Page 132 of Thug

“I might have given them a few things off my plate.”

“Like what?”

“I dunno. Mashed potatoes. Meatloaf. The big one really liked tomatoes, for some reason.”

Alternating glances between me and the highway, he glared. “You’re fuckin’ around, right?”

“I wish I was.”

He shook his head. “Guess it’s the price I pay.”

“For?”

“Being a shit hat.”

“I’m sorry.”

He smiled a crumpled grin. “It’s okay.”

He’d paid time and time again for the mistakes he’d made. Like Price said, he was merely trying to protect the men he looked at as brothers. Heck, I’d only had the kittens for an hour, and I couldn’t imagine what I’d do to protect them from harm. Kidnapping someone to save them wouldn’t be out of my wheelhouse, I knew that much.

After we arrived at home, we placed the kittens in the spare room. Brisco stayed for a while, admiring them. When they fell asleep, he went home to take care of his own cats, sad a little bit that he didn’t get to add another member to his family.

While the kittens slept, Price and I made a few adjustments to the home’s décor, making it kitten friendly. When we finished, it was almost dinner time. Price snuck to the spare room and cracked the door a few inches.

He glanced over his shoulder. “Look.”

I peeked inside. Eddie had Belle in a bearhug and was kicking her in the stomach. After a few kicks, she swatted his face.

He released her and they began running after each other, taking turns on who was chasing who.

Price and I looked at each other at the same time.

“Little fuckers are pretty cute, huh? he asked.

I nodded. “Adorable.”

He glanced at the cats, and then pulled the door closed. “We’re supposed to have dinner at Jack’s in an hour.” He glanced at his watch. “Forty minutes, actually.”

I’d forgotten it was Sunday. “Crap,” I said. “We can’t leave them here alone. Not on their first night.”

“No,” he said. “I wouldn’t feel good about that.”

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

“I’ve fucked around and put myself in an awkward position,” he said, gazing at the floor. “I’m a man of my word.” He brushed his hair away from his face and looked up. “We told Jack we’d be there for dinner, so we’ve got to go. Taking care of cat’s isn’t an excuse.”

“One of us stays here, and the other goes?” I asked.

He scowled. “We’re a couple. Unless one of us is dead or dying, we go together.”

I was thoroughly confused. “So, you want to leave them?”

“We could take them,” he said. “Show Jack what a Bengal looks like.”

I gave him a shitty look. “On your motorcycle? I don’t think so—”

“We can take your truck.”

My jaw hit the floor. I looked back at him with bulging eyes. “You’re going to ride in my Pathfinder?”

“Can’t see I have a choice,” he said. “I’m a man of my word, so I’ve got to go. You and those two kittens are the only family I’ve got, beyond the club. It’s my responsibility to take care of the three of you. Family always comes first. We’re taking your truck, and we’re going to dinner, as a family.”

Tears welled in my eyes. I kissed him, hoping to hide them as they began to roll down my cheeks. “I love you.”

He pulled me against him and held me tight. “I love you, too.”

For most women to be living their dream, they’d need a husband with a six-figure job, a diamond engagement ring, marriage, a house on the hill, and a few kids.

I had a bracelet and a house in the desert. My family consisted of an unemployed biker whose word was as good as gold, thirty-one brothers, two Bengal cats, and an old man named Cactus Jack.

I wouldn’t dream of changing a thing.

Not one.