“Lynn,” I offered him my unchained hand. “How goes it?”
He grinned at me, taking my hand before dropping it and taking a seat.
“It’s going,” he said as I followed suit. “You like the new accommodations?”
I tilted my head slightly to the side. “You’re responsible for that?”
He nodded once. “I am. There are a few things that I want to talk to you about, and an offer I’m going to make.”
I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms over my chest, trying not to think about what I’d left behind at my old accommodations.
I may not have seen her all that much, but the possibility of seeing her was enough to get me through most days.
“What’s going on?” I asked carefully.
“What’s going on is I have a really big fucking problem.”
Then he went on to explain how there was sex trafficking going on in his back yard, and how he was going to fix it. Fix it with the help of some men that had already proven that they weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.
Men like me.
Men that’d killed and didn’t have any remorse for what they’d done.
“Not that I’m not willing to help with that, but how will I even help?” I asked. “I’m willing to do whatever, but I’m just not sure that I have any special set of skills that anyone else doesn’t. Plus, I’m in prison. Kind of hard to do anything from here.”
He laughed then. “So I have a few friends.” He paused. “Ones that can pardon people. Ones that have already pardoned you. All we’re waiting for now is a little paperwork. But in the meantime, you’ll be here, where I know you won’t die in the next couple of months while we’re waiting to hear back from the government.”
My heart started to pound. “You’re saying I’m getting out of here in a couple of months?”
The carefulness in my voice had me literally shaking in excitement.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “As long as you work for me and ‘I can keep an eye on you.’”
Joy started to filter through my system at his words.
“I’ll sweep your goddamn bread crumbs up off the floor while you eat toast if you get me the fuck out of here,” I told him.
He grunted out a laugh.
“I don’t want that, man.” He looked serious for a few moments. “Seriously, now. I don’t want to take your life over and give you another prison. I want you to live your life. I want you to be happy. But I also want your help when I need it.” He paused. “How do you feel about motorcycle clubs?”
CHAPTER 5
Stay petty.
-Sin to Blaise
BLAISE
Six weeks later
My stomach was rolling as I looked at my dog, Sarge.
“Sarge,” I said through another belly roil. “I wish you could read, too.”
Sarge looked at me like I was crazy.
A couple of weeks after my attack, my Uncle Trance had shown up at my door with Sarge.
Sarge was a retired police K-9 whose handler had perished in a high-speed car chase.
He had also been in that car during the high-speed car chase and had been thrown through the windshield of the car during one of its many rolls.
It’d been only luck that Sarge had survived following that.
After multiple surgeries, my buddy was as good as could be expected.
His favorite person, Officer Soons, was gone, though.
And he’d been in a distressed state just like me after being beaten to within an inch of my life.
Sarge nudged me with his nose, just like he’d started doing years ago when I’d first gotten him and he didn’t like how mopey I was being, and I sighed.
“All right,” I grumbled. “I’ll go check. But if this is positive, you’re going to have to deal with a lot more of my shit.”
Sarge didn’t look at all amused.
I grumbled out another curse and walked to the bathroom where I’d left the pregnancy test on the counter.
My phone rang before I could get there.
I answered it without thinking. “Did you kill any rabbits yet?”
I sighed at my brother’s words. “Shut up. I’m just about to check.”
He grunted. “Just do it. Stop being a pussy.”
I looked at the counter where the test was and wondered if I needed to get any closer to read it.
I did.
I was partially blind in one eye now, so it was obvious that I would need to get closer.
Dammit.
“Johnny,” I said carefully. “I will come over there and kill you.”
“You could try,” Johnny agreed. “Just go look. You said you were going to take it thirty minutes ago. We’re all judging you.”
I knew they were all judging me.
“Why do you even know that I’m doing it right now? I told your wife, not you,” I grumbled.
Johnny and June—yes, they really were Johnny and June—did everything together. Honestly, this morning when I’d called to ask June’s advice on what to do—it’d been more than obvious that I was pregnant now that June had called me on it—I’d expected to hear from my brother at some point.