Page 66 of Royal

“I will kill them all, I don’t give a fuck if they’re women or not. The second they touched her, their lives were over.” I kiss her forehead, smoothing her hair away from her face, blood clinging to the strands.

River runs out of the clubhouse, and so does all of the women, besides Daniella because she has all the kids.

I open the door and step out with Naomi. All of the women gasp, horrified at the sight of her face. “I think most of it isn’t her blood,” I tell them.

They relax but follow me close on my heels to Knight’s room in the clubhouse. It’s set up from a small setup to a proper surgery.

I lay her down on the bed. “Want me to clean her up?” Meghan asks me and I shake my head. I know these women, but no one touches her right now, I don’t think I could handle it.

River touches Meghan's shoulder. “We understand, and we will get everything you need. I will tell Knight you’re here.”

I kiss Naomi’s hand over her engagement ring. It saved her life, and I’m glad my brothers talked me into adding a tracking chip inside it. If we were a minute longer than we were, then her whole life would be so different.

Fuck. I close my eyes. Thinking about that shit hurts me. I know it didn’t happen, but the thought of it…

I love being a dad more than anything. It scares me that someone could hurt my kids one day.

Penny’s mom raped me, but my little girl will never find out the fact that she was conceived that way. As a man, I laughed it off at first, but it didn’t change the fact that I felt so fucking disgusting. I couldn’t remember shit, but my body knew it was violated.

I wanted to forget the fact that she was alive, but I couldn’t because she was pregnant. And the chance of the baby being mine was something I couldn’t ignore.

It was hell, those months waiting for her to give birth to Penny, with her threatening to terminate the pregnancy to get me to do what she wanted.

Years later, she is still causing problems, but after today, even if I have to do it with my own hands, I will end her.

Chapter 15

Naomi

I’m unsure how long I was asleep when I wake up, lying in Knight’s clinic at the clubhouse with someone cleaning me up.

I slowly open my eyes. I’m naked, and Royal is standing at my side with a washcloth in his hand.

He sees me looking at him. “Hey, baby,” he says softly, running the washcloth along my face and cleaning all of the blood away.

“How long was I asleep?” Cringing at the way my head and face feel, the pain becomes more noticeable.

“Not too long. I need to clean you and make sure you’re not hurting somewhere under all the blood.”

“I can go shower,” I offer, and he tightens his hand on mine.

“Okay, but let me take care of you, okay? I need this.” He is being so sweet.

I agree, “Okay, my love.”

He lifts me, cradling me like I’m the most precious thing. I know he was hurting and scared when I was taken.

If the roles were reversed, I know I would be fucked up and probably acting ten times worse than he is.

So, I let him have this. If I have to stay glued to his side for the rest of my life and it makes him feel better, I will do it. He turns on the water, before setting me on the counter and removing all of his clothes, never taking his eyes off me once. It’s like he is scared that I’m just going to disappear.

He lifts me again and straight into the warm spray, easing my sore muscles. He rests his face against mine, letting the water run down my back and hair.

“Cry, baby, I know you’ve fought it.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I confess, my body ready to give in to his demands. He tilts my head up so I’m looking at him.

“Darlin’, it hurts me more when you hide what you’re feeling.”

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