Page 93 of My Darling Mayhem

I wondered what mischief they must have gotten into when they were kids. Were they terrors, or were they peaceful children? Juan was calm for my mother from what I remembered, but he was five years older, so I missed his toddler years and had no idea what he was like before then.

A phone call came in for my mother, distracting my thoughts. I saw that it was Juan and reached for her device.

“Can I answer it?”

She nodded and refocused on the road. We were getting closer, based on the signs we had passed, and my nerves were starting to fray. What if Juan’s wife hated me? What if there were more members of his family that would be hostile toward my boys?

My boys? When did that thought slip in, and why did it feel so right?

“Hello?” I answered, desperately trying not to think about all the things clouding my head.

Juan’s voice was crisp as he answered. “I just wanted to thank you for leaving. Mamá was worried about you.”

I glanced over at my mom, seeing her tired eyes, and felt my heart soften. “Just mom?”

My brother paused, then chuckled. “Not just mom. I was worried, too. I’ve been worried about you for half my life, Sis. I hate myself for being so cruel to you and not trying to fix it. Back then…”

I didn’t want this apology over a phone call, but I didn’t want him to stop talking.

“It was a stressful time, which caused my priorities not to align perfectly. I wasn’t thinking what my silence would do to you. By the time things settled, you were gone.”

How did I articulate why I had to go and how deep his rejection had gone? There wasn’t a way to explain it, so I remained silent.

“Anyway, I just…I wanted you to know that I will do everything possible to keep Archer safe and get him back to you. He told me he plans to marry you and knock you up, so—” he laughed, but suddenly I sat up straight, my eyes wide and my heart in my throat.

Oh my god.

“Wren?” I heard him, but my mind was pulling out dates and plugging in numbers.

Shit, what day was it? When was the last time I took my birth control?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I had a plan. I wanted to get an IUD for when Archer and I started having sex, but I ran out of my pills, and since my appointment was set up for next week, I figured it would be okay if I held off. Mostly because Archer kept pushing sex off the table every single time we did anything. I assumed he’d continue doing that for at least a week longer.

How could I be this careless? Archer had finished in me last night, twice.

Shit.

I put the phone back to my ear. “Sorry, dropped the phone.”

“No shit. Look…when you get to my house, you should know a few things.”

“You have even more kids who wield knives and want to murder me?”

Juan didn’t laugh, and my mother sighed in disapproval, making me feel guilty for joking about it. I had no idea how hard it must be for him to have his sons act like that.

“Sorry—”

“Actually, yes…it’s not your typical family scene. We did our best to raise them, but with Taylor’s family ties and Ky …never mind, you’ll meet him eventually, but our kids were raised differently. Taylor and my daughter, Alex will make sure you andthe kids are okay. You can trust them; just don’t be alarmed by what you see.”

I had no idea what that meant and how he knew I had two kids with me. Peeking over my shoulder, I saw that both boys were munching on snacks while watching a movie from the headrest, a pair of headphones over each little head—one dark, one light. I returned forward, feeling a strange fire burn in my lungs as I gripped the phone.

“I heard you adopted Taylor’s daughter when you married her. Surely you can appreciate that I will fight as hard for Kane as I would for Cruz. They’re mine, with or without Archer, they’re mine. If anything happens?—”

“Nothing will happen, Renny. I promise you. I’ll guard them with my life as I would guard you.”

“Even if—” I couldn’t say it. What if his sons murdered Kane’s brother? What if they wanted to come back and finish off Kane so he wouldn’t grow up wanting revenge?

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