Page 132 of Ruthless Reign

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” I said with a ball in my throat.

His brows drew together.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say it before,” I added. “That I didn’t really say anything, actually. I was—you just surprised me and?—”

“Vixen, what?—”

“I love you, too, Kaleb.”

His face softened, surprise clear in his eyes.

I brushed the hair from his forehead.

“You’re not just saying that because I’m amazing in bed, right?”

I snorted, shaking my head. “No. I’m not just saying that because you’re amazing in bed.”

He nodded to himself, pursing his lips, soaking it in.

Even though they were brothers, it was incredible how different they were.

How I knew telling Hardin that he owned part of my heart was what he needed.

And how Kaleb actually needed to hear the words. I was willing to bet he’d never said them to anyone else, save for maybe his mother, and I was fucking honored to be worthy of his love.

“Thank you,” he kissed my nose, and I made a face before shoving him off me.

I cleared my throat, wobbling on my feet as I attempted to stand and found my knees were all but completely useless. Kaleb clenched his jaw to keep from laughing at the state of me. The bastard.

“It’s time for you to make good on our deal. Go clean yourself up and get some rest. I’ll keep first watch.”

“Fuck that,” Hardin said, coming back into the room with Aodhán. “I’ve got first watch. All of you go to fucking sleep. We’re going to need it.”

“How long has it been since you sent word to Séamas?”

Damien paused his coordination of the Saints in the Kilborn gymnasium. They were setting up barricades and walls. Stacking desks from the classrooms and tires from the autolab to create makeshift hides. It was starting to look like some kind of indoor paintball park waiting for a bunch of birthday kids to show up and paint the room in shades of blue and pink and green.

But the only color that would be painting these walls when the day was done would be red. And those guns were real. The ammo crates filled with bullets that dealt death instead of a little sting that would heal.

Damien looked at his watch. “Over an hour now.”

I bit my lip, thinking how it’d now been several since Ava Jade said she was on her way. They should’ve been here by now.

Unless they were stopped.

Or worse.

Either way, it didn’t look like they were going to make it.

An hour since Damien got word to Séamas…

If Aodhán was right, his dad wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to go toe to toe with the Saints and ultimately take out its leader.

But Aodhán said if his dad won he wouldn’t stop there. He’d want to make an example of us. He might leave one person alive. Just one to tell the tale of what happened here. The rest, he’d kill.

So we had to win. There was no other option.

With or without help from Diesel and his men from Thorn Valley.

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