Page 56 of Vengeance (Ruthless MC 4)
Having put together that I’m now in the Reaper’s home base in Iowa—a small town they call Angel Pond—I have to laugh too. “That was some introduction.”
“I’m just glad you’re finally here. I had a breech patient just like Val come through last year.” Amira shakes her head regretfully as she waddles over to a metal cabinet to place the file she was filling out. “Lost both the mom and the kid. It was horrible. I’m still having nightmares about it. I’ll admit, I was so pissed and frustrated that you pulled out of running the big clinic—especially since we couldn’t find a doctor with good ob-gyn skills to replace you. There are like so, so many Reaper old ladies pregnant right now, and they deserve better care than me.”
She sighs regretfully and closes the file cabinet. “But you’re here now, and Vampire told me you live for making plans. I know you have to get back to Vengeance, but I can’t wait to talk with you later about the big clinic and walk you over there so that we can finally start getting it set up. Wait….”
She trails off and squints at me. Probably because of the confusion clearly written out across my face. “Ugh! Tell me Vengeance didn’t Reaper this up—that’s when they keep you in the dark about their plans for your future because they think you won’t be able to handle hearing about it without running for the hills.”
She holds up her hands with a pained look before I can reply. “You don’t even have to answer that. I can see from your blank look they totally did.”
She lets out an audible sigh and rubs her distended belly. “Okay, forget about Vengeance. You’re coming back to my house with me. My little girl Antonia is having a ball with B2 and MeeMaw—that’s our town’s grandmother, not Waylon’s. Anyway, you can say hi to your adorable son. And we can all have a snack together while I fill you in on everything.”
CHAPTER 25
DES-E
“What the hell’s taking them so long?” Hyena demands as we clear away the sandwiches he made us for lunch.
Not that any of us are hungry. I only took two bites of my BLT. I was too busy monitoring my phone.
ElPas has already posted all over social media about the birth of her little boy. But we haven’t heard anything else from Amira since she texted us:
AMIRA: Taking Allie back to my house for a snack and some girl talk. STAY AWAY!!! (That’s an order.)
That text hit our phones over two hours ago.
We would have already showed up at their door to pull Doc out if it was anyone else. Vengeance doesn’t wait.
But there’s a reason Amira framed her message the way she did. Waylon considers his wife an extension of himself. And Waylon makes us look like teddy bear amateurs when it comes to being psycho—and protecting his wife.
So the only way to go against Amira is through our Reaper prez. But unfortunately, he’s not answering my texts. Probably because he’s at Griffin’s wedding, taking selfies with Hyena’s favorite pop act, sasha X kasha.
As if reading my mind, Hyena says, “I can’t believe we’re missing Rockstar’s wedding for this. All that sharing and emotional bullshit….”
Vengeance’s whole personality is united front. But for the first time, he looks like he’s regretting joining us for a mission. He shakes his head.
“How about if we did all that and she says, ‘All right, I got my custody. Deuces! I never really liked you assholes in the first place!'”
Answering is Vampire’s thing. But I surprise myself by volunteering for reply duty on this one.
“Then we tried,” I tell Hyena, my voice quiet and somber. “We had to at least try. Even if it doesn’t turn out for us.”
Hyena stares at me for a beat. Then yells, “Fuucckk!” at the sky.
Before calming and agreeing, “Okay, man, you’re right. But if Waylon comes back here without at least a signed autograph for me, I’m not talking to that motherfucker for a week. Maybe a whole month.”
The sound of the door opening and closing cuts off any response we could have possibly made to that threat.
Vampire and me jump to our feet just as Doc appears in the doorway. The same as she did the last time we were all talking about her in a cabin kitchen.
“Who was yelling ‘Fuck'?” she asks, looking between the three of us. “I could hear you all the way outside the house.”
“That would be me,” Hyena answers. “Uh, sorry, I was just….”
He appears to search for a good explanation but can only come up with, “Wondering when you’d be back.”
“I’m back,” she says, folding and unfolding her arms.
And this time, it’s not just her and Vampire. We all avert our eyes and shift awkwardly.
But then she tilts her head and says, “According to Amira, you left some stuff out of your side of the story. Like the part where you commissioned this cabin for us and negotiated a premium spot next to the pond because you said you were bringing in a town doctor.”
