Not that he’d noticed.
And, thank fuck, Aaliyah was still not ready to consider dating again.
Good. No man would ever be good enough. Not for her or for Asia.
And if she considered marrying a pig again...
Magnum shook his head.
Pig or not, he wasn’t ready to lose his oldest daughter to another man yet. They were still only getting to know each other. Same with MJ.
Repairing those relationships had gone slowly and, for a long time, it was awkward. Conversation had been limited until everyone learned to relax, drop their guard, while looking toward the future and not the past.
Caitie had done what she could to make things go smoothly but she could only do so fucking much.
He loved the fuck out of her for it.
And he could never thank her enough for fixing things.
So, one way to thank her was to plant baby number two in her belly and now she was pissed.
He dropped his head and grinned at his boots.
She was the one who wanted kids, not him.
Though, somehow after Asia was born, he’d suddenly got on board with trying for a son.
The trying part was the best part.
The fucking puking and crying jags, not so much.
She hadn’t been this sick with Asia, so he had a feeling his boy would be fucking trouble.
His grin widened.
A huff, a grunt and a groan approached him.
He lifted his head to see his woman waddling in his direction. By the looks of her stomach, Caleb was going to be a linebacker.
If so, his famous pro football son would be able to take care of his ol’ man when he was... old.
Fuck. He made a mental note to buy his son a football as soon as he learned to walk.
“Hey, baby,” he murmured as she finally got to him.
“What have you been grinning at?”
“The thought that I’m gonna knock you up again right away after Caleb’s born.”
Her eyes went wide, then narrowed dangerously. “We negotiated like you insisted!” she screeched. “That wasn’t the deal.”
“Yeah, and I’m fuckin’ re-negotiatin’.”
“The fuck you are. This is it. Your monster kid is going to destroy my—”
“Caitie,” he stopped her. “Just fuckin’ with you.”
Her expression changed from a snarl to a wince and she rubbed at the small of her back. “I thought I was going to have to neuter you myself.”
“I’m good.”
“Be very glad because I wouldn’t use sterile equipment when I did it.”
It was his turn to wince. He placed a hand over her distended belly. “Soon?”
“I hope so. If he grows any bigger, I’m in trouble.”
“Already in fuckin’ trouble, baby. If you think Asia’s a handful, wait ‘til my boy hits the ground runnin’.” He tucked a thumb under her chin and tipped her face up. “Mouth.”
The corners of her lips twitched but she offered him her mouth and he didn’t waste any time taking her up on that offer.
After a few seconds of exploring the mouth that was really his, he reluctantly released her. “Gonna get me some of that tonight.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Maybe it’ll induce labor.”
“Hopefully he’ll wait ‘til I’m done.”
She snorted.
He gave her another quick kiss. “Taste like sweet potato pie.”
“Well, I had two pieces.”
“Three.”
She grimaced. “Okay, three.”
She put her fingers over his on her belly and squeezed. He felt the press of her wedding ring against his hand, the one he had inscribed with: One Knight ~ Every Night ~ Forever. Not on the inside of the wide gold band, either. On the outside where everyone could see his claim. It was corny but he didn’t give a fuck. She had smiled and hiccup-sobbed simultaneously when she read it.
“I can’t help your kid loves to eat. And Liyah makes great freaking pie.”
“That she does.”
“I’ll have to rope her into baking a bunch for the next Walker Foundation bake sale.”
He grunted.
Thank fuck Caitie wasn’t working for Gallo agency anymore. After everything went down in Lake George, she couldn’t bear to return. As soon as Ellie found out, she snapped Cait up right away to be in charge of the marketing and advertising for the Walker Foundation, since they didn’t have anyone to do it.
Her hours were more flexible, she could bring Asia with her to work when needed, and she loved her job. She was great at it according to Walker, who was relieved it was one less responsibility on Ellie’s shoulders.
Even better, Magnum knew his wife was safe there and surrounded by people he trusted and who also loved Cait.
She moved until she stood in front of him and he automatically wrapped his arms around his ol’ lady and pulled her into him, then planted his hands on her massive belly. He dipped his head and pressed his nose into her hair, inhaling.
It had been a great fucking day. This was the first real Thanksgiving he’d ever had. At least with all his family present.
For the last couple of years, they’d gone over to Dawg and Emma’s, but this year since his family had grown, he decided to shut down Dirty Dick’s for the day and use that space instead.
Even his sister, Maya, and her wife, Elena, had flown up from Florida with their twin college-aged boys to join them. He hadn’t seen them in over ten years.
The women—Emma, Lily, Liyah, Val, Maya, Elena and even Lee-lee—had used the bar’s commercial kitchen to make a huge spread. He and Daddy Dawg had pushed a bunch of the scratched tables together and covered the ugliness up with some sort of disposable table covers printed with godawful cartoon turkeys his woman had bought.
Thinking about Daddy Dawg must have conjured him up as he was heading their direction, his eyes focused on his daughter.
“Hey, Dad,” Magnum greeted, keeping a straight face.
