Page 101 of Fighting Conviction

Devil swallowed. “Yeah, man. I love her.”

Jaybird sighed again. “Devil, she just turned fucking nineteen. What the hell, man?”

“Weren’t you like a billion years older than Jules when y’all met? Wasn’t she nineteen?” Phoenix reasoned, and Devil raised a brow. He hadn’t thought of that.

“Exactly, and I fucked up big time with Jules. I’m lucky as hell she forgave me after the shit I put her through.”

Phoenix tilted his head in a nod. “And now you’re happy as a blue jay… havin’ a baby with her. A whole goddamn life right?”

Devil wasn’t sure why Phoenix was coming to his defense, but his own emotions were all over the place, so he didn’t mind the reprieve. He hadn’t let himself feel so much in a decade. It was fucking overwhelming.

“Yeah, and you have no idea how lucky I am withthatin particular,” Jaybird mumbled and Devil wasn’t sure if they were supposed to hear, or what he’d meant, but Phoenix kept talking.

“Don’t you want that for your boy? Your sister’s an adult and Devil’s a few years younger than us, bro. He may look like a thirty-five-year-old and act like he’s a thousand, but he’s still only twenty-seven. Half-plus-seven rule, my dude.”

“That’s not a real rule, Phoenix,” Jaybird grumbled.

“Plus, math, idiot. He’d have to be twenty-four for that to work with a nineteen-year-old,” Snake reasoned and Devil snorted.

Phoenix shrugged. “Meh, same difference. Trauma ages you. With what we’ve all been through,includingyour sister, we’ve got much more important shit to worry about than numbers.”

Devil sighed and closed his eyes. “I love her, I’d live for her. Die for her. And I would’ve killed for her today if she hadn’t saved Strickland’s life. What more could you want from someone who loves your sister. Isn’t that enough?”

There was silence on the other line and Devil waited. Normally he wouldn’t give two shits about what any of his friends thought, but Ellie adored her brother, and if Jaybird didn’t approve, Devil wasn’t sure she’d give him a chance.

Fuck, Devil didn’t even know if she wasgoingto give him a chance after the way he’d talked to her at the party. He’d gone about everything all wrong. Hadn’t even officially taken her on a date. And to top it all off, now that he’d told Jaybird, Ellie was truly the last person to know how Devil felt about her. He shook his head. He’d fix it all as soon as they found her.

I’ll find you, angel.

He sent it out as a prayer and hoped Ellie could somehow know. Meanwhile, he’d wait to see if her brother would doom them before they started.

“You’re emotionless, though. I’m not sure I want that for her.”

Phoenix and Hawk both barked out laughs, making Devil jump in his skin.

“What’s so funny?” Jaybird demanded.

“Man, the boy isgonefor his girl,” Hawk managed to explain through his chuckle. “He doesn’t have emotions at work, but goddamn the man is a fucking sap for Ellie.”

“Really? I haven’t seen it…”

“‘Cause you’ve got pregnancy brain, my dude,” Phoenix joked.

“That’s only for the woman, asshole.”

“Sure it is.” Phoenix laughed and Hawk joined in again.

A resigned sigh came through the speaker. “Fine. You can date her. But I swear to God, if you hurt her I will hunt you down. Friend or not.”

Devil shook his head but smiled as he spoke. “Man, I wasn’t asking for your permission, but glad to have your blessing. It’ll make it easier to convince Ellie to go on our first date.”

“You haven’t even been on a fucking date with her yet?”

“Shut up, Jaybird,” Snake interrupted. “I’ve got something.”

“What is it?” Devil sat up farther in his seat, clenching his fists to the point of pain.

“I’ve pinpointed the house down to a cluster of addresses from Virginia’s location. Do you want the good news or the bad news?”