Priest: A Motorcycle Club Romance (The Viking’s Rampage MC: Tucson Chapter Book 2)
Priest: A Motorcycle Club Romance: Chapter 21

I’d been right. Priest opening up—not to mention telling me he loved me—had made me feel more connected to him. We’d spent the week together, with minimal distractions, enjoying our time with each other. And that in itself was amazing. So much of our relationship had been built around danger and, well, drama, it was nice to just do ordinary life things together.

He worked full-time for the MC, I found out, doing pretty much whatever was necessary. It helped Lockout and Riptide by taking a lot off their plates. He was the Road Captain for the club and oversaw the prospects when the others were busy. He made sure the weapons the club had were cleaned and maintained. All sorts of odds and ends.

He was pretty young to be retired, but working for the club—and raising his daughters—kept him busy. He told me he had a good retirement with the Army, so he wasn’t hurting for money. I looked down at the bowl of cereal I was eating. We’d come downstairs this morning to eat with his brothers and it felt nice to be slowly getting to know them as well.

Something occurred to me as I watched him step outside. His daughter’s grandparents were dropping them off and he’d gone out to get them. I didn’t want to impose, so I stayed put. I was still trying to figure out the best way of being a part of their family without intruding.

“I forgot to ask Priest,” I said, startling Butcher and Toxic as I spoke in the silence of the room. The other guys had all left to go get ready for work. “Did he get his nickname from the club? Or the Army?”

Toxic and Butcher eyed each other for a minute before Toxic spoke. “Army. He was a sniper.”

“He told me that,” I said, encouraging him to continue with a smile.

“He was a sniper,” Butcher said, drawing each word out as if saying the same thing a second time was going to clue me in to what they were saying. I gave them a blank look and Butcher looked up at the ceiling as though he wasn’t sure how to say it any clearer.

“You know how a Priest is a direct line to God, right?” Toxic asked.

“Or so they say,” Butcher muttered.

I ignored him and focused on Toxic. He was actually being helpful at the moment. “Yeah.”

“Well, so was Priest. Once he got a target he sent them straight up,” Toxic explained.

“More than likely it was straight down,” Butcher commented.

My eyes widened as the realization hit. He was a straight line to God because he killed them without them even knowing he was there. “Oh.” I nibbled my lip as I thought that over. It wasn’t like I didn’t know that Priest was dangerous. I’d known that the first time I’d seen him. Having the confirmation that he had killed, and so effectively, was disconcerting and a small part of me found it sexy. There was something to be said for having a lethal man as your own.

All of these guys were dangerous. They were well trained and didn’t hold back. Instead of making me feel uneasy, it made me feel safe. Not that a lot of trouble happened in my life—I was sort of boring—but if it ever did, I had a bunch of men who would do whatever it took to protect me, starting with Priest.

“So, what do your names mean?” I finally asked them after we sat in silence for a few moments while I processed.

Toxic laughed and shook his head. “Maybe one day we’ll tell you.” As one unit, they both stood up. Butcher tousled my curls as he walked past, leaving me there alone. Or so I thought.

“Don’t mind those guys,” Lockout said, walking into the room.

“I like them,” I told him with a grin.

He returned it and poured coffee into his mug. “Really? That’s rare. I mean, good, because we like you.” He looked out the window toward the parking lot. “You’re good for him.”

Delight made my heart sing. I wanted to be good for him. I wanted to be the best old lady he could ask for, and maybe one day the best wife. Long gone was my worry about hardly knowing him. The more we learned about each other, the more I fell in love with him.

“Thank you, Lockout. From everything he’s been telling me you guys are good for him, too.”

“We’re family,” he said with a shrug. “You’re a part of that now, too.”

“Any pointers on making sure he doesn’t shut down?”

Lockout chuckled. “Exactly what you did. Call him on his bullshit and make him realize what he’s doing. Hold him accountable to himself. Once that happens he usually straightens out pretty quickly. His time with the Ranger Battalion was tough on him. It is for most of those guys, but his was worse. He had a family before most of the Rangers would. Combine that with multiple deployments as a sniper? He learned how to shut down his emotions to the point where we weren’t sure he had them anymore.” He gave me a sardonic smile. “He tried as hard as he could to burn them away once he lost Wendy and the girls.”

“He told me she took them away from him for a while.” I shook my head. “I couldn’t imagine how hard that was for him.”

“Especially since it happened right as he got home from a deployment. He lost his spotter on that deployment. They were only a week away from coming home and a convoy got pinned down by insurgents.” He was watching me closely as he told me the story. Tears welled in my eyes. My heart hurt for Priest.

“He and his spotter, Tango, were laid up on a rooftop nearby. They’d been there for three days laying in wait for a local warlord. When the convoy got hit they broke cover and started to assist. Thing is, they were all alone up there. A few of the attackers peeled off of the convoy and headed for them on the roof. Priest made it back. Tango didn’t.”

