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"It's not weird at all. I know for a fact Leeland loves a good spanking and Javier has been pegged before. Personally, I'm a bondage girlie, though don't tell Mom any of this. She'd freak." Marisol sank back into her chair as if she hadn't just unleashed everyone's secrets into the group.
"Marisol!" Her brothers were wearing matching scowls as they glared at her.
"What?! He's family now. He needed a little dirty laundry on you two. Besides, there's no better way to bond than to know what kink matches which sibling."
The laugh I'd held back broke free. There was no controlling the sound.
"You three are nothing but trouble, I see," Preacher said. "Don't get any ideas about teaching my boy any of that."
The rest of the table joined in with my laughter at the warning. It all felt so domestic and natural. It made me wonder what kind of chaos would come next in our lives.
What I did know was that I had people at my back. I had a growing army of men ready to fight with me for the organization. I had siblings and a pseudo-mom ready to stand in my corner. And I had Daddy; the most loyal, persistent man in the world.
Together, we'd take on whatever came our way.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
PREACHER
After Dante's family visited,life slowed down substantially. I wasn't out on the streets hustling to track down my boy or to pin a perp with charges. Dante wasn't out roaming the streets as his alter-ego, The Monster. And overall, the organization was thriving under his watch.
Four weeks after the death of the head of the family and life had gone back to normal. Or as normal as possible given what we did.
It was in the fourth week that things took a slight turn. Ricardo called me asking for a meeting with Dante. I told him that we had time to see him as soon as he was ready. Twenty minutes later, he strode into Dante's office to drop a bomb on us both.
"I'm moving," he said.
"What?! Why?!" Dante's eyes went wide as he tried to piece together why his friend was leaving.
I had my suspicions, but I was going to wait to see how it played out. There would be a hole in our systems with him gone. We'd have to rearrange plans and put someone else in charge. It was all possible, though it was definitely a pain in the ass after we'd only just seemed to find peace.
"I've been keeping an eye on the divisions you setup on both coasts. The East is looking perfect. Not a single hiccup, and your men are more loyal than ever."
"And the West coast?" I questioned.
He winced. "They are stable, though barely just. Pharrell isn't doing so hot. Even though he had proof of Stasia's treason, there were still some in her family who were angry at him for her death. They felt she deserved to be punished like they did their wives instead of killed."
"So, they'd have rather him beat and starve her than for her to be dead? Yeah, makes total sense." I couldn't hide the sarcasm in my voice. "Do you think they're going to come after us? I mean, it wasn't Pharrell that actually shot her."
No, that honor belonged to me. The bitch deserved death for turning on us like she had.
"What do you suggest? Are you going to take over the West Coast?" Dante asked Ricardo, who immediately shook his head.
"That's not my goal, though I'm prepared to do so if needed. It's more that I feel the need to intervene. Besides, you have Preacher here as your aid. There isn't anything I'm doing that he can't do or hasn't already started handling."
I shook my head. "You think too little of yourself, Ricardo. This organization needs you."
"And it will have me. I'm just moving to a different place to ensure all of Dante's work doesn't go to waste."
"There's no other reason?" I pressed for another answer.
He looked slightly to the left, a sure sign he was about to lie. "Nothing at all. Are we good?"
Dante sighed as he stood to come around his desk. He hugged Ricardo quickly before coming to sit in my lap. My boy knew I hated when others touched him, so he was good about making sure I could hold him right after.
"I will miss you, friend. But... I also understand when you feel called to handle something. Should I let Pharrell know you're coming, or is this meant to be a surprise?"
Ricardo shrugged. "I have no opinion either way. He'll find out how serious I am about helping when I show up soon. Stasia did a lot of the work with him, and even from afar, I can feel the system over there crumbling."
