Page 139 of Down & Dirty: Rage

“No excuse. Still should’ve approached.”

Rage pulled in a breath. “Ain’t gonna argue that. Not sure if she told you yet, so gonna tell you now, moved her into my place a coupla nights ago.”

Crow stared at him for far too fucking long for Rage’s taste, but he held steadfast.

He was confident he’d get Crow’s approval. Though, it might take a bit of patience. Something Rage didn’t have a shit-ton of.

No matter what, he’d accept whatever his club brother had to say because of how much he respected the OG. And the fact that he was a father who loved his daughter and, as a good father would, wanted the best for her.

Even if Crow didn’t think Rage was the best for Lyric, he wanted a chance to prove he was.

Bottom line was, Rage would be the same if they were talking about his own daughter. Though, he doubted he’d handle it so calmly.

“You and my girl have been close for a long time. No surprise you two are headed in this direction. Especially after the whole bullshit hair excuse.”

“Wasn’t sure I wanted to go there, but it hit me the other day that she’s the ol’ lady I need.” It was time to outright ask. “You givin’ your approval?”

Crow sucked on his teeth. “Here’s the deal. Not thrilled with her movin’ in with you so damn soon, but she’s her own woman. She can make her own decisions, make her own mistakes. She’ll learn from both.”

“You sayin’ I’m a mistake?”

With his hands on his hips, Crow studied him while he took his time answering. “No. Sayin’ movin’ in together so damn quickly might be. So, will give my approval if you wait to claim her at the table.”

“How long?”

Crow took a few heartbeats to answer. “Give it six months.”

Six months was a good time frame and completelyfucking acceptable to Rage. Whether it was acceptable to Lyric was a whole other story, but if it wasn’t, then she could take that up with her father.

“But after that, your ass needs to claim her. Ain’t gonna watch you use her, then toss her away.”

Damn.But then, he understood where Crow was coming from. Rage didn’t have a good track record. He’d never been serious about any woman before. In the past, they were a means to an end. The difference was, Lyric wasn’t just any woman.“Won’t happen.”

“Which part?”

“The last part.”

Crow nodded. Then came another warning. “Got respect for you, brother. Don’t fuck that up.”

“Gonna do whatever I gotta fuckin’ do to make sure I don’t.”

“Good man.”

Rage snorted. “That might be pushin’ it.”

When the OG’s head tipped to the side, his long black braid with gray streaks appeared over his shoulder, reminding Rage of Crow’s heritage. One he was proud of. A pride he had passed on to his kids. “Yeah, know it. You got a few jagged edges, but at your core, you’re a damn good man like your pop.”

If that didn’t get him choked up, nothing would. “Lyric deserves the fuckin’ world.”

“Gonna give her that?” Crow asked.

“Plan on it.”

“And what does that look like for you? ‘Cause plannin’ on it and doin’ it are two different things.”

Rage agreed with that. All the plans in the world were useless unless you followed through. “Keepin’ her safe and takin’ care of her to the best of my ability.”

“You love her?”