Page 95 of Edge

“Oh,” she said and stayed silent for several moments. “What did y’all decide?”

“He agreed to keep his mouth shut, so we let him go.”

“What?”

The look of utter disbelief on her face almost made me laugh. “We have the video of him starting the fire and a voice recording of his confession to the fire and other crimes. He’ll keep his mouth shut or go to prison. Either way, he won’t be a problem for us.”

“You guys really do have a different way of handling things.”

“We do. It might not always be within the lines of the law, but it’s usually the right thing to do. And speaking of the right thing, I need to tell you something else.”

“No,” she almost whined. “I don’t want to hear any bad news.”

“It’s not bad news. At least, I don’t think it is.”

Picking up a pillow, she carefully hugged it to her chest. “Fine. Let’s hear it.”

“On more than one occasion, you’ve mentioned how things will be going good for you when something comes along and flips your world upside down. I don’t want that to keep happening to you, so I asked Byte to check into your mother, father, and stepfather to see if there’s anything that could be problematic for you in the future. He hasn’t started yet, so if it’s not okay with you, I’ll tell him to forget the whole thing.”

Her reaction was not what I expected. “Oh,” she smiled. “That’s kind of sweet.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I appreciate you being proactive and looking out for me, but it will probably be a waste of time. Muzzle is dead, and even though they’re assholes, my mother and stepfatherare pretty boring people. I can’t think of anything that would possibly be a future problem for me.”

“I can. Unknown siblings are the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. You know what happened to Gabby and Patch. There are several people in the club who have discovered a sibling later in life, though most of those didn’t have a bad outcome, but that’s not the point. Is it possible that Muzzle fathered other children?”

“I never thought about it, but I’m sure it’s possible,” she said and wrinkled her nose. “Does it make me a bad person if I hope there aren’t any?”

“If it does, I’m a bad person, too,” I admitted. “Not that I don’t want you to have other family members, but there’s no way in hell I’d trust one of Muzzle’s kids.”

“I’m one of Muzzle’s kids.”

“You know damn well I wasn’t referring to you.”

She grinned. “I know.”

“So, it’s okay for Byte to poke around in your family’s business?”

“Yes. It’s completely fine and thank you for thinking of it.”

“Well, now that we have that settled, do you have any big plans for today?”

“If I thought it wouldn’t hurt you or me, I’d slap your chest.”

“Oh, come on. We have so many options to choose from. Will we be binge-watching television shows or having a movie marathon? Are we watching in bed or on the couch? Should we schedule naps or let the pain pills decide when we sleep?”

She closed her eyes and clutched her pillow. “Oh, don’t make me laugh.”

“Laughter is the best medicine.”

“I swear, one day I will beat you and your idioms with this pillow.”

“One day, but not today.”