Page 79 of Love Gamble

Damon

As I look down at the blackmail they have on Tatum and Gio, my eyes widen as I slide the photographs away. “All of this and you also somehow got the cops on our side? How did you manage that one?”

“They don’t want the Lost Lions MC around here, causing trouble. They barely like having us around here, you know that. Better the known devil, right? They said they will arrest them the second they ever return. If they are stupid enough to do so,” Romeo replies.

“Arrest them on what grounds?” I ask, looking around the table. Romeo called a meeting this morning, and for once included the women, too, so we’re all here to debrief everything that has happened with the Lost Lions MC and how we are going to protect ourselves going forward.

“Drug possession.” Romeo grins.

And I’m guessing that will happen whether or not they actually have drugs on them. I know a few cops from our local police department wouldn’t be above planting some to get what they want.

“They have left, we had a confirmed sighting of them a few towns over,” River adds. “They took Tatum to a hospital there.”

I don’t know what River did to him exactly, but I can guess, and it isn’t pretty.

“I’ll be escorting my mom home today and checking if they trashed her house or if they went there looking for her,” he adds, looking over at me. “I know Corey has had a hard time with her here, and it will be better when she’s gone.”

I nod, agreeing with him. “I think that’s for the best.”

“She was awful,” Julianna adds.

“I’m sorry,” River says as he turns to Corey. “I should have protected you from her all these years. I didn’t realize...”

“It’s not on you,” she replies. “It’s her.”

“River, take a couple of men with you just in case,” Romeo orders. “Lockdown is over, but just be careful, because we don’t know if they left any other surprises for us other than Leif taking us down.” He turns to him. “Thank you for not torching our home.”

Leif’s lip twitches. “Anytime, guys.”

I take Corey out for lunch afterward, and we enjoy being out and about, and alone.

“You glad your mom is gone?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

She dips her fry into aioli sauce and nods. “Yeah, it’s sad but I am. She did come and say bye and gave me a small hug, so maybe she felt bad after what you said to her. I don’t think she’s been called out on it like that before, so hopefully she thinks about it and realizes that what she does is wrong. I doubt it, but a woman can hope.”

“I guess you can’t change some people and the way they see things, even if it’s all misconstrued,” I say, watching as she takes a bite of her steak.

“This is so good, thank you for taking me out, it’s exactly what I need.”

“Me, too,” I admit, enjoying my beer. “This week has been extremely stressful, and we still have to watch our back in case these assholes decide to be bold.”

“I wonder what River will find when he goes to Mom’s house. If they did try to go there to get her, Rosalind was right, and we probably should say thank you to her,” Corey points out, wincing at the thought. “I mean, I know she kidnapped me and all, but maybe if we show some appreciation, she can let go of her villain era and turn her life around.”

“I think her issues are more than just a villain era.”

“True. She did have the shred of decency to tell us, although she could have had ulterior motives for that. Maybe they did something to piss her off, so she wanted to get back at them, who knows.”

We finish our lunch, and then I put her on the back of my bike and take her for a long ride, until we reach this beautiful two-story property by the lake.

She looks up at the house as she gets off the bike. “Are we going to the beach? Why did you park here? Wow, this house is insane.”

I hide my smile. “Do you like it? I wanted you to have a look at it before I bought it.”

She turns to me, confused. “What?”

“Yeah, I thought it might be nice for us to have our own place so we can get some privacy.” I lower my lips to her ear. “A place where you can scream as loud as you want.”

Her eyes widen, and she turns to look at the house again. “You want to buy us a sex pad?”