BULL

My woman is a barrel of laughter. Hit men. “They don’t lead savory lives, Polka Dot, but they aren’t hit men, they have other men who do that deed for them.”

“Is that supposed to reassure me, Bull? Because I’m telling you right now it doesn’t,” she hisses.

“There are things you’ll hear and see that aren’t part of the normal person’s life, Dot. However, they’re good men who are loyal and will have your back no matter the circumstances. Give them a chance before you judge them for the way they live or their outward appearance. They were born into this, it wasn’t a decision they woke up one day and made.”

“I’ll try, Bull, but I make no promises,” she says. “But for you, I’ll give them a chance.”

“That’s all I ask, babe.” As thanks, I lift her hand and peck the backside of it with my lips. “You’re a very gracious and giving woman, Dot. I think our rough lifestyle will be nothing but a passing thought once you get to know us better.”

“Let’s take it one day at a time,” she advises, but her eyes are hesitant to follow through. I’m convinced we’ll have her seeing things our way in no time. This won’t be the first time an old lady has been brought into the fold who has no idea about the type of men we are. But we’ve earned their trust, just like I know we will hers.

“Pops, Luca, good to see y’all,” I say as I walk up to them and stick out my hand.

“Bull, my boy, who’s this lovely woman on your arm?” Pops asks with a knowing smirk.

“What’s in the water around here? And why can’t I ever find a woman as beautiful as you boys do?” Luca questions, shaking his head while sending Dottie a panty-dropping smile.

“This is my old lady, Dot.” When I proclaim her as mine, a gasp leaves her mouth, but she doesn’t dispute my announcement, which earns her a fuck load of respect from those in this room.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dot,” Pops states, lifting her hand and kissing the backside.

“Get outta the way, old man, she doesn’t want someone past their prime slobbering all over her,” Luca announces, gently lifting Dottie’s hand away from Pops and taking it in his own.

“You aren’t a spring chicken yourself, brother,” Pops growls, taking the insult personally.

“Well, you’ll always be older, that’s a fact,” Luca banters.

“Older, wiser, and better looking,” Pops counters.

After introductions, we’re loaded into separate vehicles that each take a different route to the safe house.

Luca’s team stays behind to plant the dynamite around the perimeter that’s set to detonate within the hour. Soon there won’t be any structure sitting on this land. We’ll have to rebuild as soon as we get out of this mess.

* * *

“Wow. What is this place?” Dot asks as we pull into the hidden entrance at the back of Pops’ and Luca’s compound. Their house is comparative to a damn castle, it’s humongous and full of hidden rooms.

“Pops,” I call out his name. “How is your place going to be any safer for us than ours?” I question.

“You’ll see.” That’s the only explanation he gives me as we pull into the garage. But alas, another surprise greets us. The vehicles line up, the first one enters a lift-like structure and I watch in awe as gates go down around it and it lowers.

“Is that an elevator for cars?” Dottie asks.

“It is,” Pops answers for me.

“Where does it go? This is intimidating, Bull. I’m fucking scared of elevators as it is. I’m claustrophobic and that’s gonna be a trigger for me.”

“Bull?”

“Yeah, Pops.”

“Distract her son, we’re up,” he remarks. As soon as our vehicle pulls into the cage, my lips attack hers. Soon, she’s moaning against my lips and has forgotten all about the fact that we’re being dropped underground.

When the car jolts, and there’s a grinding sound from our abrupt stop, I sit back and smile at my old lady. She may not be onboard yet with that title, but facts are facts. She’s mine.

“Where the hell are we again?” Dot asks, leaning forward in her seat and looking at the underground city that has appeared in front of us.

“This, Dottie, is your new home until I can resolve this Crumley brother mess,” Pops replies.

“It’s an entire town,” she says in admiration. “Are those stores? Who runs them?”

“They aren’t run by anyone, but they are stocked for you to gather supplies or make group meals,” Luca apprises.

“This is… I don’t know what to say right now to be honest,” Dot stammers out. “But it’s actually kind of neat. And no one knows it’s here?” she questions.

I wait to see how Luca and Pops react since they’re not used to anyone questioning what they do. Instead of blasting her, which is what they’d do to one of us, Pops gently replies, “Just us and of course, now y’all. We’ve been working on it for some time now because in our world, there are always threats from our enemies. Since we want to make sure our women and children are safe and provided for, this was what we came up with.”

“Well, I can’t wait to explore.”

When we step out of the vehicle, lights come on as if a switch has been hit. It’s dressed up for the holidays. A tree sits in the middle, reaching high into the air. Strings of colored bulbs go from one streetlamp to another, looking professionally done.

“Don’t worry, Bull. The men who decorated won’t be sharing what they know.” His look says more to me than his words do. They were expendable and are probably fish food by now.

“Gotcha,” I say with a nod of my head. I don’t necessarily agree with his methods, but I understand the need for it to have happened the way it did. Usually, they hire men who are on death’s door anyway, either due to an infraction against the family, or a contracted kill.

“You each have your own residence. I hope you don’t mind, Dot, but seeing as you were a last-minute addition, you’ll be sharing a space with Bull.” I could kiss Pops right now if I wasn’t convinced I’d get a fist to the jaw for doing so.

“Hmm. How many rooms are in this house?” she asks, but her tone is teasing.

“One I’m afraid.” Pops, the sly dog sends me a wink and I know instinctively he did this on purpose. He probably switched my place with the one that was intended to be Beckett’s.

“That’s okay, I’m sure there’s a couch old Bull here can sleep on,” she giggles.

“Woman. The only place this man is sleeping is wrapped around his woman,” I rebut.

“Are your bones too fragile to sleep on a couch, Bull?”

“No. I’m just too damn stubborn to sleep anywhere you aren’t.”