Hearts and Aces (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 7) by Kaylie Hunter (dar e dil novel online reading txt) 📕

said it was fun working for you. Several of the guys are interested if you ever need us. Most of us like the thought of a few less rules.”

“Most of you couldn’t handle taking orders from a woman. Besides, I don’t have a need to blow shit up.”

Ryan looked sideways at Tweedle.

“I already know,” she said. “I’m so over it already.” She continued smacking at her sleeves and sweatpants to knock the dust off. “I need a shower.”

Ryan looked back at me, narrowing his eyes. “What have you done to my wife?”

“It’s not our fault,” Katie said, turning toward the SUV. “You’re the one who brought her to Michigan.”

“Can we stop for condensed milk on the way back?” Tweedle asked, following Katie.

“We don’t have any money, remember?” Katie said.

“I’ll pay,” Ryan said, following after them. “I’m not making five trips to the store tonight though, so you’d better make a list.”

“Ooh, more chocolate chips,” Tweedle said, climbing into the backseat.

“Okay,” Shipwreck said. “I’m beginning to like it a little more around here.”

“About that,” I said as I tossed my cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. “I heard I owe you a bar. It’s too late in the Fall season to start building, but if you can wait until spring, we could potentially work out a deal.”

“What kind of bar?” he asked as he followed me to the SUV.

Chapter Seventeen

After calming Alex down about his basement storage room being converted into a private prison for the near future, Nightcrawler dropped off the eighth bad guy, the one with the shredded shoulder from Storm’s teeth. Haley treated his shoulder, cleaning and stitching the wound, as Bridget and I unfolded the cots for the prisoners and passed out pillows and blankets. Alex was still complaining when I slipped into the main house.

Anne looked at me from head to toe, inspecting me for injuries, before leading Sara upstairs.

Beth laughed, releasing a long breath, and then rested her forehead on the dining room table.

“What’s wrong with Beth?” Nicholas asked as I steered him to his bathroom.

“Tired. She was up half the night with us last night.”

Nicholas must have bought my story because he filled his toothbrush with paste and began scrubbing his teeth. He waited for me to start to say something before he brushed his back molars, then his tongue and the roof of his mouth. I still had to stop him from wiping his mouth on his sleeve, but I felt like I was making progress.

In his bedroom I was happy to see his dirty clothes were in the hamper, and he was climbing into his bed.

“Are we reading tonight?” I asked.

He lay down, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t feel like it.”

“Want to talk?” I asked, lying next to him in the bed, sharing his pillow.

“Do you think Grady will stay?” he asked, turning on his side to face me.

“I don’t know. I hope so.”

“If he stays, how long will he be in the dog house?”

“That’s a good question. How long do you think I should punish him?”

Nicholas squinted his eyes and furrowed his forehead as he thought about it. “When you punish me, it’s always different. It depends if I meant to do something bad.”

“Maybe we need to find out what’s really going on before we figure out the punishment then.”

Nicholas nodded before rolling onto his back. “What if he still leaves?”

“Then we’ll both be sad, but we’ll be together.”

“Will Wild Card stay?”

“Maybe for a little while.”

“Will he sleep in your room?”

I choked on a laugh and ended up sitting up and coughing up half a lung with Nicholas beating on my back. Wild Card opened the door and stood there watching us.

“You okay?” he asked with a crooked grin.

I nodded, still coughing.

“I’ll get you a glass of water.”

He disappeared down the hall. I had finally stopped coughing by the time he returned, but the cold water felt good on my throat.

“Someone going to explain?” Wild Card asked.

“No,” I said, holding a finger up to Nicholas’ mouth to stop him from answering. “Goodnight, my beautiful boy.”

Nicholas giggled and curled up under the covers. “Night, Mom.”

I leaned over and peppered his face with kisses as he pushed me away and buried his face under the blankets. Walking across the room, I shut the light off and was about to close the door when Nicholas called out.

“Mom? Can we get a dog?”

I thought about how Storm had saved Beth from being kidnapped. “Maybe. We’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

“Yes!” Nicholas whispered, rolling over to face the wall.

I walked down the hall, a smile spreading across my face.

“What?” Wild Card asked.

“Private joke. Where is everyone?”

“Tyler put me in charge of security, but he must’ve run into you because he was driving your SUV when he left. Hattie had a headache and went to bed early. Abigail was teething and cranky, so Lisa took her home. Alex is at home watching Carl. Beth’s in the dining room. Jackson moved Reggie over to his apartment because he was afraid you’d kick Reggie’s ass if he did one more stupid thing, and we all know it’s a matter of time before Reggie does something stupid.”

I smirked at Wild Card. I loved Reggie to death, but the man was hopeless.

“That leaves the guys who are split between our makeshift poker room and running security.”

“I’m going to check on Hattie.”

“Not until you explain the blood on your shirt,” he said, snagging an arm around my waist to stop me.

I looked at my shirt and sure enough, a small spray of blood ran across the bottom. It must have been from when the one guy hit his head.

“Not my blood.”

“I guessed that