Good.That makes it easy to claim her.
I ignored the Reaper. He was chatty today.
“I’d like to have Crypt with me, especially since I intend to go back home. Rylee needs stability. All her things are home. She needs to sleep in her room and know that everything willbe okay. That she’s safe and protected. I don’t want her to fear being in the house again or sleeping in her bed.”
Hell yeah!She wanted me.
“Hannibal is welcome to come over whenever he wants, and I’ll tell him that. But I’m not going to cower or hide because a few assholes threatened Rylee and me. This is on Doyle. He can deal with the mess he made.”
Grim leaned forward, placing his elbows on his desk. He looked right into her eyes. “He’s dead.”
Rachel blinked. “Dead? How? When?”
“He attacked Rael’s ol’ lady. It was a few weeks ago.”
“What are you not telling me?”
Damn, she was smart. Rachel picked up on cues that a lot of people missed. Maybe because she was Hannibal’s daughter. He seemed to never miss a thing.
“We took care of him. The club got justice for Nylah.”
“Wow.” Rachel slumped in her chair. “I wish I could say I feel sad, but I don’t. He cheated on me. Screamed at our daughter. He was a shitty husband and a worse father. I’m glad he’s gone.”
That made two of us.
“Can you think of anything else we need to know?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. We’re good, Rachel. Wish you would consider staying here for a bit until we get this all sorted.”
“I’ll be fine. I want to take Rylee home. Besides, I’ve got Crypt. With my father, that’s two layers of protection.”
Grim stood. “I hope you’ll come back and visit with Rylee. The other ol’ ladies and families would love to see you both. My Trish will want to meet you.”
“I’ll come back soon,” Rachel promised as she rose from her seat and headed to the door. “Thank you, Grim. For everything.”
We left Grim’s office and shut the door, taking the stairs back up to the room.
The prospect greeted us. “Movie went quiet a few minutes ago. I think they’re sleeping.”
“Thanks.”
Rachel entered first, and I followed her, noting that the room was dark. Hannibal’s snore was low. Rylee was quiet. He had moved her to one side of the bed, keeping her close.
Rachel kicked off her shoes and joined them. I watched her slip under the covers and lie close to Rylee. Even with the prospect outside the door, I had to be sure we’d all be safe. I flipped the lock and then crossed the room, taking off my boots and placing them on the floor. My cut followed, and I draped it over one of the chairs.
I’d have to sleep in my shirt and jeans, but that was fine. I was tired since it was nearly two in the morning. With Rachel beside me, I would sleep without a hitch.
She reached for me as I stretched out beside her, and I rolled over, pressing my front to her back, guarding that side of her body so she felt safe beside Rylee, protected between Hannibal and me.
I had no idea how long we slept. My eyes closed as soon as I slipped my arm around Rachel, and my head landed on the pillow. It took me a minute to figure out what woke me. It was the sound of running water in the bathroom.
Rachel was still asleep. I slowly opened my eyes, seeing Rylee snuggled against her mom. It was Hannibal in the bathroom.
I tried to close my eyes and ignore him, but it proved impossible. By the time he was done, I had sat up, shrugged on my cut, and shoved my feet back into my boots. He didn’t say a word as I entered the bathroom after him, taking a quick piss before I located a toothbrush in a new package and toothpaste. The Crossroads kept those sorts of items stocked.
When I left the bathroom, he was sitting at the table, sipping coffee. I could tell he wanted to talk.
