Page 33 of Crush's Fall

“Kisy can throw hands.”

Pumps nodded and looked over at him, surprise on her face. “Right? I was a little shocked.”

After they shared a laugh, he asked, “Were you ever going to tell me that shifters existed? I mean, hell, we grew up together.”

Pumps patted him on the shoulder. “You weren’t mature enough to have that knowledge. Honestly, whether you’re mature enoughnowis still up for debate.”

Bullet

Now that Butterfly’s stalker husband was eliminated, as well as the uncle who had been working with him, Bullet felt it was important to bring Butterfly fully into his family. He called his parents and was instantly reprimanded for not calling them sooner. Apparently, Crush, his bratty little sister had called his mother days before to inform her that Bullet’s mate had shown up and he was being an idiot about recognizing it.

He was an idiot?Wait until he told their mother how Crush’s mate had been in town for months, and she was pretending he didn’t exist. No. Bullet wouldn’t do that, because then he’d have to explain why, and the why would have his father down at the clubhouse to go head-to-head with Lucifer. As much as he would love someone to take Lucifer out of the picture, he didn’t like the idea of putting his sister in that position. Whether he liked Lucifer or not, he was Crush’s mate.

Once again, he was protecting his baby sister from consequences of her own choices. Only this time, he was protecting her from their parents. Sure, she couldn’t pick who her mate was, but she picked how she handled the situation. If she would have just brought Lucifer over to meet their parents, Bullet wouldn’t feel the need to keep it a secret.

At the end of the call, he had promised to bring Butterfly to their house for dinner, which he did. Several days later, as they sat at his parents’ dining table and ate his mother’s fantastic lemon white fish, his mother was glaring at him. But when her gaze shifted to Butterfly, the glare disappeared and was replaced by the beautiful smile of a mother excited for another daughter.

“It’s a shame Crush couldn’t come tonight,” his father said as he pushed his empty plate away. “She loves this recipe.”

Bullet finished chewing his bite and swallowed. “Her and Axle have been pretty busy. Running a club and businesses are pretty time-consuming.” He cut off another piece and put it in his mouth.

“It doesn’t help that Lucifer trails behind her like a puppy waiting for a treat,” Butterfly said, lifting her glass of wine to take a drink.

Bullet’s eyes went wide, and he nearly choked on the bite he had just put in his mouth. He should have talked to Butterfly about Crush and Lucifer before they arrived.

Well, the cat was out of the bag now.

“Lucifer?” The way his father said the man’s name was a lot like the way he would saymurderer.

Bullet swallowed and cleared his throat. “Uh… yeah. He’s… well, he’s… He’s her mate, but she hasn’t… come to terms with it, yet.”

His mother rolled her eyes. “That woman can’t stand to hand over any control… not even to fate.”

She seemed calm, but Bullet knew his mother. The moment he and Butterfly left, she’d be on the phone demanding Crush bring Lucifer over for dinner as soon as possible.

Trying to be discreet, Bullet pulled his phone out of his pocket and kept it under the table as he looked down and typed out a text to Crush.

Bullet : Mom knows about Lucifer. Sorry. Heads up. Will explain later.

The reply came instantly.

Crush : I’m going to enjoy tearing out your throat.

He felt Butterfly’s hand on his thigh and looked over at her. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed.

He winked at her and gave her a smile. Crush would be pissed, but it would be fine. Maybe bringing Lucifer to dinner would make her face the truth. As much as Bullet didn’t like it, Lucifer was Crush’s mate, and he’d earned the right to be claimed.

Crush

Staring down at the message she just received from her brother, Crush cursed under her breath and sent her reply.

“What?” Pinky asked, as they sat together at a table by the bar in the clubhouse.

Crush showed her the text string and rolled her eyes as Pinky busted out with laughter.

“Sorry,” Pinky said, and attempted to quell her laughter, but she failed and started laughing harder.

“Bitch,” Crush muttered and took a drink of her beer.

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