans, some sweats, and a pair of leggings, tossing them in the basket, followed by socks, panties, and shirts.In the closet, she pulled out a jacket.She then gathered up her toiletries from the bathroom before moving on to Oliver’s room.After she put a few sets of clothes in the basket for him, she grabbed his teddy bear off the bed and added that.She started to reach for the basket, but he beat her to it.
“Is this everything?”
“No.I need to find my laptop and eReader from the other room.”
He followed her to the kitchen, where she added the rest of what she wanted.
“Okay.Now, that’s it.”
“All right.Let’s head back.”He stepped out onto the landing and waited for her to lock up before leading the way downstairs.He set the basket in the backseat, then climbed behind the wheel.He waited until he was on the main road again before he broached the subject of moving in.He’d never asked anyone to move in with him before, and he was nervous.He cleared his throat.“When this is all over, and Tinker has been dealt with, I want you and Oliver to move in with me.I know you’re going to think it’s too soon, but in case I haven’t been clear, you’re it for me.I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I don’t see any reason for us to wait to spend our lives together.”
When she didn’t immediately respond, he turned to look at her.She was staring at him.Was she trying to figure out a way to turn him down?He quickly went on to plead his case.“If you think about it, now would be a good time to move you and Oliver in.You don’t have a lot of stuff other than your clothes and a few personal things.If we did it before you started accumulating a lot of baby stuff, that would make fewer trips up and down the stairs.”
He chanced another look when she still didn’t say anything.“Say something, Sadie.”
“Is this your way of asking me to marry you?”She was trying hard not to laugh.
His brows dipped as he thought back over what he’d blurted out, and he supposed that hehaddone that in a roundabout kind of way.Damn it.That wasn’t how he planned on proposing to her.Well, he couldn’t take it back now.“That wasn’t an official proposal, but yes, I do want to marry you.I wanted to do it right.I wanted to do something memorable that you’d always remember when I asked you to marry me.”He rubbed a hand along his jaw.“I fucked that up, didn’t I?”
She reached over and touched his arm, drawing his attention.“Yes.Oliver and I will move in with you, and when you do decide to get around to asking me to marry you, the answer is yes.”
He smiled, thrilled to hear her answer.“That’s good to know, but just remember I plan to ask you again when everything isn’t so crazy.”
