Page 21 of Sniper

I won’t lose her or Autumn. I just can’t.

6

Aurora – Two Weeks Later

I giggle, running after Autumn, who refuses to get dressed, into the small living room.

“Get your cute little butt back here, sweetheart,” I say as I slip on the old hardwood floor.

She laughs hard, her naked butt wiggling as she rounds the coffee table Theo bought last week.

The man won’t stop buying me things. I’ve told him I don’t need anything and want to try to do it myself, but he won’t listen.

He bought a new pull-out couch yesterday while I was at work, too. It was then that I regretted giving him my spare key, which was a big move for me.

I know I sound ungrateful, but I don’t want to rely on him; I can’t. It’s bad enough he’s made me fall for him.

How he treats Autumn, and looks at me, makes me feel all sorts of feelings for him. I’ve fallen, and I’ve fallen hard.

I just hope I’m not making a mistake, especially knowing he has friends within the brotherhood. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard nothing but great things about the Devil’s MC, especially from Autumn’s babysitter who lives upstairs, but she’s a clear patch chaser, and I can’t really trust what she says about them; her credentials are good in childcare, and she is cheap, but when you boast about a club so much and get dreamy-eyed, you know she wants that patch.

I know the town has also claimed they are good men, but I thought the same about the Huntsman, who I grew up around, and well, look what happened….

Autumn giggles as I crawl around the table, trying to get to her, knowing Theo will be here any minute to take us out. The front door opens, and I freeze, knowing I’m busted, my head slowly looking up toward the door.

Theo crosses his arms over his muscular chest, his black, V-neck t-shirt pulling across it, and raises a brow at me.

“It’s not what it looks like,” I blurt, exasperated.

He nods, smirking. “Uh huh, because, to me, it looks like she’s running circles around you.”

He grins as Autumn squeals at the sight of him, running her naked butt toward him, making him laugh and catch her, picking her up. He throws her in the air, making her giggle, before hugging her tightly.

I huff, blowing my hair out of my face, and sit on my heels, stating, “Okay, it’s exactly what it looks like.”

The feeling hits me again, a feeling Emily has been trying to help me overcome.

You’re a bad mother; you should have given her up months ago, a voice whispers in the back of my head, and my tears build again. You can’t even get her dressed in time, it continues.

It always sounds like him every time.

Theo chuckles, and I look his way to see him kissing Autumn’s cheeks, and then her forehead, chin, and neck. This makes her laugh, and my heart melts, the voice disappearing.

This is what Theo does to me, he erases my past.

“It’s understandable she’s running rings around you….” I suck in a breath at his words, before giggling when he states, “She’s adorable and is going to rule the world…aren’t you, my Princess?”

Autumn nods, and I grin. “Looks like she’s going to run rings around you, too….”

He hums, agreeing, "That, my Firecracker, is true, and when she’s a teenager, I’m going to have to put a tracker on her.”

I laugh, but my stomach tightens with his words.

He’s looking at being here, with us…when she’s a teenager….

His gaze lands on me before they widen, confusing me until he growls, “Fuck, Rory…. I’ve not seen you with your hair down before, it…fuck me….”

I feel my cheeks go hot as his eyes take in my long, curly, red hair, and I'm happy I hadn’t had a chance to put it up, seeing his reaction. I’ve not left it down since I was taken. He would always use it as a way to control me, control my body to his will.

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