Page 176 of Scatter the Bones

I blink, then hold his gaze. “I don’t feel dirty with you.”

His teasing expression softens into something reverent.

“I lovedoingdirty things with you, though.” I force a bright smile, holding back all the other things in my head.

Dirty—never. I feel whole, seen, understood, cherished. A whole lot of things I never thought were even possible until we met.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Jigsaw

Wrath:Church 11:30. Officer meeting first.

I don’t need more than one guess to know it’s about the tweaker.

I toss the phone onto the nightstand and shift, curling around Margot’s warm, sleepy body. The scent of plums, sugar, and sin clings to her soft skin—sweet and lethal. Makes me want to stay right here, wrapped up with her, and forget the world exists.

“Think you’ll come up to the clubhouse with me today?” I ask, dragging my lips over the curve of her shoulder.

“Mmmm.” She sighs and rolls to face me, eyes half-lidded. “Can’t. Appointment at eleven.”

Fuck.

“Someone’s coming to pick you up, right?” she asks. “You won’t try to ride, yet.”

“Yeah, Rooster’s coming.” My fingers trail down her arm.

She bites her bottom lip and searches my face like she’s bracing for bad news. “Are the guys going to tell everyone what I did the other night?”

My whole body stills.

Yeah, probably.“Maybe just the officers. We’re gettin’ called in first. Usually, Rock and Z just keep us after.”

She squints as if she’s trying to remember who the other officers are. “Besides you, Rooster, Murphy, Rock, and Wrath…your other officers are…Z, Grinder, Dex, Teller, and…”

Impressed she remembered almost everyone, I kiss the tip of her nose. “Hustler. Downstate’s treasurer.”

“Hustler,” she repeats. “Well, I assume Teller won’t care. Neither will Murder Daddy.”

“I’m sorry.” I laugh. “What?”

“Grinder.” She shrugs, a playful glint in her eye. “That’s what Shelby calls him.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. “Great.” Then I realize why she’s puzzling this out. “No one’s going to care, Margot. They’ll be impressed. Trust me.”

“Oh, all the other ol’ ladies slice and dice people too?” She raises an eyebrow, but her voice is tight, uncertain.

I chuckle—can’t help it—but keep my tone firm. “No. But Heidi’s clocked a few guys with a hammer when they came after Murphy.”

That gets her attention. Her eyes widen with more curiosity than concern. “Really?”

“Yes. All of them would protect their men, in their own ways. Your way is just more immediate and visceral.”

She bites her lip and drops her gaze. “It wasn’t protective, though. It was reactive. Revenge for hurting you.”

That lands hard in my chest. I trace her jaw with my knuckles. “Look, I know you have a certain code for how and why you end people, but don’t lose sleep over this one. Sooner or later, he would've hurt someone else. Either in a drug deal gone bad or out of sheer stupidity. He came close to shooting Griff. Threatened to hurt Molly. He was scum.”

She lets out a slow breath. “I don’t want your brothers to be…afraid of me. Think I’m nuts.”

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