Page 26 of Desert Loyalties

MANDRAKE

I thought staying home with Skye would be fun as hell. We'd screw on every surface. I’d spend every waking second inside her, riding out this house arrest with a smile. Reality? Blech.

We didn’t lie to the judge; I really do have several businesses.

Legit ones. Ones that aren’t tied to the club.

Which means someone has to manage them. Can’t ask my brothers.

Not with the feds circling around. Don’t want conspiracy charges on top of everything else.

So, Skye’s been stepping up. She handles the diner, the restaurant, the storefront.

She’s got it, but it still means she’s gone most of the day.

And me? I’m stuck.

The pigs slapped me with house arrest. No phones, no internet.

I’m allowed to use a landline, but who the hell even owns a landline anymore?

Not me. I can’t talk to my employees anyway.

Most of them are ex-cons. I believe in second chances, so I hire people nobody else will.

If I call them, that's "violating bail conditions," and bam, back to federal prison.

I'm so goddamn bored. No one tells you how soul-crushingly boring house arrest is. I can't leave. I can't see anyone. I can’t even scroll. It's like I'm a kid grounded by the ghost of my dead parents. Turns out I didn’t miss much by skipping childhood.

What really eats at me is not knowing how the feds got me.

When Locke died, there were only four people in the room: me, Skye, and the two brothers I trust with my life.

I know his body was handled. Grimm took care of it.

There's a reason we call him that. Russian special ops or close enough.

No way they found the body. Which means. .. footage.

I’ve been thinking about that feed. It wasn’t working for everyone, but we saw it.

Maybe the feds got it. Maybe someone snagged it before Mickey could wipe it.

I almost wish he hadn’t. We could prove we didn’t kill Locke.

But then we’d be screwed for body disposal or tampering, whatever other bullshit law they can twist into a shiv. Worse, Skye would be in trouble.

So yeah. It’s good that the footage is gone.

Maybe it’s not the feed. Maybe the house pointed at me.

Locke could’ve left something behind. I wouldn’t know.

I’ve done a lot of shit. Just last month, I took care of a ghost from Skye’s past. Slipped out at night, came back in the morning like nothing happened.

The bitch was living in luxury, memory foam mattress, round the clock care.

I watched her go out choking on every ounce of pain she made Skye carry since she was born.

That one... that one felt good. Righteous.

Taking the life of the woman that took the life my old lady could have had for no reason at all.

The cops were already circling. Did they see me then?

I doubt it. I covered my tracks. They didn’t even charge me with anything related to elder anything.

That probable cause hearing is LaGuerta’s idea.

Best one yet. Every time they explain why they arrested me, it’s all legal jargon with codes, subsections, smoke and mirrors.

U.S. vs. Drake Llloyd. Feels more like Me vs.

the feds. Now they’ll have to tell us what they have or the judge will dismiss the case.

I know I won’t be that lucky but at least we’ll have the answers we need to fight them.

The gate telecom dings. The sound snaps me out of my spiral.

I’ve been locking the damn thing religiously, double-checking it like some paranoid old man. Only Skye has the code. No one else should be coming in. No packages. No visitors. Nothing.

I shuffle over to the panel, squinting at the screen.

At first, I think it’s a mistake. Just some strangers who wandered too close. But then I see them clearer.

Women.

A bunch of women? What the hell... wait. That’s Jenna leading the pack. Damn it. Ever since she got that high school teaching gig, she’s been walking around like she runs the damn county. Probably just muscle memory from dealing with mouthy teenagers.

I think about pretending I’m not home. But they won’t stop.

Bell keeps ringing. They’ll hop the gate if I don’t open it.

I hit the button, stepping outside. I can only go ten meters from the door thanks to the ankle monitor.

Thought the backyard would be chill, maybe swim.

Turns out I can’t even dip a nut into the damn pool. Real smart planning, Mandrake.

It’s not just women. It’s kids. Loads of them. Tiny, loud, sticky. I always imagined filling this place with our kids. Ones that looked like Skye and me. Not my brothers’ little demons.

One of them, Lehy’s brat runs straight up and headbutts me in the nuts. I pick him up and give him the look. The look. The one that’s made grown men piss themselves. He just tries to grab my face. Dropping him I retreat, fast.

I can hear stuff breaking inside already. Come on.

I fought for family days in the club. Pushed for it. Wanted to kill off the weird tension between the single guys, the cheaters, the loyal husbands. Thought if we embraced family, let our lives be visible, we’d be stronger. United. But now? Watching these women take over my kitchen? I don’t know.

This house is mine. Not communal. Skye’s and mine.

Rani catches my scowl and snaps, “Oh, shut up. We gave you a week to mope, to screw your girl on every surface. Time to rejoin the human race. Our men are worried about you. You don’t know how many times we had to stop them from coming here.”

She pauses, hand on my pan.

“You, okay?”

“Yeah. Just... bored,” I say.

The women laugh. Loud, carefree. Rani claps her hands. “Well, you’re not going to be bored anymore. Go entertain the kids while we set up.”

I groan like a teenager but head out anyway.

These kids? They don’t care about my reputation. I give them the glare. Nothing. They’re like their fathers. Fearless. One of them yanks open the curtain hiding the pool. Suddenly every tiny face is pressed to the glass. Then, synchronized: “Can we? Can we? Can we?”

“Be quiet!” I bark.

“ Please? Uncle? Uncle, please! ”

Uncle. Since when am I Uncle?

I march into the kitchen. “Your little demons saw the pool. What do you want me to do?”

One of them smirks. “Why do you think we came? They’ve got floaties. Most know how to swim. Relax.”

She follows me out. We pull floaties out of bags like clowns from a tiny car. Strapping arms, waists, tiny bellies. I’m on edge, because even one slip, one accident...

So, I sit at the edge. Dip my free foot into the pool while they splash.

The older kids? They look out for the little ones. Keep them afloat, steer them clear of danger. It’s... sweet.

Weirdly endearing.

Watching them laugh, scream, lose their minds over the water, it cracks through the darkness. Lifts something off me. This is why I wanted kids. Not for control. Not for some legacy. For this. Because at the end of the day, their joy?

Their joy saves us.

I know I’m pushing Skye. She wants it to be just the two of us for a while. Thing is, I’m scared. Scared, she’s gonna see the real me and bail. If we have kids, it’ll be another thing binding us. I’m also going to love the hell out of them.

I’ll wait, it’s not like I’m gonna let her leave me, anyway.