Page 96 of Deacon

Still, Jade tipped her chin a little higher at the word our, and something in my chest pulled tight. She didn’t look thrilled about any of this, but she didn’t look like she hated belonging to me either.

Reality crowded back in around that thought. Boxes still filled the truck. Evan had one arm around Jade’s shoulders while Blue stood nearby with the baby, Priest beside her. Ink watched everything with that sharp, unreadable expression of his, seeing too much and offering none of it.

Lila swiped loose hair from her cheek and looked toward the apartment. She wanted this conversation upstairs, away from everyone and whatever remained of her father’s pizza on the asphalt. I wanted the same thing badly enough to taste it.

Priest caught on before she had to ask. “You know what,” he said, already shifting into that practical tone that meant the decision had been made. “Let Ink, Deacon, and me finish carrying the last little bit of these boxes up to your apartment. That way you girls can go up and get yourselves sorted out before having to deal with having a conversation you weren’t prepared to have today.”

He checked the pizza Richard had dropped, grease already soaking through the cardboard. “These pizzas are toast,” he said. “We’ll order some new ones to be delivered to ya.” His mouth twitched when he looked at me. “And Lila, you’re gonna probably want to get some ice ready for Deacon’s jaw.”

Lila’s glare snapped to him. “Priest.”

I gave him one of my own. “Asshole.” Then I looked at her. “I’m good, Princess. Your brother still hits like a girl.”

Her expression sharpened. “None of this is funny, Jackson.”

No, it wasn’t. Humor was just the only part of me that still knew what to do.

Ink turned to the prospects. “You two start helping him.”

Patch and Switch moved toward the truck, but Ink’s attention shifted to Evan before either of them had lifted a box. “I’m going to help Deacon and Lila real quick and then I’ll be over to finish up with you. Patch and Switch will help you for now.”

The change in Evan was immediate. His smile came up too bright, all polish over a bruise. “I had it covered with the moving company.”

Ink stepped closer. “You didn’t need a moving company. All you had to do was ask.”

Evan backed up a step, and even I could hear what lived inside his answer. “Right,” he said. “Ask.”

Ink frowned. “What’s up with you? You aren’t your usual self.”

That one landed wrong.

“My usual self?” Evan laughed, but there wasn’t a damn thing amused in it. “Oh, honey. My usual self is a privilege. A curated experience. Full sparkle, premium chaos, and more personality than most people are equipped to survive. And since you made it pretty clear you neither want nor can handle all this usual self, I thought I’d save us both the trouble.”

He turned and headed toward his own truck, leaving Ink staring after him.

I looked at the kid. “Got yourself into some trouble with that one, did you?”

“Stuff it,” he muttered. “It’s nothing. We’re just friends. He’s the girls’ friend, which makes him the club’s friend. That makes him someone we take care of. I’m just trying to take care of him.”

I knew denial when I heard it. Hell, I had made a career out of my own. I put a hand on his shoulder. “Kid, you can only keep lying to yourself for so long. And it only keeps hurtin’ you. Well, you and the one you care about.”

He pulled away fast. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

He could keep saying it, but I knew what denial looked like from the inside. “Sure you do. You’re just bein’ a dumbass about it right now.”

Then I looked back at Lila and Jade, and the thought hit with enough force that I couldn’t blunt it: my girls. Lila had been woven into me since we were kids. Jade had existed in my world for less than an hour, and already every instinct I had was reaching for her.

“Come on,” I said, taking the nearest box. “Let’s get this done. I got a daughter to meet.”

The stairs punished every injury I was pretending not to have. My ribs pulled, my shoulder complained, and my jaw kept time with my pulse. None of it mattered enough to stop me. I would have hauled the whole damn truck upstairs if that was what stood between me and the conversation waiting there.

The last box landed inside an apartment that looked half built and half buried. Evan had disappeared toward his own place while the prospects helped with his move. Priest paused at the door before leaving and gave me the kind of look that said he knew exactly how badly I could screw this up.

“Don’t be a dumbass,” he said.

A laugh pushed through before I could stop it. Less than an hour ago, I’d stood in the parking lot telling Ink almost the same damn thing. Apparently stupidity traveled in circles around this club. “That your official guidance?”

Priest’s mouth twitched. “That’s all you’re gettin’.”