Page 57 of Chief's Addiction

Yeah, I felt pretty much the same way. I was as ready to have that talk as I was for a root canal with no Novocaine.

“Her work?” Killer asked. “Diner’s exposed.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache building. “I’ll handle it. Just get the security in place at the house.”

The chatty fucker grunted again and then the line went dead.

“Cora?” my sister asked, one eyebrow raised. “As in Sparrow’s baby sister, Cora?”

I looked away. “Don’t even fucking start with me, Cali.”

She held up her hands, a smile threatening to break loose on her lips. “Wouldn’t dream of it, big brother.” Then, more seriously, gaze softening, “You love her?”

My brows snapped together.

Did I love Cora? I mean, she’d only been speaking to me again for a little over a week. “It’s too soon for love.”

Foxy shook her head. “Let me ask you this, dipshit. What would you do if she walked away.”

“Fuck that,” I snarled. “She’s not going anywhere. Cora’s mine!”

My sister smirked. “I think you have your answer.”

Fuck me. It was way too fast, but I couldn’t even imagine my life without Cora since having her back in my life and in my bed.

“Yeah,” I said roughly, the admission scraping my throat raw. “I think I do.”

Something softened in Foxy’s expression. “Then we’ll keep her safe, Mason.” She reached across the desk, squeezing my forearm. “All of us will.”

I nodded, grateful she wasn’t giving me shit. “What’s your read on the situation? How bad is this going to get?” My sister wasn’t a member of the club but there was nobody I trusted more in situations like these. Foxy saw things in a way none of us ever could.

Leaning back, she crossed her arms over her chest, eyes distant. “If we can find Spike and hand him over to Sidorov, maybe we can smooth things over. Make it clear we had no idea he was connected, that our beef was strictly business.”

“And if we can’t find him?”

Her expression darkened. “Then we’d better prepare for war.”

The weight of her words settled heavy on my shoulders. A war with the Bratva would be brutal, bloody, and potentially devastating. We’d already lost Heaven’s Door temporarily; they’d trashed Saints Ink. If things escalated further, people could die. People I cared about.

My phone vibrated across my desk and I picked it up.

Reign: At your place now. All clear, setting up security.

Some of the tension lifted from my chest. At least Cora and Beckett would be protected at the house. But I needed to get Cora out of that diner. She was too exposed there, too vulnerable. And I needed to talk to Sparrow before he heard about us from someone else.

As if reading my thoughts Foxy asked, “What about Sparrow?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I’ll call him after I pick up Cora. Need to have that conversation face to face.”

“Brave man,” she said, the hint of a smile playing on her lips. “You want me to be there when you tell him you’ve been sleeping with his baby sister?”

“Fuck off,” I growled, tossing a stack of Post-it notes at her.

Foxy laughed, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. “I missed you too, hermano.”

As she walked toward the door, I called after her, “Cali?”

She paused, looking back over her shoulder.

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