Page 51 of The Devil's Redemption

That’s when it hits me.

She’s already fucked Blade. Long before I was ever in the picture.

God, I hope it was long before.

I take a deep breath, and Blade looks down at me, assessing whether I’m okay or not. I swear to God, if he tries to make a big deal about my current physical state or references the fact that I’m weak in front of this bitch, I’m walking home.

Flashing him a look of warning, he seems to get my message loud and clear.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone else.”

No, thank you.

Blade leads me closer to the garage, and closer to the rest of theDoxies.

“Ladies, how are you?” he greets them, too friendly in my opinion.

Most of them have the same look of ridiculous superiority on their faces as Lizzy did. All but one of them look at Blade like he’s a snack to be devoured.

He’s not just a snack. He’s the whole fucking meal, ladies.

“This is Sasha—”

“His ol’ lady,” Lizzy interrupts before he can finish speaking.

I don’t appreciate the look of shock, but their reactions help me to realize that Blade has never been serious about anyone before me. He told me as much before, but I didn’t realize how true that was until this moment. My anger subsides a minuscule amount. It’s really not Blade I’m angry with. I’m angry with the idea of these girls hanging around, waiting for the chance to jump the bones of any member of the Skull that they desire.

“Yes, my ol’ lady,” he admits with pride as he takes my hand in his.

“Oh, Sasha…” the one who didn’t look like she wanted to eat him alive speaks up.

The skin between her brows furrows as she regards me carefully.

“Drama mentioned a little about what happened to you. I’m so sorry. I’m glad to see you’re looking well.”

I’m hoping my shock isn’t as transparent on my face as it feels, but after our brief run in with Lizzy, I never expected that any of them would have compassion for another woman.

“Thank you,” I nod.

“I’m Mariah,” she adds. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you as well.” Surprisingly, I actually mean what I say. I don’t know what it is, but I can tell that Mariah is different from these other girls.

“And this is Kayla and Gretchen. Excuse us, girls. I’m going to show Sasha around a bit before we go home.” Taking my hand in his, he presses a kiss to the back of it.

I like the way he worded that. He didn’t need to add the “before we go home,” but doing so gave the girls further knowledge that he and I belong to one another.

To back off and retract their claws.

Blade walks me into one of the garage bays, and I see Pretty Boy and Cap working on one of the cars together. Cap is under the car and Pretty Boy is fixing something under the hood. I was wondering where Cap went after theerrandthey had to run earlier. Kid is off on the side pretending to busy himself with the tools in the toolbox.

“Do all you guys work here?” I inquire.

“No. Drama and SoCo have an HVAC business. But Pretty Boy, Kid, and Cap do. Hawk fills in from time to time if needed.”

“We’ll need him soon, unless you never plan on coming back to work?” Pretty Boy jokes as he rolls out from underneath the car.

With a goofy grin on his face, he winks at us. “Just joking. We’ve got everything under control.”

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