CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
– KAREV –
Someone is screaming. Others are talking but it feels as if everything is muted by a heavy dark blanket. It’s weighing down on me and is disabling me from doing anything. I want to groan, move my limbs, but my body doesn’t feel like my own.
“You’re a freaking idiot.” I recognize Lea’s voice.
I’m pretty sure it’s Triton who replies with, “Why? Because I took the deal to save my VP and end this shit?”
“No, you idiot. Because you gave up your sister as a deal to hand her over to a freaking demon who will make her his wife.” Lea sounds mad and what she says makes no damn sense.
The heavy blanket and immobility are suddenly gone. I jolt upright and instantly shift to my human form.
Triton is standing in front of my old lady when he says, “I don’t have a sister, Lea. That’s why I could easily agree to the deal to save Karev from the poisonous link between him and Drexel.”
Poisonous link? Fuck, that does make sense. The head Drexel grew back at rapid speed, the way it looked, and the black blood oozing from his wound. Him biting me, me biting off his head? Any of those actions could have infected me with that fucker’s poison.
Lea places her hands on her hips and she’s looking all feisty and fierce when she asks, “You’re abso-fucking-lutely sure you don’t have a sister?
Because I happen to know someone who has a human half-sister and didn’t tell anyone about it.
What if your parents never told you? What if your father had a whoopsie once in a lifetime moment and never told a freaking soul? So, I’ll ask again. Are. You. Sure?”
Triton falls silent and it’s then I clear my throat, causing everyone’s eyes to land on me.
“You’re okay,” Lea says with a load of relief in her voice as she rushes toward me.
I wrap her in my arms and pull her close to my body to inhale her scent. Man, rushing after Drexel, needing to kill him to end this shit to keep Lea, and my half-sister safe never made me stop to think of the consequences.
Drexel was prepared. He knew damn well I was stronger than him and he found some out of the box shit to get the upper hand.
I didn’t think. There was no plan and I almost got her killed.
I almost got myself fucking killed. Pulling back, I cup my old lady’s face and give her a hard kiss.
She melts under my touch and I groan when our tongues start a sensual dance.
“Mind putting a pin in sucking faces for a damn moment?” Sevrin asks, sounding completely agitated.
I end the kiss to flip him off. “Sucking face is me taking a moment and turning it into a fucking memory. One of many more I intend to make because this woman right here is my future. A future I might not have had by the way I was feeling a mere few minutes ago. What the hell changed?”
Sevrin throws a thumb over his shoulder in Triton’s direction. “This fucker here made a deal with the devil. Well, not exactly a devil, more like a demon.”
“A demon?” I frown, completely surprised by this little detail.
Triton sighs. “Yes, a demon. I noticed him when Lea blasted Drexel, almost killing him. When she was drawing enough power to end Drexel, I saw red eyes light up in the shadows. I knew it had to be a demon spiking interest in your powerful old lady. It made sense the way Drexel was able to do shit. The demon used him and got what he wanted...Calvania’s territory. ”
I narrow my eyes. “If that’s all he wanted then why was I fighting Drexel in that clearing? Because Calvania was already dead by then.”
Lea shifts against me and I squeeze her hip before I murmur, “Sorry, darlin’.”
The hand she places on my chest allows her warmth to seep into my skin. Fuck. I can’t believe I almost lost this...us...being alive. Leaning in, I place a kiss on the crown of her head and with it breathe in her scent again.
“He’s right,” Sevrin grumbles. “There must have been something that kept the fucker around to enjoy the aftermath. Or maybe he damn well knew we’d retaliate and wanted a bargaining chip.
Triton. You better find out if somehow, by any fucking chance, you do have a sister you don’t know about.
Because if you do? We just pulled an innocent into an unfinished mess.
And let’s hope you don’t ’cause demon or not?
New king of the underworld or not? Nobody fucks with the Kings, and that demon is bound to find out if he fucked us over just now. ”
Triton doesn’t say a word but jogs off in the direction of the clubhouse.
“What if he does have a sister?” Stingray asks.
Croc nods. “Then she’d need to marry a demon because Triton took the deal. You can’t go back on a deal with a demon.”
“We’ll handle it when Triton is done researching,” Sevrin grits. “For now, I’m going to my old lady and make sure those twins don’t drive her nuts.”
Lea grabs my denim cut and I glance down at her when she whispers, “It’s true, I’ve read about demons and their slick deals...
making a deal with a demon means you’ve put your soul on the line.
If Triton doesn’t hand over his sister, if he has one, then he’s lost. Although, I can’t really blame him for stepping in to save you.
Triton didn’t even take a second to think... he just...he saved you.”
I gently cup her face and let my thumb stroke her cheek.
“Triton is our sergeant at arms. He protects the president, and the club. If there’s a situation he won’t call for backup because he is the damn backup.
We also have an enforcer, but Triton takes action when needed, and he did.
He handled the situation, and we will back him up if it turns out he does have a sister. ”
“But what if...” she starts.
Placing my thumb on her lips, I stop her from voicing her worries. “For now, we have to let him handle it. The club will take action if needed. We have other things to deal with, you especially.”
She swallows hard, understanding without words what I’m hinting at. Grief. The loss of her family, even if they didn’t treat her as part of their family. She still lost the people she grew up with. Everything changed within a few days for my woman and it’s a lot to deal with.
“Come on. Let’s take a shower. My shoulder still feels as if I got hit by a damn truck.” I pull her with me and she comes willingly.
Once we step inside the clubhouse the first thing that hits us is the screeching sound of a baby.
“Motherfucker what are you guys doing with that thing?” I grumble.
Lea smacks my chest. “A baby is not a thing.”
She walks over to Cassia and to everyone’s surprise, or I might say delight, the kid stops screeching and starts to create water drops. Lea chuckles and holds her hand palm out to let a ball of red fire grow bigger and bigger.
“The kid’s got a temper,” Sevrin grumbles.
I watch my woman play with his kid. “Don’t think you can let the kid have his way by stealing my damn woman. Kid or not I’ll...”
“Please, by all means, finish that fucking sentence, VP.” Sevrin shoots me a glare.
Shrugging, I grunt. “Just making things clear.”
“Crystal, motherfucker. Now let your old lady soothe my kid because he’s teething.”
“Teething? Didn’t they just drop out of your old lady’s...”
“Another sentence you might not want to finish,” Sevrin grits. “They are growing at rapid speed okay?”
“Whatever,” I grumble.
Holding my hand out, I let the red flames cover my skin.
The kid gives me a toothless grin and giggles when his water drops create smoke as they hit the flames.
The sudden weight against me and the pull on my cut is the only warning I get when they damn well multiply and I’m holding one of the twins.
Okay, this might not be too bad. The way my woman laughs lightens my heart.
The thought of not experiencing this moment, of almost losing all of it and trading it for eternal darkness is an unbearable thought. Thank fuck Triton made the deal. Sister or not, we will make this right, even if it means we have to go demon hunting.
I mean, you can summon a demon, right? Pin that fucker and send him back to hell. Yeah, there’s always a plan. We’re The Kings of Anarchy. Nobody fucks with the Kings. This thought soothes some of the worry seeping into my veins.
For now, I’m choosing to enjoy what’s right in front of me.
My woman, my old lady, my mate, and hopefully soon enough the mother of my children.
Because the vision before me gives me a hint of what might be...
and it’s a future I want to embrace, a freedom I want to fight for, and a love I want to feel the heat of.
Who am I kidding? I already feel the warmth of the love brewing between us.