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Eighteen

My Enforcer

I sleep hard that night. I don’t wake up until the next morning, my body sore and aching.

Breakfast is brought to me, and I am sipping some water when Evan bustles in.

He throws me a glare and gets to his knees, yanking up my shirt to look at my stomach wound.

“Oh, I know, I’ll ignore the doctor and decide to have some weird ass, kinky fighting foreplay,” he mutters angrily as he redresses my wound and checks the stiches.

I watch him with an arched eyebrow, as do my men, who are in various stages of undress.

He notices it has gone silent and looks up, blinking. “You okay, Doc?”

“Fine.” He huffs, and I grin when he sighs. “Piper said to tell you she is downstairs, and I quote, ‘Sorry for being a drunken mess who hit on you.’”

“She didn’t hit on me.” I laugh.

“I told her that, she then replied that must have happened after you had gone.” He sighs and rubs his eyes before sitting back, and I pull down my shirt. “Worth—” He starts. “What do you want her for?”

“Why?” I ask, watching him. His face is closed and tight.

“Because I’ve been searching for her for so long. I just got her back…I don’t want to lose her,” he admits without any shame.

“I know, and I don’t plan on it, but you have to know Piper won’t be happy sitting still. She is co-leading The Forgotten and now a pascha of The Lost… She is never going to sit somewhere safe.”

“I know.” He sighs. “B-But what do you want?”

I search his eyes for a moment. I know he loves her, but he let his own fears blind him before. “Don’t lose her again because you are trying to protect her. I am offering her a position with me. Yes, it will involve danger, but everything here does.”

He nods, contemplating my words. “Thank you for being honest.” He gets to his feet and washes his hands before coming back and grabbing his bag. “I’ll tell her you’ll be down in a minute.”

He opens the door to reveal Bern. I nod and smile at him as he bursts inside with a wide grin. “Ma queen! You called?” His boisterous face instantly relaxes me.

“I did. Can you make sure the other leaders know we are having a Summit in around an hour, same room as before, and we are not to be disturbed.”

“Of course, ma queen!” he exclaims before rushing off to do just that. Maxen comes and sits next to me, and I lean my head against his shoulder as I watch Jax and Drax start to wrestle. They fall to the ground and flip around as each tries to put the other in a headlock.

“You ready for today?” he asks, twining my hand with his and rubbing my fingers soothingly.

“No, but it has to be done, I just hope I can get them to listen.” I sigh.

“If anyone can, it’s you, Mi Alma .” Dray thought so, too, when I ran it by him. He’s with his people right now. He went to see them after kissing me goodbye this morning. Thorn comes and drops to my other side, sandwiching me between him and Maxen. It’s the only time I ever feel small.

Though I could still kick their asses.

“Baby girl, don’t question yourself now. The plan will work, and we will be here the whole way to help you,” he murmurs, kissing along my neck, which stops Jax and Drax’s fight as they both watch me with rapidly darkening eyes.

I point my finger at them and leap to my feet. “No! I have an important meeting to get to. I am a queen,” I threaten.

They look at each other with identical expressions of mischief before Drax opens his mouth. “A queen can never be late, everyone else can wait.” Then they leap at me.

After kicking their asses and slipping from their roaming hands, I straighten my clothes and head down to talk with Piper.

She’s waiting downstairs, wearing her goggles on her head.

Her brown hair is braided back, and her new mountain man is her seat, which makes me grin.

Piper has a way of looking at you so innocently and getting you to do anything because she confuses you that much.

I spot Archel not too far away, sitting on the fence and watching her like a stalker.

Her other beast is wandering around, talking with a warrior and trying not to look like he is watching her. Real smooth.

Sitting down next to her, I make her jump, and she clutches her chest. “Fuck! What are you, some kind of silent ass ninja? Though I think ninjas are, by definition, silent, so what are you, some kind of ninja?” she almost screeches.

The mountain man laughs and wraps his arms around her to steady her on his lap as I arch my eyebrow.

Her cheeks tint, and she smiles sheepishly.

“I mean, good morning, you look good today. Was it the rough fight sex that put the pep in your step—oh God, I didn’t say that.

I meant your fight was really good last night, not at all weirdly sexual. Fuck, I’ll stop talking now.”

She mimes zipping her lips shut, and I hear Evan chuckle as he steps past, dropping a kiss on her lips. “That would be the day, Pip. I’m off to help the injured, see you later, be good.”

“Everyone always says that to me. When am I not?” she mutters, making her mountain man, Evan, and me laugh as she huffs.

“My pascha, you never behave, it’s why we adore you,” he murmurs silkily, making her giggle.

“Okay, love birds, break it up, we need to talk,” I tell her, and get to my feet. “Walk with me.” I stride away, but I look back when I don’t hear her. She leaps from mountain man’s lap, kisses him, and rushes after me, almost falling in the process.

“Sorry, sorry, okay, I’m here. So I’ve been thinking. If you’re going to ask me to join your little harem, I would be flattered, but I don’t like to share my men, so maybe we could do—” I stop and hold up my hand.

“Piper, I can assure you it has nothing to do with you becoming…my bitch.” I smirk. “This is about the future of The Wastes and your part in it.”

“My part?” she repeats slowly, serious now.

“Your part.” I nod. “I trust you, Piper, with my life. I need help to ensure our future is brighter than, well, this.” I wave my hand to encompass the injured still outside.

“That it never comes down to this again. We have to protect The North, and for that, I have a plan…one I need your help with.”

She grins. “Count me in, boss lady. Whatcha need?”

“How do you feel about being an enforcer?” I reply.

Her lips part in a wide smile. “Do I get a kickass bike and leather?”

“Sure. ”

“Hell yes! I’m in! Yo, Clay, go grab some leather! We’re about to deal out some ass kicking Mad Max style!”

Shaking my head, I grab her as she tries to rush away. “Wait, let me finish, then you won’t be blindsided in the leaders’ meeting. This is a really important moment. The soul of our land depends on it.”