Page 24 of Veiled Vengeance

“There’s more?” Hayes rapidly blinks.

Dahlia clears her throat. “Anthony, Spencer’s ex, was able to keep me in line because he has my son.”

Hayes’s mouth falls open. “What?”

Tears finally fall from Dahlia’s eyes. “He has my son.”

Hayes grasps both of her hands in his. “You have a son?”

She nods again.

“We’ll get him back.” Hayes turns to Asher, Rio, and Zane. “We can get him back, right?”

“Of course,” I answer. “We’ll find him.” I look to my men. Their doubtful gazes make my heart sink.

“We’ll try,” Rio promises.

Dahlia finally falls into a fit of hysterics. Her knees give out, but Hayes is there to catch her. As she sobs, she repeats over and over, “Thank you.”

I can’t imagine the weight she carries day to day, worrying about her son—not knowing if he’s okay. No mother should have to go through that. That maternal instinct shouldn’t be held over their head to control them.

Anthony’s days of controlling Dahlia are over. I won’t let him continue to hurt those I love.

It’s time he meets the devil he helped create.

CHAPTER 11

ASHER

After Spencer’s declaration that we would save Dahlia’s son, we ate Sal’s pizza and sent Hayes and Dahlia to sleep in the guest room with enough pillows and blankets for an army. The now-destroyed guest bed probably would’ve been better on my back last week, but I couldn’t ignore the overwhelming urge to stay between Spencer and any threats that may come through her front door.

Rio and Zane are down at the car, grabbing our bags. They were thoughtful enough to pack for us before they rescued us.

Thank God, because I would have hated to wear these stiff scrubs for another day.

With her ass in the air, Spencer finishes fluffing the pillows she laid out on her bedroom floor, forming a massive bed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was having sleepovers every weekend.

Spencer catches me staring and smiles sheepishly back at me. “I don’t know where exactly y’all want to sleep, but I figured we could . . .”

I saunter over to her. “As long as I’m next to you, I have no complaints.” I help her to her feet, wrap my free arm aroundher, and pull her close. She gasps when she feels how hard I am against her lower stomach.

She blushes and pushes closer to me. “Being with you should be the last thing on my mind after everything we went through.” Her voice is breathy.

“There’s no right or wrong time to be with someone you care about.”

She gives me a sassy smirk. “What makes you think I care?”

Tracing my hand down her back, I grasp her ass. Hard. “I know you do.”

Spencer squirms and raises up on her toes, nipping at my jaw. She’s lost in the moment, in the feel of our bodies together. A spark of awareness flashes in her eyes as she groans in frustration and attempts to pull away. “Maybe when our friends aren’t in the next room.”

Leaning down, I nibble at her ear. “Then you need to quit rubbing that needy pussy all over my cock.” She probably doesn’t realize it, but she keeps moving her sex up and down my erect dick, making me impossibly hard in my pants.

Her moan is low. “Shit.”

Ripping off the cockblock of a sling, I throw it aside and ignore the pull of my stitches. The ache of my wound screams, but I shove it aside. I need both hands to take what I’ve been craving.

Alarm mars her features. “Asher! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

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