Page 106 of Salvation

The words hit like a slap, but I didn’t flinch. Not in front of her.

“Anything else?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral and my face blank.

Her eyes flickered with surprise. “He’s the daddy, just in case that wasn’t perfectly obvious.”

“It was obvious,” I smirked. “And I’ll pass the message on if he doesn’t come back before you leave.”

“You’re not going to ask me to leave?”

“Are you going to cause any trouble?” I asked.

“I—No.”

“Then you’re welcome to stay. Now, who else wants a drink?” I raised my voice to the rest of the bar. Shark gave me a sympathetic smirk and a small thumbs up.

You can keep that fucking thumbs up to yourself, pal.

Over my dead body was that bitch having my children’s half sibling. It would be a cold day in fucking hell before I subjected them to a lifetime of that hell.

But for now, I would pour the drinks, and I’d do it with a fucking smile on my face.

Chapter 45

Rachel

Half an hour later, Vicky still hadn’t got the message that none of us were interested in talking to her.

She kept trying to get attention by mentioning how sick she was feeling, or how her hair hadneverbeen healthier.

I kept reminding myself that she was young. And stupid. A lethal combination. But it at least gave me something to focus on, preventing me from gouging her eyes out and nailing her to the bar by her empty eye sockets.

Luckily, I was saved from having to show any form of restraint, as Heather returned home with both children, giving me the perfect excuse to leave the bar.

“It’s no problem!” Vicky grinned at me when I said I had to go. “Hey, maybe I should come with you? After all, we’re going to be one big, happy family soon enough.”

“Come on,” Shark said, clamping an arm around my shoulder, fingers digging in hard enough to ground me.

I concentrated on the pain, rather than the need to rip Vicky’s eyes out and use them as love eggs on Dante. And then nail her to the bar. “I’m sure the kids will be dying to see you.”

“Rain check,” I said with a tight smile. “Shark’s right. The kids are—”

“Oh, I get it. I heard what happened. How lucky for you, though, that you managed to avoid some serious jail time.”

Shark spun me around and hissed down my ear. “Her dad is the chief of police. React to her, and there’s no getting out of it.”

“Why the fuck was Dante messing around with the chief’s daughter?”

“Intel. And it’s Dante. He likes living dangerously.”

“He likes being a fucking moron. Hi, Heather,” I smiled as she rounded the corner, a happy Axel on her hip. “Where’s Bee?”

“I…” her eyes flicked to the stairs. “She ran upstairs the minute we got here. She was moody in the car as well. I think she’s had a bad day.”

“I’ll go talk to her,” I replied, feeling my heart jump into my throat. “Would you mind watching Axel for a little longer, please?”

“I’ll take him,” Shark offered. “You get off, Heather. Have an early one.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, although there wasn’t much point since Shark was already pulling my son from her arms. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she laughed. I quickly kissed Axel on the cheek and then jogged up the stairs.

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