“Jesus fuck,” Dawg answered like he always did when Magnum called him that.
“You mean fudge,” Magnum corrected. “You got a grandbaby ‘round here somewhere with big ears. Emma’s gonna crack you upside the head if she starts screamin’ fuck. And that girl of mine ain’t afraid to use the healthy fuckin’ set of lungs she was born with.”
“Like you don’t fuckin’ curse ‘round her.”
Magnum grinned and shrugged. “My wife don’t care.”
Cait gasped. “I do, too.”
“Since when?”
“Since she started talking and began to parrot everything her daddy says.”
“Like you don’t curse,” Magnum reminded her.
“Only when necessary.”
“Like in the labor room?” Dawg asked, jerking his chin toward her belly. “Soon?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Dad, Caleb put his arrival time on my Google calendar down to the hour and minute.”
Dawg shot Magnum a frown. “Someone’s cranky.”
Magnum gave his father-in-law an answering grin. “Gonna take care of that later. Maybe try to get Caleb here sooner than later, too.”
With a horrified expression, Cait slapped a hand over eyes. “Holy shit. You did not just tell my father that.”
Magnum rubbed a hand over her belly where it was moving from his active linebacker son. “Think he knows how his grandkids were created.”
“Doesn’t mean we need to fuckin’ discuss it,” Dawg growled. “Now I need a goddamn drink.”
“Standin’ in a bar full of booze, Dad. It’s on the house.” Magnum smirked.
“Jesus fuck,” Dawg muttered again, turning on his heels and heading behind the bar.
Another beautiful curvy blonde was suddenly in front of them.
“Are you two driving him to drink?” Emma asked, glancing over at her ol’ man who was now downing a shot of something Magnum suspected was the strongest liquor he had on the shelf.
�
�Baby’s comin’ later, just tryin’ to get him to relax.”
Emma’s face lit up. “He is?”
“Yeah, we’re—”
Cait turned in his arms and slapped a hand over his mouth. “Stop it.”
He grinned under her fingers.
Emma’s face was bright red as she stared at them. “Oh. Uh... We used that technique to induce labor for Emmalee.”
Cait’s eyes went wide as she stared up at Magnum and her cheeks became just as red as Emma’s.
“It work?” Magnum asked his mother-in-law, who, oddly enough, was younger than him. But then, there was nothing normal about their patch-work family.
“Uh... Sooooo...” Emma drew out. “Maybe we should watch Asia tonight, then?”
“That’d be good,” Magnum said through Cait’s fingers.
“I’m going to go crawl into a corner and die now,” Cait muttered.
“I’ll... uh... just go tell Dawson we’re babysitting tonight,” Emma said and hurried to where her husband was downing his third double shot.
Cait dropped her hand from his mouth. “You’re going to turn my father into an alcoholic if you keep calling him Dad.”
“He’ll get used to it.”
“Not thinking he will,” she said, glancing over at the bar. Then her heavy belly began bouncing and she covered her face with her hands.
He frowned. “Baby, you laughin’ or cryin’?” Because he never fucking knew. Being pregnant, she could be crying one minute and hysterically laughing the next.
It kind of scared the fuck out of him.
“Both,” came muffled from under her hands.
He grabbed her hands and pulled them away so he could see her face. “You mad?”
She shook her head as tears slid down her cheek, but she was smiling.
Didn’t make any fucking sense.
“No.” She sighed, turned again and glanced around the room. “This family is whacked. There’s nothing normal about it.”
“Yeah.” It definitely wasn’t normal.
He had a daughter who was almost as old as his wife. Another daughter who was younger than two of his grandkids. His mother-in-law was younger than him and he was almost the same age as his father-in-law. And, at almost forty-five, he had another kid on the way.
It was definitely fucked. Never in his fucking life had he thought any of this shit would happen.
But now he wouldn’t have it any other way. And he knew she wouldn’t, either.
He dropped his head and his eyes hit her green ones. “You happy?”
She gave him a soft smile. “Yes.”
He asked her that a lot, luckily always got the same answer and always hoped he would.
“That’s all that matters, baby.”
He’d give her anything and everything he could to make her happy because she’d done so much to make him happy, too.
Everyone in that room was proof of it.
He’d done what he needed to do for her. And in return, she’d done the same for him.
Caitie wrapped a hand around the back of his bald head and pulled him down to her. She demanded, “Mouth,” which made him smile.
He gave her his mouth.
When she was done with it, she whispered, “I love you.”
And that smile became wider when he whispered against her lips, “Same.”
Caleb Dawson Moore was born at 3:04 a.m. two days later.
Turn the page to read the prologue for Blood & Bones: Trip (Blood Fury MC, book 1)
Sneak peek of Blood & Bones: Trip
Turn the page to read the prologue of
Blood & Bones: Trip
Blood Fury MC, book 1
Blood & Bones: Trip (Blood Fury MC, bk 1)
“Sometimes you have to burn yourself to the ground
before you can rise like a phoenix from the ashes.” ~ Jens Lekman
Prologue
Turn the key
Trip stood in the middle of the deserted building, shaking his head, wondering if it was worth the fucking hassle to start the club back up. To reclaim its territory.
