Page 28

E veryone is playing their part—our guests arriving just as we discussed. Bikes fill the lot, music is blaring from the speakers, and it looks like an average Saturday night drunkfest at the old Havoc Reapers clubhouse. From the outside, people would assume there’s alcohol being liberally consumed, sex fully on display on any and all flat surfaces, and the random fist being thrown when some bearded dumbass pisses off another bearded dumbass.

Except none of that is actually happening. As each of the guests walk through the doors, they make their way to a secret passage that no one other than me, Etta, and Squire know about. Or at least, only we did…until tonight. Jay and Rogue are dutifully directing people through the hidden door that leads down an underground path which eventually exits between two other buildings six blocks away. Rock was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. He had a plan B, C, D, and E, in case shit ever went sideways.

God love him.

I’d like to think he’d be extremely proud of the plan we’re putting into action, and I just wish I could see his face as he realized the true brilliance of it all. Sadly, that’s yet another thing my brother has taken away from me, but it will most definitely be the last.

“Remy, are you sure about this?” Etta asks, walking up to me. Tiny and Crow appear in the doorway then immediately head toward Saint, who points them in the direction of Rogue and Jay.

“This is how it has to happen, sister. You know it as well as I do.”

“I do, I just don’t like it. You’re carrying my niece or nephew in that mostly flat belly of yours, and if something happens to either of you, hell will have nothing on what I’ll unleash on the world.”

Closing the distance between us, my arms wrap around my sister, pulling her in for a big hug. I’m not sure who needs this more at the moment, me or her.

“First off, I’m growing a friggin mini-human, so sue me if my belly isn’t flat. Secondly, I love you to hell and back, Etta. Nothing can separate us. Not even death.”

“I sure as hell hope you’re right, Rem. I’d say don’t do anything stupid, but I know you better than that. Just come back to me, okay? I can’t lose the other half of my soul. I’ll never recover.”

She squeezes me extra tight, then steps back into Diesel’s waiting arms.

“You be careful, for all our sakes,” he says softly, his voice so deep I can barely hear him over the bass from the speakers.

Without another word, he leads my twin and the rest of her men toward the hidden door. There’s a sharp pain in my chest, watching her go. Part of me wishes I could call her back and have her by my side—it’s her brother too, after all—but I’d never put her in the line of fire. I promised Rock I’d watch over her, and that’s what I’m going to do until the day I die.

“I think everything is going smoothly so far. What do you think?” Ace slides his arm behind my back, pulling me into his side.

“Everything is right on schedule. Colt’s expecting this place to be chock full of everyone he wants to ruin. Little does he know…”

Ace grins down at me, but there’s a hint of worry in his deep brown eyes. “He’ll never see you coming, doll, and then you can fucking gut that motherfucker so we can finally get on with our lives.”

Leaning up on my tiptoes, I drop a brief kiss on his lips. “That’s the plan, husband, but?—”

He draws back, his brows already furrowing. “Something tells me I’m not going to like whatever’s about to come out of your mouth.”

“Pretty sure none of us will,” Saint mutters.

I’m not sure when, because I sure as hell didn’t hear them, but my men have surrounded us. They’re looking at me with varying degrees of oh-hell-fucking-no .

“I want you all to listen to me first, then you can freak the fuck out when I’m done, okay?”

Rogue crosses his arms over his chest. “No.”

My gaze darts toward the big guy at my right.“No, what , exactly?”

“No.”

My eyes narrow just as Trip butts in with his two cents. “Whatever it is, he’s right. The answer will probably be no.”

It’s like a bad case of déjà vu.

Don’t get stabby, Remington. Do. Not. Murder. The. Men. You. Love.

“I recognize that look in your eyes, angel. Keep the sharp objects tucked away a bit longer, yeah? We just want to protect you. Let us hang onto our balls, just this once.”

Stepping out of Ace’s arms, I push my shoulders back and take a deep breath in and exhale.

“I need to do the last part alone. If and when I say go, I need you all to walk out that door. Find my sister and the others and make sure they’re all okay until I give the final signal. Let me focus on what I’m here to do without having to worry about any of you.”

“There’s no way in hell we’re leaving you alone with that son of a bitch, Remington,” Ace barks.

Rogue’s response is, once again, succinct. “No.”

“Hell to the naw.” Saint rolls his eyes. “I get to cut out his tongue, remember?”

“Baby girl, you can’t ask that of us. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

My eyes meet Grant’s, imploring him to back me up just like I asked.

