Page 96 of Petty's Crime

“You came!” She throws herself into my arms, backing off immediately at my muffled exclamation.

“Get her out of here,” Hammer growls.

Without having to be told twice, I pull her away, keeping again to the side of the building. It was just in time as an angry shout quickly sounds.

“Where the fuck are you, bitch?” That’s followed by a loud oomph and the sound of a gun hitting the ground.

Stopping our progress, I turn to see a man, uncannily resembling RoseLyn, struggling in the clutches of Hammer and Sarge. As I watch, they’ve quickly got him restrained and his hands zip-tied behind him.

As they march him around to where Crash will be waiting, I hold RoseLyn back.

“That was no happy family reunion, I take it?” I doubt it from what I heard, but I need to check.

Her eyes widen. “You know he’s told me he’s my brother?”

I shrug. “We found out a lot of things as we pulled out all the stops to find you.”

Her eyebrows reach her hairline. “Why? I never expected… We didn’t leave on good terms…”

“Devils never leave anyone behind, darlin’. Or leave a job undone. You might have walked out on us, but we were still there for you.”

“I don’t understand why.”

My eyes shutter. Was RoseLyn really sitting in that room with no fucking thought of rescue? Did she really believe we’d abandon her? The thought tugs at my heart.

I turn her to face me, hoping she reads the intensity in my eyes. “You’re important to us.” When doubt shows, I clarify, “To me.” I raise my hand and brush hair from her face. “I think Red saw it before I even came to my senses. I want you in my life, RoseLyn. I want you as my old lady and that makes you club.”

It’s impossible to read whether she reciprocates my feelings or not, but her next words give me some hope.

“What about Britney?”

Ah. The elephant in the room. “We’ll divorce. She won’t be able to refuse this time.”

“What, what if she’s pregnant?”

“Babe, we’ll face that when and if it happens. If you want to be with me, that’s not going to keep us apart.”

She looks almost eager as she makes a suggestion. “A blood test reveals results the quickest and might be easier than forcing her to pee on a stick.”

Now those words must be a positive sign, unless I’m grasping at straws. I let my excitement show in my eyes. “We have a doc on speed dial.”

RoseLyn places her hand on my arm. “It was just once, Petty. Chances are there’s nothing to worry about. And,” she glances up, making sure I’m looking at her when she adds, “for the record, I like you too. I’d like to hear more about being your old lady.”

I could no more stop my lips reaching down to hers than I could prevent myself taking my next breath. It’s only when she gasps and not in a good way, that I reel back and take a good look at her face.

“He hit you?”

Ruefully she touches her swollen mouth. “Yeah. That’s brotherly love for you.”

Brotherly fucking love.

I want to know all that’s gone on in that hotel room. Does Thorne care for her at all? His voice, his actions, the way he was all but frothing at the mouth when my brothers restrained him, not forgetting he hit her suggests to me that he doesn’t care anything for her at all.

But he’s her blood, her twin. While I’d put a bullet in his head for putting his hands on her, their relationship complicates things.

Her reaction to Saul’s execution makes me more cautious than I’d otherwise be. She’s got to have some say in the outcome.

“What do you want us to do with him?” I ask.

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