Page 71 of Gotta Dig Deep
Sitting at the kitchen table, she angled a glance around the room, letting her gaze rest on each man’s face in turn. Horse’s hand was on her knee and the possessive move hadn’t been missed by anyone in the room, making him the recipient of several harmless jabs. Nothing had fazed him, and he’d simply stayed at her side, making sure she was okay.
She was, and had reassured him so, even if the day had been long and terrifying. Watching the men as they stalked towards the house had been frightening but finding Jackson in her home was another level.
She was shocked that she didn’t feel any remorse about his death. He’d gone crazy, or something like it. Nor had there been a second’s thought of fear of Horse, even though she’d witnessed firsthand his capacity for violence.
Not when he was threatened, though. She’d seen that as he’d given the men outside every chance to choose a different path.
No, what had tipped him over the edge had been the threat to her.
It had been a very real danger too. When Horse came in, Glenna had been on the verge of passing out, and Jackson had been too far gone inside his own twisted head to do anything but follow through on what he’d set out to do.
“I’m a lucky woman,” she murmured, leaning close to press a careful kiss to Horse’s shoulder.
“Hush, woman. I’m still talkin’ here,” Blackie called out and she ducked her head. He’d been talking for minutes now, and nothing he said had made sense to her.
“Be still now,” the man named Duane said softly. He was cleaning the last of the blood off her face, and now found a couple of other wounds she hadn’t noticed until he applied what felt like burning acid to them.
She hissed as he hit another scrape with the antiseptic and Horse’s head whipped around, the glare on his face aimed directly at Duane.
“Quit fuckin’ hurtin’ her, asshole.”
Duane made a sound and Glenna tried to smile at him, resorting to biting her lip when the stinging came again. When Horse had introduced Duane, it had been as a close brother, meaning he trusted Duane with his life. The least she could do was let him finish his self-appointed first aid without getting killed.
“Horse, brother,” Blackie called, and Glenna turned her attention back to him. “Glad you finally found your peaches, man. Pleased as fuck for you. Guessin’ you’ll wanna stick tight here, so Skyd and I talked things through. We’re gonna repatch the local chapter as FRMC, and I’m puttin’ you top of the cock walk there. Members already voted you in, so you don’t get to fuckin’ bail on me. I’m not losin’ you, motherfucker.”
Glenna tried to think if they’d had peaches with any of the meals they’d shared and ran through the contents of her pantry in her mind.If Horse likes peaches, I’ll by God give him peaches.
Horse’s tense muscles went rigid, turning him into a statue. After a beat, he took in a breath, then another before thudding a fist against his chest. “My service will always be yours, brother.”
“Well then, don’t fuck shit up. We knocked a dent into the aims of those ball lickers, but that don’t mean they won’t be back. I’ll be depending on you to keep up with your building connections in, as well as outside of the club, and to keep us all informed on anything dippin’ back to shit.” Blackie approached him, his gaze dipping to Glenna’s face. “Fuck, she’s real pretty without that mask’o blood she had goin’ on.” He reached out one hand to Horse, then pointed to her with the other. “Can I greet your old lady properly, brother?”
“Mind her head,” Horse murmured, taking a fragment of fabric from Blackie. He kept his arm around Glenna’s shoulder as Blackie approached, and she sat quietly, waiting to take her cues from both men.
Blackie’s hands were gentle as he held both of her cheeks, cupping along the edges of her jaw. “Fucker broke your goddamned nose, pretty lady.” He bent towards her and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “Welcome to the family, Glenna. My old lady, Peaches, is gonna be glad this one finally landed on a keeper. When she hears about how fierce you are, she’s gonna be even more glad he waited until he found the right one.”
“Peaches?” She was looking up at Blackie and the change that came over his expression was telling.That’s love. Lots of love.“Is that your wife?”
“Got it in one. Not only is she tough as fuckin’ nails and prettier than a miracle, she’s also smart as hell. Horse, brother.” Blackie backed away and rested a hand on Horse’s shoulder, shaking him back and forth. “You’re in fuckin’ trouble, old man. Hell, gonna have to stay on top of your game all the fuckin’ time.”
“Yeah.” Horse’s agreement came with a chuckle. “Gonna love every goddamned minute too.”
When Blackie turned away, inserting himself into a conversation across the room, she leaned closer to Horse. Pitching her voice low, she asked, “Was I just adopted?”
Duane’s laughter was bright and cheery, and he answered for Horse. “Yeah, you were, little sister. You sure as shit were.”
“Hey.” Gunny cut in, shoving Duane away as he planted himself beside Glenna. “I thought of another T-shirt idea.”
“What now, Gunny?” Horse’s words were strung out with humor, laughter echoing in every syllable.
“A blue shirt, because blue’s supposed to be peaceful or some shit. And on the front, have in quotes ‘Karma according to Gunny: The fuck you did not’ with some lines and shit streaking out from behind the words. Whatcha think?”
“I think you’re a piece of shit.” Horse stood, releasing his hold on Glenna to latch onto Gunny. She watched as the two men came together, clenched fists at their hearts, strong arms around each other’s shoulders. “And I fuckin’ love you for it, brother.”
Gunny looked at Glenna over Horse’s shoulder. “He’s gonna be a handful, little sister. You up for it?”
She beamed at him through the pain, unable to dial back her happiness.
“Fucking right I am.”
