Page 163 of Allegiance

And she didn’t want that.

It meant death.

Chapter Twelve

Chartres Street

Private Rooms

Friday Late Afternoon

A fter working out the plans, they all divided up to either get focused for the upcoming jobs, or to grab something to eat. With two pregnant women, food had to be a priority.

You didn’t make a hangry woman wait.

That was the shit that got you killed.

On top of that, regrouping and calming down were important. The job of getting in and out of the police precinct was a particularly dangerous one.

You didn’t walk into the enemy’s home and shit on their couch and not expect it to go sideways. That meant nerves of steel and being ready for just about anything.

Gene wanted to make sure Tommy was ready for what was to come. Yes, he always wanted to go out with them, and yes, they told him he had to be ready.

He just needed to make sure the man’s head was in the right space. This wasn’t a social call.

People were likely going to die, and hesitating got you one thing.

DEAD.

The last thing Gene wanted was to bury another person he loved. Over the last three months, they’d gotten close. In fact, he couldn’t imagine his life without Tommy.

He was a good man.

Somehow, in his life, Gene had been blessed three times. His years with Ethan showed him so much, and he’d become the kind of partner a person needed.

Then, his short time with Preston had given him the great capacity to love. It opened his world to being himself and not giving a shit.

Now, with Tommy, he was learning that it was okay to have someone take care of him. Not that Ethan and Preston didn’t, but Tommy’s love language was different than the other two men.

Ethan’s had been passion.

Preston’s had been physical contact.

Tommy’s was taking care of him.

The only thing Gene wanted going forward was to be married to Tommy for the rest of his life—no matter how long that was.

In New Orleans, that was anyone’s guess.

So now, he needed to ensure that the man was ready for what was to come. Gene came across as funny, sarcastic, and silly, at times, but once he put on that Hunter gear, he was a killer, and there was no questioning it.

Once outside in New Orleans, it was about survival of the fittest, and he had a fiancé to come home to.

That was the bottom line.

Tommy was going to have to learn that.

And fast.