But what other fucking choice did he have?
He’d already had it set in his mind, not only to do it, but to do it right this time.
He wouldn’t let his father’s club, which died a violent death, just remain a memory. And a bad one at that.
But now that he had done his time in the Marines, done his time in prison, he needed something.
Because he had nothing.
Except his granddaddy’s run-down farm, a barn full of farm equipment he had no clue how to use and didn’t want to, and the abandoned warehouse he was currently standing in on the outskirts of town.
While he was in prison, his lawyer had shown up and read him his granddaddy’s will.
Yeah. He got everything.
Sig got nothing.
Trip was sure his brother wasn’t happy about that, if he even knew.
But most likely Granddaddy had made up the will when Trip was still doing time in the service and not doing it behind bars. Unlike Sig who had been in and out of county jail, or the state pen, off and on since he turned eighteen.
But now here he stood. In an empty building, feeling fucking overwhelmed. But still, it was something.
And something was better than nothing.
He also had new ink on his back and an old cut in his hand.
The leather was worn, the rockers and patches on it dirty. All except one.
One rectangular patch on the front had been torn off by his own fingers after using the point of his buck knife to loosen the threads. The patch that used to say “Buck” was now replaced with one that said “Trip.” But above it, the patch that had deemed Buck as president remained. That now belonged to Trip.
He’d also used that same knife to remove the 1% diamond patch off the back. He wouldn’t need that one anymore.
The club used to be outlaw. But Trip was determined to keep it above board. For the most part.
He’d spent many a night down in Shadow Valley talking with the members of the Dirty Angels MC, soaking up everything their prez named Z told him. Learning how to rebuild Blood Fury stronger than ever. How to keep the money flowing into the club’s coffers.
One way to do that was to keep the members out of prison and, even better, keep them breathing.
Dead or incarcerated members weren’t any good to a club.
And there had been too many of those in the Blood Fury MC in the past. It had been its downfall.
Trip didn’t want that mistake to happen again.
So, they had to play the game. Keep shit on the up and up as best as they could. Become a powerful force, strong enough to withstand the occasional bump in the road.
He had no fucking clue how he was going to pull it off, but he would take the advice he was given and do his fucking best.
He scrubbed a hand through his long hair before tucking it up under his baseball cap, blowing out a loud breath and shrugging on his cut.
His cut.
It wasn’t his father’s any longer.
This club was no longer his father’s, either.
This world, even as broken as it was, now belonged to Trip.
It was his and he wouldn’t let anyone destroy it again.
The Fury was about to rise once more. This time stronger and smarter.
Get Trip and Stella’s story here:
mybook.to/BFMC-Trip
If You Enjoyed This Book
Thank you for reading Magnum: A Dark Knights MC/Dirty Angels MC Crossover. If you enjoyed Magnum and Cait’s story, please consider leaving a review at your favorite retailer and/or Goodreads to let other readers know. Reviews are always appreciated and just a few words can help an independent author like me tremendously!
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Also by Jeanne St. James
* Available in Audiobook
Made Maleen: A Modern Twist on
a Fairy Tale *
Damaged *
Rip Cord: The Complete Trilogy *
Brothers in Blue Series:
(Can be read as standalones)
Brothers in Blue: Max *
Brothers in Blue: Marc *
Brothers in Blue: Matt *
Teddy: A Brothers in Blue Novelette *
The Dare Ménage Series:
(Can be read as standalones)
Double Dare *
Daring Proposal *
Dare to Be Three *
A Daring Desire *
Dare to Surrender *
A Daring Journey *
The Obsessed Novellas:
(All the novellas in this series are standalones)
Forever Him *
Only Him *
Needing Him *
Loving Her *
Temping Him *
Down & Dirty: Dirty Angels MC Series™:
Down & Dirty: Zak *
Down & Dirty: Jag *
Down & Dirty: Hawk *
Down & Dirty: Diesel *
Down & Dirty: Axel *
Down & Dirty: Slade *
Down & Dirty: Dawg *
Down & Dirty: Dex *
Down & Dirty: Linc *
Down & Dirty: Crow *
Crossing the Line (A DAMC/Blue Avengers Crossover) *
Magnum: A Dark Knights MC/Dirty Angels MC Crossover
Guts & Glory Series
(In the Shadows Security)
Guts & Glory: Mercy *
Guts & Glory: Ryder *
Guts & Glory: Hunter *
Guts & Glory: Walker *
Guts & Glory: Steel
Guts & Glory: Brick
Blood & Bones: Blood Fury MC™
Blood & Bones: Trip
Blood & Bones: Sig
Blood & Bones: Judge
COMING SOON!
Blue Avengers MC™
Brothers in Blue: A Bryson Family Christmas
Everything About You (A Second Chance Gay Romance)
Magnum: A Dark Knights MC/Dirty Angels MC Crossover Page 27