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“Hey,” Z says, resting his forehead against mine. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Being the best damn ol’ lady a president could ask for.”
“How’s that?”
He shrugs and stares up at the brilliant blue October sky for a moment as if he’s trying to find the right words. “Sticking up for a brother. Accepting their quirks with class and grace.” He steps back and sweeps his gaze over my black turtleneck and jeans. “And looking really fucking hot while doing it.”
“Love the man, love the club,” I murmur.
“Yeah. I know that’s not always easy.”
“Sometimes it’s fun, though.” I tilt my head toward the pumpkins. Alexa’s joined Chance and Grace. The three of them are sitting together on a big bale of hay, listening intently to Jigsaw.
“Three pumpkins were sitting on a gate.
The biggest one says, "It's getting late!"
The medium one says, "But there are witches and ghosts floating in the air."
The smallest one says, "I'm not scared!"
Tiny little giggles float through the air.
“I’m da biggest and I not scared!” Chance announces.
“Where does Jigsaw come up with this shit?” Z groans.
“It’s cute. Look how enthralled the kids are.”
He sighs and kisses my forehead. “Man, the rage that went through me when I heard you scream…it’s a good thing you tried to stop me. By the time I caught up to him, I wasn’t as pissed.”
“Hope and I were finishing our conversation about my run-in with Sophie, so honestly, it was a perfect distraction.”
“How’d that go?” he asks.
“Like you said, she wasn’t bothered at all.”
“Good.” He grits his teeth. “Let’s go to dinner at your family’s Sunday. For your brother. Anyone starts ragging on you, we’ll just get up and leave.”
I consider the offer, appreciating it more than I can express, but in my heart, it’s not what I want. At all. “Nah.” I scan the parking lot. My gaze lands on Trinity and I lift my hand to wave at her. “Trinity has a whole autumn-themed menu planned for Sunday.” I meet Z’s eyes again. “I don’t want to miss family dinner night with mytruefamily. But thank you for offering.”
“Lilly?” His voice drops to a serious tone. “You realize I’d burn the world to the ground for you.”
“I know.” I lean up and kiss his cheek. “And that’s why I’d do the same for you.”
CHAPTERNINE
Ravage
Halloween Party
New Empire Clubhouse
Exhaustion pulls me upstairs.We’ve got a few hours before the party officially kicks off, but I’ve been awake for the last twenty-four hours pulling things together. The clubhouse is currently full of kids and ol’ ladies, which is cool and all, they were invited. But it seems like a safe time to escape for a nap.
I jog up the stairs, heading for the room at the end of the hallway. Even though we reserved a room for each officer, fuck knows none of them have ever spent a night here. Rock said he didn’t care if I used his room. He hasn’t even stepped foot in the suite since the first open house we had to celebrate the new space.
