Page 83 of Crush's Fall

“Thank you,” Crush expressed, and she meant it.

When they took Halo in as a runaway and gave her a place to belong, she became a baby sister to the entire club. While they did their best not to baby her, she was young and needed a bit more guidance. And in Crush’s mind, if Halo was hurt, she failed in her duties to protect her. Right or wrong, she would always shoulder the blame.

“It’s a good thing I have a pack of badass sisters behind me,” Halo said with a smile.

“Badass and bad-tempered,” Crush replied, grinning.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Bullet

Afterparkinghisbikebehind his father’s SUV in his parents’ driveway, Bullet headed in through the front door. He knocked and waited a moment before he stepped inside, though. He didn’t need a repeat of the scene he walked in on years ago. It had been about two years after Crush moved out, and Bullet came over to grab something from his old bedroom. When he opened the door, he found his father mounting his mother on the steps in the foyer. He still couldn’t look at those stairs without feeling nauseous.

When he stepped inside, he looked everywhere but at the stairs as he called out, “Mom! Pops!”

“In the kitchen,” his father shouted back.

Bullet made his way there and smiled at his mother, who was stirring something at the stove. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he took a deep sniff and groaned. “You making chicken and dumplings?”

“It’s fall, Liam. Of course I am,” she replied with a proud smile.

He made his way over to where his father was sitting at the dining table and took a seat across from him. “Hey Pops.”

“Bull. This is a surprise visit. Where’s my daughter-in-law?”

“She has a volunteer shift at the children’s hospital.” Bullet met his father’s stare. “Got a second to chat?”

Taking the hint, his father stood and headed for his study. Bullet followed. Once they were shut in the study, his father leaned back against the edge of his desk and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I need to talk to you about Crush’s mate.”

“Husband, from what I hear,” his father grumbled, his brows pulled together in disapproval.

Bullet nodded. “Yeah. They did that without telling anyone.” He sighed. “Listen. I know she’ll be bringing him over soon, and I wanted to give you my opinion before you meet him.”

His father’s stare turned curious. “I’m listening.”

“You’re going to want to hate him,” Bullet admitted and plopped down in one of the leather chairs facing his father’s desk. “And it would be easy to. He’s abrasive and crude and an asshole.”

“You’re not singing his praises, here, Bull.”

Bullet shook his head. “That’s how he is. He’s like that with Crush, too, but… Pops, he has her back in ways none of us can. He pushes her when she needs it. He backs her up without taking control. He will go head-to-head with anyone who even thinks of disrespecting her. As much as I don’t want to fucking say it… Lucifer is good for Crush. I’ve seen her smile more since they mated than I’ve seen her smile in years. And if you tell her I said any of this, I’ll fucking deny it.”

His father chuckled. “Okay. I’ll give the fucker a chance.”

Bullet nodded. “All I can ask.”

Crush

It was lunchtime when Crush got the text that the police were at the compound and looking for Halo. Crush set down the ledgers she was going over for the business she managed for the clubs and headed down to have Halo’s back.

She was expecting the police to show up. A man died. His girlfriend would be the first person they wanted to speak to. It would be suspicious to them that Halo was beaten to hell and he mysteriously died, but that wasn’t Crush’s problem. She knew there wasn’t any evidence to link to any of the Claws. The Claws specialized in cleanup.

She approached the two suits standing out front of the clubhouse and crossed her arms over her chest. “Detectives.”

“I’m Detective Hank Wilson, and this is my partner, Detective Brian Kolche.” He held out his hand to her but Crush just glanced at it.

Detective Wilson was a creepy man in his thirties with greased back dark hair and a suit he bought to make him look pulled together, but it somehow made him look frumpled and unkempt. It probably wasn’t the suit’s fault, Crush decided. It was probably the slime that seemed to ooze off of the man.

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