Page 42 of Relentles
“Ewwww, Mom! Dad,” Kaleb interrupted, his little voice trembling in outrage.
“Cockblocking little motherfucker,” Mortician mumbled under his breath.
Bailey giggled, and he winked at her, then glanced at his youngest child, the boy version of her. She turned, though she didn’t move away from Mortician, so he wrapped his arms around her waist, bent, and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“You’re too big to do that, Dad,” Kaleb said, squealing with laughter.
Lifting her hand and reaching behind herself, she caressed Mort’s jaw, her slim fingers leaving trails of fire.
“Your dad’s tired, Kal. You couldn’t sleep?”
He shook his head. “Lou fell asleep before me.” He poked his lip out. “I was lonely.”
“Oh, baby boy.” Bailey went to Kaleb and hugged him to her. “You should’ve called. We were right at Lolly’s.”
A walkway between a stand of trees separated the back of their house and the front of Roxanne and Knox’s. It had been themother-in-law quarters built for her. When she married Knox, they enlarged it withthatmotherfucker’s money.
“Do you want a cup of warm milk, sweetie?”
Kaleb nodded. “With some cookies?”
“You bet.”
Bailey started forward, then stopped and turned to him. She hesitated, the uncertainty on her face both curious and a little upsetting.
“Do you…do you want to come with us?”
“No, pretty girl. You take care of my little dude and I’ll go talk to Harley.”
Or Prez. He’d decide who took precedence when he topped the stairs.
Upstairs, he did neither of those things first. He walked to Lou’s room and peeked in. It was dark, so he couldn’t see much, but he heard the steady, even breathing of his namesake.
If Bailey found out about Ryan, she’d freak out. Lou wanted to join the club when he was older. Mort wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Outlaw’s ability to think clearly depended on Meggie. If she hadn’t recovered from her wounds or suffered permanent damage, there probably wouldn’t have been no saving Digger.
Mortician didn’t doubt that he would’ve either lost his brother or his life if it wasn’t for Meggie.
At the moment, Outlaw was operating on fatigue and fear. And Meggie? Johnnie was fucking with her.
That motherfucker played with fire. All the fuck they needed was Meggie to get into her feelings and clam the fuck up.
“Dad?” Lou called, the hallway light reflecting against Mort’s back.
“I was just checking on you, little bro. I love you. Go back to sleep.”
“Love you too,” Lou mumbled, already nodding off.
Not wanting to risk his son awakening fully and he’d have two cockblockers to contend with, Mortician walked to the end of the hallway and dropped into the window seat. He took out his cell phone and dialed Outlaw.
Meggie answered. Because of course she would. On the other hand, maybe she’d read the fucking messages.
“Mort?”
“Hey, baby,” he said, realizing he hadn’t spoken.
“Is everything okay?”