Lockout turned and dumped his coffee out into the sink, as though the liquid were no longer appealing. I understood, my mouth was dry as I listened to his story, horrified about what could have happened. What did happen.

He washed out the cup then left it in the bottom of the sink. Turning back toward me, he leaned back against the counter and folded his arms over his chest. “It was a fucking miracle we didn’t lose Priest, too.”

“Was Tango a part of the MC?”

“No, but over there, every military member belongs to the rest of us. Our guys aren’t just brothers because of the MC, but because of the military as well.”

I nodded in understanding. “That must have been awful for him,” I whispered.

“He carried Tango back to the safe zone where he could get picked up, but he’d already died on the trek back. It was a huge blow to him. To all of us.”

“I’m so sorry.” He hadn’t told me any of that when we’d talked yesterday. I couldn’t really blame him. There’d been enough to talk about and he had every right to keep some things to himself. I raised a brow at Lockout. “Why are you telling me this?”

“When he got back he found Wendy and the kids gone. He folded up inside himself and we almost didn’t get him back. There’s going to be times when he pisses you off. I’m hoping that by telling you this you’ll understand why he acts the way he does. He shut down hard after that, and I swear to Christ, I don’t think I saw him smile again until he met you. There’s going to be times you need to give him a break.”

I didn’t have a chance to respond because Priest and his daughters barrelled into the kitchen. Lockout gave me a wink as he said hi to the girls and left.

“What was that?” Priest asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,” I replied, pasting an innocent look on my face. He wasn’t convinced, but the girls saved me.

“Jenny!” They all ran forward and I gave them each hugs. It was so nice to see them with smiles on their faces. Even Caitlyn, still silent, was smiling so big she was practically screaming for joy.

“How was your time with your grandparents?” I asked. I listened to their excited chatter with a smile. It was a brief reprieve from their grief. I knew it would come in waves and even though they were flying high now, the low times weren’t over.

“Priest.” We all glanced over as Lockout walked back in. “Need you for a minute.”

Priest looked over at me and I waved him away. “Go. I’ve got them.”

I ushered the girls upstairs so they could unpack. Bringing the laundry basket from room to room, I loaded up their dirty clothes and left them giggling together to go throw a load in the washer. It was nice that Priest had a washer and dryer up here in one of the closets. I wouldn’t have enjoyed having to run downstairs to the laundry room every time. With four kids and two adults I’d be forever running up and down the stairs. Not to mention what I would replace left in the common laundry room.

After getting the washer going, I knocked on Gabby’s door. Caitlyn was already in Cassie and Taylor’s room and I could hear them giggling together.

“Hey,” I said, smiling as I poked my head in.

She looked up and gave me a small smile. I went inside. “Mind if I sit?” I asked and pointed to the bed.

She shrugged her shoulders. She was nine and almost getting to those pre-teen years. That was as much of an invitation as I was going to get. I sat down and studied her. She’d been smiling downstairs, but it was as though being here, alone, brought her back to reality. The sadness was radiating off her.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded and brushed her hair back from her face, looking over at me. She met my eyes defiantly. She was her father’s daughter.

“It’s okay to be sad, Gabby.”

She let out an aggravated sigh and turned away, giving me her back. I knew this maneuver, I did it to my mother still to this day.

That hadn’t been the right thing to say. “I hope you know you can come to me if you need to talk.”

She turned her head so I could see her roll her eyes. Ouch. This is my mother’s payback for my teenage years. I could only hope that one day I’d have the relationship with Gabby that my mom and I had now. That was the hope anyway.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied.

“I care about you. We can be friends-”

She turned around again and a sly smile crossed her face. “Are you and Dad dating?”

“Yes,” I told her. It took me biting my tongue to not ask if that was okay. It didn’t matter if she didn’t like it. We were the adults.

“Does that mean you’re having sex?”

I choked on a horrified sound. “What?”

“Billy Lamount said that when his mom started dating again she started having sex with guys.” She was watching me closely, judging my reactions.

My face was a calm mask, but inside I was freaking out. I wasn’t equipped for this. Nine-year-olds shouldn’t be talking about sex!

“Um, maybe she was, but that’s Billy’s mom’s business. Just like it’s your dad’s and my business what we do together.”

Respect flickered in her eyes. I’d managed to shut down that avenue of conversation. Thank God. I patted her shoulder and stood up. “Anytime Gabby, you can come to me with anything.”

She nodded and I left her alone. I’d have to talk to Priest. She was exactly like him, buttoning up her feelings. If she stayed buttoned up like this, it would make it so much harder for her as she got older. Who better to talk to her about it than him?

Going into the kitchen, I started cleaning. Priest had mentioned spending the day together as a family, so I got to work while we waited for him.