Page 26 of Thorned Vengeance

“Woman, I’ll question any stranger in our hotel room,” Soul grumbles.

Cece gives him another quick peck on the lips. “Fine, but don’t be such a dick about it. It’s not like you didn’t see Thorn standing right there.”

Everyone in the room watches Soul and Cece, and no one is paying attention to Harper. But the child clearly doesn’t like that because she promptly lets out an ear-piercing scream.

Soul gently places Cece back on her feet and stomps toward Thorn. “Give me my daughter, asshole.”

Thorn hands her over, but she wiggles and squirms uncomfortably. I must be overwhelmed with everything that’s happening because, once again, I’m unaware of my surroundings. A behemoth of a man marches forward, closing in on me. I step back and awkwardly place myself halfway behind Thorn.

Behemoth’s patch says Grim. I can see how he got his name… He’s huge, and the permanent scowl on his face would have Death himself turning tail and running.

When Grim steps forward, Soul twists out of his reach and shakes his head. Grim chuckles as Harper reaches for him.

“You can’t keep taking my daughter, fucker,” Soul says with a scowl.

Grim’s hands move with fluidity, and Thorn translates. “She obviously wants me more. Hand her over.” Thorn glances over his shoulder at me. “Grim’s deaf.”

I know a little ASL but not enough to have a full-blown conversation with someone.

Cece saunters between the both of them. “Babe, I think you have other things to deal with right now.” She nods in my direction.

While Soul is distracted, Grim uses the opportunity to snatch Harper from his arms. She immediately settles which pisses Soul off even more.

“Go find Violet and make your own fucking kid,” he scoffs.

Grim laughs, carries Harper over to the couch, and sits down. Everyone watches with fascination as she falls asleep within minutes.

“And this is why we call him the Baby Whisperer”, Cece whispers to me as she walks over to Grim and signs something to him.

He nods and follows her and Soul to one of the bedrooms. Both men return a few minutes later.

Thorn takes my elbow and gently leads me to the sofa. “Sit before you fall over,” he commands.

I hate taking orders from people, but in this instance, I do what I’m told because my adrenaline is crashing. One of the prospects hands me a can of Coke which I open and take a big gulp. I need the caffeine to get me through whatever the hell this is. My brain isn’t firing on all cylinders, and hopefully, this will help.

“Thorn, start talking,” Soul demands.

“This is Delaney,” Thorn starts and then explains what happened in the parking lot. Soul listens carefully, never interrupting. His forehead creases, and I can see the tension in his face.

Grim smirks as he signs, but it’s Soul who speaks. “Fifty bucks, asshole.”

What the hell? Fifty bucks for what? For me? Oh, hell no!

“What the fuck?”

“What the fuck?”

Thorn and I both yell simultaneously.

“If you wake up Harper, I’ll gut you both,” Soul whisper yells as he looks toward the closed bedroom door.

“I’m not a fucking whore or for sale,” I grit through my teeth and hop to my feet. Grim’s smirk falls, and he jerks back as if I slapped him across the face. Thorn grabs my arm, but I yank out of his hold. “Don’t touch me, or I’ll scream this place down after I kick your sorry ass.”

“Whoa.” Thorn holds his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. That’s not what fifty bucks meant, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your sweetheart.”

Grim approaches slowly and hands me a cell phone. I glance at the screen and read the words he typed.

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