Page 53 of X's and O's

But that hope had been snuffed out. There was nothing left for me to do but slip back into the shoes I’d worn before.

I gave him a nod. “Yeah. I’m ready to come home.”

War drove me back to the Slayers’ clubhouse in a van that had a couple of baby seats in the back and an array of Barbie dolls on the floor at my feet.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You running a daycare now?”

War chuckled. “Something like that. A lot has changed since you left. We all got old and had kids.”

I glanced over at him while the Saint View slums flashed by outside. “How many you got?”

“Three. Two girls and a baby boy.” He grinned; his eyes trained to the road. “Absolute loves of my life, other than their mother.”

“Sounds pretty sweet.”

“It is. Wait ’til you meet all of Fang’s. He’s got five.”

I widened my eyes at him. “For real?”

He nodded. “Even Hawk has two.”

I swore under my breath. “I go away for six years, and you all turn into breeding machines? What’s with that?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I fell in love with a woman. She had a friend who had been hooking up with Fang, and it eventually turned into more. Her friend had a sister who punched Hawk in the nose, but that was somehow code for ‘I want you.’ And now all three of us are shacked up and living the good life.”

“Your dad would be rolling over in his grave.”

War sobered. “Probably. He wasn’t really much for family. The blood kind or the found kind.” He glanced at me. “I’m not like him. I take care of my own.”

He was trying to tell me he wasn’t going to throw me under the bus the way Army had.

We’d see.

War parked the van outside the clubhouse, and I followed him inside. A whistle cut through the room, and everybody in it turned in our direction.

War put his arm around my shoulders. “Look who’s back!”

The room erupted in cheers so loud my ears rang. Aloha came bounding over and practically crash tackled me into a hug, his round belly soft against me.

“Reaper! Good to have you home, brother!”

There was that word again. Home.

All the other guys I knew from before lined up behind him, as well as some of the women. Queenie dragged me into a hug so warm and enveloping it was hard not to sag against her and pour my heart out. Shegave me a knowing look when she pulled away, like she understood what I was thinking, and I turned to the next person in line fast so my expression didn’t give away any more.

Fang stood in front of me.

He might as well have punched me in the stomach. The blow felt the same. I didn’t even know what to say to him. He’d been my best friend, and I hadn’t spoken to him in years.

“You’re an asshole,” he muttered in that deep growl I remembered. “Six fucking years, Reap. I called you. Tried to visit you, and you denied them all. For six fucking years.”

“I know.”

He shook his head. “Like I said. Asshole.”

But then the corner of his mouth lifted.

And so did mine. I winced when it tugged at the cut Dickson had given me earlier.