Page 54 of Vengeance (Ruthless MC 4)
Memories of those days in the cabin wash over me, and something unknown but frightfully hungry swells through my entire body. “Guys, listen, I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I was just…”
“Trying to get away from us,” Hyena finishes for me. His head’s turned away now. Like he can’t bear to look at me.
“Allie…”
I look up at Vampire, surprised to hear him use my real name.
His jaw works. “I’m going to say this again. And this time, I need you to hear me. I am so sorry. I am so fucking sorry we weren’t there when you needed us. I’m sorry you thought you had to fight that Lado Norte on your own—that you didn’t think we were a safe place for you to go for help. I am sorry we didn’t do more to let you know…that we liked and admired you. That we wanted you for more than just one night.”
Des-E nods in agreement, his expression stricken. “We should have tried to charm you, woo you. We should have shown you everything you made us feel and then asked you out on a date."
Their intensity and sincerity prods at me, worms into my chest and starts rewriting memories.
“And I’m sorry too,” Hyena says, turning back to face me. “I wanted this to happen so bad, I couldn’t see that you were scared. I thought showing you how much we loved you without telling you what all we had planned would be enough. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry three, bella,” Des-E says. “I hate talking about all this emotional shit. But I wish I stayed talking to you. You know, communication. You being scared of us is the last thing I wanted.”
Hating all the vulnerability crawling through me, I snap, “I don’t…I don’t believe that. You say you don’t want me to be scared of you. But less than an hour ago, Hyena was talking about how you wanted to breed me. Are you really just going to let me out of these handcuffs now that I’ve told you my side of the story?”
“No,” Hyena admits, shaking his head. “We’re still Reapers.”
See, the trusty voice inside of me crows triumphantly.
But then Des-E says, “We’ve got a standard partial custody agreement we’re going to need you to agree to sign before we let you out of those cuffs. Holidays, summers, two weekends a month—stuff like that.”
“We don’t want you to hem us up in court,” Vampire further explains, without any discernable emotion whatsoever. “You’ve kept us from our first-born son for two and a half years. And that stops now."
The voice in my head splutters, not knowing how to take this. “That’s all you want?"
“Of course that’s not all we want,” Hyena answers. “If it were up to us, we’d move both of you right on in here and make all my fantasies about raising a family as a quad come true. I meant every word I said about wanting more kids with you. But if that’s not what you want, we’ll have to let you go. We’re not going to keep you unless you’re all in—just like we are."
I stare at him, unable to process everything they’ve told me.
“Vengeance? Vengeance?” a woman’s voice calls in the distance, along with the sound of footsteps running up the stairs.
What the…?
As if to answer my question, that pretty nurse I last saw Waylon dragging out of the roadhouse on Thanksgiving weekend after she helped Persy escape from Hades enters the room, still calling out, “Vengeance? Ven—?”
She cuts off and stops short when she sees the scene with me naked and handcuffed on the bed.
But to my surprise, she doesn’t even blink. Just resets and says, “I know you all wanted me to take care of B2 and leave you alone with the new doctor while you did…whatever this is. But Val’s in labor…”
She looks at Des-E, then at me, “We need you in the clinic, Dr. Snow. It’s an emergency.”
CHAPTER 24
ALLIE
I don’t understand. I thought we were in the middle of nowhere, Nebraska? How is Waylon’s woman in here, wearing a pair of maternity scrubs with NURSE PRACTITIONER stamped across the top left breast? And why is she saying she—
She darts back out before I can ask.
But Vengeance seems to get it right away.
Hyena immediately unlocks my handcuffs, and Vampire orders, “Get her dressed. I’ll meet her downstairs” before also running out.
Hyena tosses me the scrubs and underwear he stripped off me earlier, along with my clogs.
And Des-E pulls out his phone. “Fuck voicemail!” I hear him curse as Hyena escorts me out. “ElPas hit back as soon as you get this….”
“What’s this emergency?” I ask Hyena, trying to catch up—both mentally and physically. He practically flying down the stairs. “Who’s Val? And ElPas?”
“ElPas is going to lose it if we lose Val or their baby.” Hyena yanks open the front door for me. “You got to get over to the little clinic. Now, Doc, now.”
