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The energy she had was astounding. Hell, the truth was, I envied that level of energy. Compared to her, I felt like an old man, constantly dragging ass while she darted around full of life and excitement. But this was parenting so I stood my ass at the foot of the slide and caught her at least a dozen more times. “No more pancakes,” I told her, using the sternest voice I was capable of with her, which wasn’t nearly as stern as it was with the rest of the world.
“Catch me, Gunny!” She pushed herself off the slide with as much power as her chubby little arms would allow and came flying at me, right into my waiting arms.
“Love you, mwah,” she said as she pressed a kiss to my cheek to accompany the sound.
“Love you too, squirt.” Having kids was never something that I’d thought would be my life. I didn’t have a good example and given my life with the Reckless Bastards, I just didn’t think it was possible. But meeting Maisie had changed all that. I loved her from the moment she looked up at me with those big blue eyes that we both got from our mother. A protective instinct rose up in me, and when Ma asked me to give her a better life than she’d given me, I knew I would.
“Push, Gunny?” Her little mouth pursed into an adorable half-pout, half-smile as her eyes drifted to the swing set about twenty feet away from the slide.
I put her on the ground and Maisie took off, her chubby little legs encased in denim carried her to the row of five swings. “Wait for me, squirt.”
“Push high,” she instructed when I stopped in front of her and lifted her in the air to plop her in the swing seat. I was powerless against her smile but when I stood behind and pushed her higher and higher, the sound of her giggles wrapped me around her tiny little fingers. When she looked at me like I was some kind of hero, it only strengthened my resolve that I needed to find a way to keep her safe. To give her better than we ever got.
“Head up, Maisie.” She loved to lean back with wild abandon and even two tumbles out of the swing hadn’t cured her of it, even if both times had shaved a few years off my life.
“But the sky, Gunny! Sooo pretty!”
I swear, that sweet giggle would be the death of me. The sound of a car door slamming stole my attention and put me on immediate alert.
“Time to go inside.”
“But, Gunny—”
“We’ll come back later, squirt. I promise.” That shut her up quickly and I scooped her from the swing, and with her hanging from my hip, we marched in long-legged strides to the back door entrance of the clubhouse. “Ask Uncle Cross to come outside, okay?”
“Okay. Love you, Gunny!” It was her way of saying goodbye but this time she managed a wave while running on unsteady legs and that little move pulled another smile from me.
When I was sure she wouldn’t sneak out for more time on the swings, I turned to the woman who now leaned against a sleek black Tesla SUV that looked like it came from outer fucking space.
She was curvy as fuck with honey brown skin that said she was mixed race or maybe Latina. Confidence oozed from her in painted on blue jeans and a white t-shirt that hugged big round tits and a slender waist, but her wild burgundy curls said she was a force to be reckoned with. My cock twitched to life, surprising the fuck outta me since I hadn’t been with a woman since a few random hookups after my mom had passed. It had been so long I almost didn’t recognize the sensation.
But just as quickly as my cock sprang to life, so did my unease. Strangers didn’t just show up at the compound and definitely not through the back gate when it was locked. Oversized sun glasses shielded her eyes but I could tell they were trained on me by the way her pouty red mouth curved into a smile. And because I felt her gaze as it raked over my body. “Can I help you?” Dammit, I sounded gruff as fuck, as usual, but I didn’t know this chick or who’d sent her. No matter how fuckin’ hot she was.
“Maybe, but right now I have more important matters to deal with.” My darkest scowl didn’t even faze her, her own smile just grew wider.
“Look lady, I don’t have time for your fucking games. Why are you here and how the hell did you get in?”
One brow cocked high above her sunglasses and then she removed them, revealing amber eyes that were so light she looked otherworldly, or some shit. “I’m here—” she began but her words cut off at the sound of the door smacking open behind me.
“Holy shit, Peaches, you’re here! And you look damn good, girl.”
Vivi. I should have fucking known. This woman, no matter how talented, was the walking, talking definition of trouble. Chaos. The woman, Peaches, smiled even brighter. “Same girl, love agrees with you. And I’m diggin’ the pink hair!”
Before her words were even out of her mouth, Vivi brushed past me at a run, stopping in front of the curvy beauty and wrapping her skinny arms around her in a tight hug. “You said you might be able to fly in a few days from now or else I would’ve picked you up from the airport.”
Peaches threw her head back and laughed, showing off a freckle right over the pulse of her neck. “My new ride came in the day we spoke and I figured this was the perfect trip to test it out. What do you think?” She stepped back and I watched them both in wide-eyed fascination as Vivi circled the car, brushing a finger along it reverently.
I’d never seen women get so enthralled by a car. It was kind of a fucking turn-on. “Damn this thing is sweet as fuck, Peaches. Business must be good.”
“Damn good,” she replied with a shrug. “Anyway I didn’t think it was a good idea to catch a commercial flight with all the sketchy shit I got with me so, here I am.” Peaches ran a hand through her hair, fluffing her curls as she took in her surroundings with the keen eyes of someone who was used to trouble. It made me curious about her story.
“Sketchy shit, I’m intrigued.” Vivi smiled and looked at her friend and it was the softest I’d ever seen her. I could see why Jag had fallen for her.
“You will be,” Peaches promised and squinted her eyes in my direction, licking her lips. “Hey, Big Sexy, think you can use those muscles to help me with something?”
Fuck yeah, but…Big Sexy? “I’m not a valet.”