“Rem…” His sigh is long and deep, and I bite back the sting of disappointment. His eyes search out his brothers’, and I wait for the words that will make tonight a million times harder. “For the last ten years, I’ve watched this woman do things I would’ve said were impossible. Her instincts are what’s kept her alive this long, and I trust her without hesitation. If at any point she tells me to go, then I’m going to do what she asks of me. I’ll back her on this. One hundred percent.”

My heart swells until it’s damn near bursting. My arms flung around Grant’s neck, he lifts me off the ground and holds me close.

“I love you,” I whisper into his ear.

“I love you to hell and back, Rem.”

Those words, always shared between my sister and me, make my breath stutter. It seems oddly right that he’d take them up and use them as his own. We’ve been through hell and back, and look at us now. Stronger than ever before. That’s gotta mean something, right?

When I finally tear myself out of my best friend’s arms, I find the men of Sinner’s Mark staring me down. Their unreadable expressions make my nerves flare wildly.

“You guys need to understand. Before you, I was nothing more than an empty shell. Each day was a means to an end, nothing more. I went through the motions, so lost inside myself that I couldn’t even see the incredible man I had right in front of me. Now, here I am. Able to feel things other than hate and anger. I’m able to truly feel love . We’re bringing a new life into this world, and he or she will be surrounded with so much fucking goodness I’ll have to buy a minivan and join the Pinterest moms while they do…whatever the hell it is they do.” Tears are threatening to spill, but I force them back, meeting each one of their eyes. “Your belief in me and acceptance of who I am have meant the world to me. Now, I’m asking you to extend that trust one last time. If I were to lose one of you, there’d be no coming back for me. The darkness would take over, and I’m not sure I’d ever be able to be pulled from it again. So, please , once I give the signal, go . For me.”

It’s like time has been suspended, the tension in the air so thick it’s difficult to breathe. I’m asking a lot of the men who once believed the only way to keep me safe was to shelter me from the world. We’ve come a long way since then, but is it enough for them to trust that I’ll always come back to them, no matter what?

“We trust you, doll, and while I might not like it, I can understand what you’re saying. But if you walk out of this clubhouse with so much as a single hair out of place, I will personally kill you myself.”

I fight back a grin, loving this aggressive side of my husband. His hand snakes behind my neck before he smashes his mouth to mine.

“I fucking hate everything about this,” Saint mutters, pulling me away from Ace who curses his brother with some colorful expletives. “But I once told you there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you, angel. It’ll kill me, but I’ll listen for once in my life, only ‘cuz it’s you.”

I’m not sure what I was expecting. A harsh kiss. A spank on my ass. Anything but the tender kiss he presses to my lips or the way he leans over, both hands landing on my hips to place another peck on my belly.

When he straightens, I’m completely fucking speechless.

Trip pretends to close my mouth before pulling me into his chest. “It goes against everything I am to walk away from you and our baby when you’ll be facing your brother’s brand of evil, but if that’s what you need, I’ll do it for you both. It’s us to the end, baby girl. Don’t forget that.”

He places a soft kiss on my forehead before he backs away, leaving me to face off against Rogue.

“Big guy?”

He’s still standing with his arms crossed, damn near still as a statue and just as impossible to read.

“I agreed to join your crusade, Remy.”

I swallow down my rush of panic. “You did.”

“I vowed to always protect you.”

“And you have.”

He steps forward, wrapping those thick arms of his under my ass, and lifts me up until we’re nose to nose. “Then you know that asking me to leave you when you need me most will damn near be the death of me.”

My breath is stuck in my throat as he intensely studies my face.

“I know,” I whisper.

“But I’ll do it because I love you and trust in you. Always and forever.”

The air whooshes from my lungs as the last one of my men kisses me with every bit of pent-up frustration I know he’s got to be feeling.

Someone clears their throat, and Rogue reluctantly releases me.

“He was just seen a half mile from the clubhouse. He’s headed this way.” Jay walks over, eyeing me like he would a wild animal. “I’m not sure exactly what your plan is, Remington, but for all of your sakes, I hope you make this asshole pay. I’ll be waiting at the rendezvous point for every single one of you. Don’t make me call in reinforcements. I have them on standby.”

I hold out my hand, extending trust to someone other than my sister or my men to have my back. “Thanks, Jay. For everything. Keep my sister safe for me until I get there.”

“No hardship there.” With a grin, he shakes my hand, then does the same with each of my guys. “Good luck to all of you.”

We watch him walk through the hidden door, and when it closes behind him, a stillness settles over the group. Our plan is solid. We discussed it at length and took extra precautions in case Colt caught on before he’s meant to. But if there’s one thing we learned, my unpredictable brother always seems to be one step ahead.

He believes the club is still in the dark as to his real identity. He believes that tonight is the night he takes the first step toward my demise. He believes he’s invincible.

That last one will be his biggest mistake.