Page 55 of Quadruplets for the Vipers

Finally finding their balls, a couple of the guys jeer at us as we go. Axel moves to grab hold of my other arm and steer me outside. They practically carry me as I try to get away and beat up every last fucker in here.

“Hey, where do I recognize that chick from?” Jace says, pointing out a woman who’s just getting off her bike.

I take a closer look. Damn. “It’s the nurse who performed the ultrasound on Leah, the one who told us about the miscarriage.”

She’s almost unrecognizable out of her uniform now that her tattoos are on display. She’s squeezed herself into a pair of cutoff denim shorts and a corset. Proudly draped over her is a leather Hellhounds jacket two sizes too big for her. Her greasy blonde hair has been straightened within an inch of its life and her eyes heavily circled with kohl.

“What the fuck is she doing here?” Jace says.

“That’s exactly what I’d like to know,” Axel mutters, striding toward her.

It can’t be a coincidence that the nurse who was involved in Leah’s prenatal treatment just happens to be coming to a club owned by the Hellhounds. She has to be involved in this.

Her eyes widen with alarm as we approach.

“Good, you recognize us. That will make this go a lot quicker.” I grab her roughly by the arm, clamping my hand around her mouth so she can’t scream and steering her around the corner and down a dark alley. She struggles, but she’s no match for me. When we’re out of sight of the club, I let her go. “Scream and you won’t like how I shut you up.”

The others look at me judgmentally but they don’t say anything. They want answers as much as I do.

“We’re not gonna hurt you, we just want to know why are you here,” Axel asks, taking over. He speaks gently, the good cop to my bad.

Relaxing slightly, she opts for defensiveness. “Can’t a woman enjoy a drink after work?” she huffs, folding her plump arms across her chest.

“Yes, but it’s not all that common for nurses to hang around MC clubhouses, especially not one as shady as the Hellhounds.”

She looks as if she’s about to deny it before it must occur to her that there’s a fucking Hellhound insignia on her jacket with non-other than Lucifer’s name above it.

“You’re Lucifer’s old lady,” I point out.

“Yes,” she admits.

I grab her roughly again, dragging her further down the alley to where our bikes are parked, ready for a quick getaway should things get hairy. “You’re coming with us.”

“Wait, what, no!” she says panicked as she struggles against my grip.

“Knox,” Axel growls, “Let her go.”

I stop, yet don’t remove my hand from her.

“We’re not taking you anywhere, Miss. We just need to ask you some questions.”

“Like fuck we aren’t! You think the Hellhounds have taken Leah, I say we take Lucifer’s old lady. Like for like, a bitch for a bitch. Or better yet, they killed our Prez and his old lady, why shouldn’t we kill theirs?”

Her eyes widen with terror as she struggles fruitlessly. “Please, please don’t kill me, I’ll tell you anything! I promise I didn’t want to lie about the babies, but they made me!”

That gets all of our attention. “What lie?”

“They said if I told you that the babies had died, then it would keep us all safe, that you wouldn’t come after her.”

Time seems to stand still as her words sink in. “You mean… the baby is still alive? Leah didn’t have a miscarriage.”

The woman shakes her head vigorously, eager to save her skin by telling all. “No. All four babies are alive and well.”

“I’m sorry… did you sayfour babies?”

We all look at her, slack-jawed and dumbfounded, struggling to process what she just said. Not only is Leah still pregnant with Levi’s kid, but she’s having quadruplets.

“How is this possible? Why didn’t anyone tell us before? Does Leah know?” The questions tumble from my lips.

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