Page 66 of Savage Reign

Silas scoffed. “The fucker skimped you on their worth. Yeah, we got them back for the exact price he paid you.”

I nodded. The words I wanted to say stayed lodged in my throat. It might be the pregnancy affecting me.

I looked down, avoiding their gaze as I put the earrings on. Taking a deep breath, I finally looked up and took them in, from Maverick's intense expression to Silas’ possessive one and finally to Killian’s serious one.

I smiled, and it felt like the entire car had taken one huge exhale after holding its breath for so long.

I leaned back against the seat as Silas wrapped his arms around me. We made the rest of the ride in a comfortable silence.

I shouldn’t have been so comfortable with the brothers. But something had changed between us since I ran. I had thought they would force me back to their place as soon as they found me. I had thought if I gave them enough time, enough incentive, they would give me a reason to hate them.

But that wasn’t the case.

Our dynamic was different, and for the first time all night, I was sorely tempted to tell them about the pregnancy.

It had been their fucking goal since the beginning. I knew that now. So they couldn’t be angry over the fact that it was the result.

I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come.

I could feel Silas’ eyes on me, and I looked up to find a thoughtful expression on his face. He moved his hand down from my shoulder and over my stomach, keeping it there. I didn’t think he realized what he was doing, but there was something comforting about it all the same.

I closed my mouth and leaned further into him.

I didn’t have to tell them now. And I didn’t have to worry about it so much, so I decided not to.

I took in a deep breath, determined to just enjoy the ride.

17

MILA

It wasn’tlong before we finally arrived at the fancy restaurant located in the heart of downtown Chicago.

Despite it being a weekday and not even seven o’clock in the evening, the street was bustling with life and activity.

Marcus—the driver and bodyguard, whose name I was able to recall—pulled to a stop, and Maverick opened the door, getting out first. I watched as he stood in front, taking in his surroundings before he leaned back down and reached in for me.

I let him pull me out until I was standing in front of him. I tilted my head back to take him in. There was something about the look of him that had my heart racing.

He pressed his thumb down on my lips, and before I knew what was happening, he pressed a hard kiss on me.

I melted.

That was the only way to describe it. I simply melted into him until nothing and no one existed for me at that moment.

And then a voice cleared from somewhere in the distance, penetrating through my brief little shield from reality, and I pulled away.

Maverick glared at the man standing by the front door of the restaurant, causing the smaller man to stumble back a step before he could right himself.

He wrung his hands together nervously, his face blanching as Silas and Killian came out of the car as well. The three of them, standing close together, made quite a formidable image. I felt small being surrounded by them—small and safe.

It was that feeling of safety that I clung to the most.

I looked up behind the man, who was still nervously playing with his hands, at theElysiumsign above the restaurant.

I blinked.

Maverick spoke to the man, though I wasn’t really paying attention.

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