Page 14 of Quadruplets for the Vipers

“No. Zeus ordered us to protect you. Right now, that means we sit here and wait for the others to update us.”

“Do you think they’re okay?” I ask, my voice small.

“Zeus has survived worse,” Axel offers, a speck of hope that I cling to like a life raft.

“Maybe they managed to get away,” I add.

Axel doesn’t reply, and we fall into an uneasy silence. Unconsciously, my hand moves to my stomach as I worry about the fate of the baby inside me. Before they’ve even been born, they have already lost both parents.

Surely fate can’t be cruel enough to take away their grandparents, too?

Chapter 8

Knox

We’re too late.

The Hellhounds are long gone by the time we arrive, taking our guys’ bikes with them. It’s the ultimate fuck you, to kill a man and take his prized possession.

The bodies of my friends—my family—have been discarded on the side of the road like trash. A choked, strangled sound escapes my lips as I see Zeus and Donna. I run over to them and drop to my knees. It’s clear that Zeus is dead, his body is riddled with bullets, his eyes wide and unseeing. Donna is underneath him, I don’t doubt that Zeus died trying to protect her, using his body as a shield.

Donna’s eyes are closed, and I can see that she’s been hit somewhere near her neck. I take her wrist in mine, feeling for a pulse; it’s faint but there. My heart swells with hope as I call 911.

I pull Zeus’ dead weight off of her, laying him down carefully as I free Donna’s limp, unconscious body, trying not to dwell on how much blood there is.

“It’s okay, Donna,” help is coming, “You’re gonna be okay,” I say, attempting to reassure myself as much as her.

I carefully check her body for wounds, trying to assess the extent of the damage. My time in the army tells me it’s bad. That she’s already lost too much blood. I’m vaguely aware of Jace pulling up and assessing the damage, but my focus is on Donna.

“You can’t die, I won’t let you,” I mutter.

I begin chest compressions, willing her to stay alive. I keep going, even when her heart stops beating and the faint, fluttering pulse is gone.

“Knox… she’s gone… we gotta go, the cops are coming,” Jace says gently, bringing me back to the world.

It’s only then that I hear the sirens. I notice my face is wet with tears. Only then do I realize that he’s right. Donna’s dead.

I numbly follow his lead, allowing him to pull me away from the man and woman I view as parents. The people who raised me when mine were incapable. If the cops find us here, there will be questions. We shouldn’t be here. We need to protect the club and retaliate, something we can’t do if we’re stuck in interviews. The police will come, there’s no doubt about it, but this buys us time and, more importantly, deniability.

***

We don’t bother to speak to Sal, who’s busy working when we arrive, heading straight for the office. Rider is standing in one corner, his eyes on the door, poised and ready for danger as usual. Leah sits on a threadbare chair, wringing her hands nervously while Axel prowls back and forth. Axel pauses his pacing as we enter, their eyes all fixed on us.

Relief and concern mingle in their expressions as they ask us silently what no one dares say aloud. The words get caught in my throat.

“They’re all dead,” Jace says.

His blunt, emotionless words make it real.

Axel and Rider take the news stoically. Neither seems surprised. Leah’s eyes open wide in shock, and her hands fly up to her face as she lets out a choked gasp.

“Why the fuck did you leave them to fend for themselves?” I demand, squaring up to Axel.

He stares back at me defiantly. “Zeus ordered us to get Leah out of there safely. We were outnumbered, if we’d stayed…”

He doesn’t need to finish his sentence. We both know they could likely have ended up on the side of the road with the rest of our friends. But grief has made me angry. I need someone to blame.

“You’re two of our best fighters. You could have saved them,” I insist. “The brothers I fought with would never have abandoned another soldier.”

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