Lean'd. Vice & Vow Ink, #5

Blood is thicker than water. The family of my birth taught me that. Not because our shared biology strengthened us. In fact, it was the opposite. The whole phrase is "Blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb." Perverting it to make it seem like biology is sacrosanct is a bullshit move. The family we choose gives us strength in the blood oaths between us. The Dirty Sinners are my family, and they're all I need in this world.
The covenant of shared spilled blood between us makes me a part of something bigger than myself and means I never have to be alone again. When my past threatens to flood my new life with its poison, my true family stands with me against it. Cassidy Sharpe rolls into town with an ax to grind. She's searching for payback against the dirtbags who hurt her, and she thinks my father and older brother are to blame.
I don't doubt her, but I'm also not willing to pay for the sins of those two. Going to prison for them once was enough. What I will do is help her get the vengeance she's owed. In return, she'll only have to agree to an oath between us. The Dirty Sinners showed me that, in life, a man's gotta lean in hard when he wants something. I want Cassidy Sharpe. That's the bargain.