Page 15 of Vengeance (Ruthless MC 4)
There are strict laws surrounding talking about Reaper business—especially highly illegal Reaper business—outside of the MC. But I explain everything to her. The cleanup. The cover-up. The payoff to one of our contacts at the Nashville P.D. to make sure the report got misfiled if anyone came through the station to tell the story.
“Not that anybody would,” I assure her when she looks back at me with shock and disbelief in her beautiful dark brown eyes. “We just brought you here so you could rest up in peace. Look out there for me, baby.” I wave a hand toward the vista beyond the big window and give her a reassuring smile. “Don’t that look peaceful?”
She looks in the direction of my hand, but her face stays distressed, like she’s on the verge of panic. And then she climbs out of the bed to face me with her fists balled at her side.
Is she going to hit me because we sedated her? Yell at me because we failed to protect her?
After hours of replaying all the bad shit that could have happened if she hadn’t stabbed that Lado Norte with his own knife, I don’t even bother to defend myself. She never should have been put in that position. We should have been there for her, whether she wanted us or not.
“I understand you’re upset,” I tell her. “Hit me. Cuss me out. Whatever you want. I’m just so fucking sor—”
But instead of slugging me, she shocks the shit out of me by cutting off my apology.
With a kiss.
CHAPTER 8
DOC
I just meant to tell him thank you for getting me out of a bad situation, but somehow my lips end up crashing into his. And suddenly…
I’m kissing Hyena! I’m kissing Hyena! I’m careening toward a cliff I promised myself I’d never jump over.
And Hyena’s kissing me back. He tastes even better than I kept telling myself not to imagine when he leaned in close to flirt across the bar. Wind and good whiskey and all sorts of places I’ve never been.
He’s clean-cut, but he devours me, mauling his mouth over mine. But then he suddenly pulls back.
“No. Not like this,” he says. His voice is ragged but determined. “You know that ain’t how we work.”
Yes, I did know that. He’s a package deal. I can’t have just Hyena. It has to be all of them.
There’s a voice in my head. It appeared after my mother’s death, and it has advised me throughout my adult life. Focus on the plan, it tells me over and over. Eat the Chex, not the Frosted Flakes. Study, work, sleep, rinse, and repeat.
And there’s only one word it ever associates with Vengeance: Don’t.
Don’t, it says immediately when Hyena burns me alive with his kisses then tells me I can’t have just him, like I’m a new roadhouse girl. Don’t.
But there’s a desperate ache in my chest now. I liked kissing him. I was so scared the last time my eyes were open. I thought my life was over. But Vengeance fixed all of it. Because of Vengeance, I’m safe.
Don’t, the voice warns again. But it’s quieter now. Muffled by all the new feelings swirling in my chest. And between my legs.
Don’t, it tries to tell me again.
But it’s only a faint whisper underneath my own voice, saying out loud, “Okay, call them in.”
He tilts his head at me like, Are you serious? But I guess he doesn’t want to risk me changing my mind. Instead of asking that question out loud, he calls out, “V! Des! Get in here!”
I don’t want to accuse anybody of listening in at the door. But Vampire and Des-E come striding in so fast, I almost laugh.
Almost.
There’s nothing funny about what I’m about to do.
“What’s up?” Vampire asks, his voice calm.
But Des-E’s eyes bore into me, that open hunger even more blatant now.
I almost lose my nerve. The way they arc around me feels like they’ve gathered for my TED Talk. But then I remember how great it felt to kiss Hyena. How safe and right. How good would that feel times three?
I clear my throat and stiffly let them know, “I’d like to have sex with you. All three of you.”
This is what Hyena asked me for, during the first few minutes of the first night we met. It’s why he keeps pawing at my door.
But for moments on end no one responds. They all just stare at me until Vampire asks, “Why?”
“Why?” I repeat. “Do I need a reason?”
Another too-long silence, then Vampire answers, “Yes.”
“Doc, baby, if you’re only trying to sleep with us out of gratitude...” Hyena doesn’t finish.
But Des-E shakes his head, letting me know how they’d feel about that.
Okay. Apparently, Vengeance has standards.
And yes, this is about gratitude. But it’s also about something else….
So I’m telling the truth when I answer, “No, that’s not it. Not exactly.”
