Page 66 of Hell Bent

“You ended up kidnapped, raped, and tortured because of me.”

Sway hated blaming anything on her brother, but Tesh brought all of it to her door. God rest his soul, but if he’d gone to the clubhouse that night, none of this would be happening.

If he wouldn’t have gone to confront Jerome and Dawson about extorting money from the auto repair shop and all the other businesses, Tesh would be alive and Clay would have never come to the shop that night. She would have never attacked Jerome and met Vicious. Dawson would have never looked at her as a means to get what he wanted. So, yes, most of what happened was Tesh’s fault. She knew all of it because Clay had told her as much.

“Tesh put me in the middle. The blame lies with him.”

“Don’t put it all on your brother.”

“He added to it.”

“The dead can’t defend themselves, so it’s not fair to blame them.”

“Let’s agree to disagree on the subject.”

“We’ll discuss it later.” Vicious moved closer to her and gently wrapped his arms around her waist, testing the waters to see her reaction.

“You can touch me, Vicious. I’m not broken. Just a little damaged is all.”

Tilting his head down, he watched Sway lift her face toward him. When his lips touched hers, he was relieved for the first time since she had been snatched from her apartment. “Take me home, woman.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Keeping her arm wrapped around his waist, she picked up his duffle bag with her free hand and led him out the room. She was sure there would be times when both she and Vicious struggled with what happened, but they’d get through it together. They’d tough it out together.

“Hey, what would you think about moving into the boathouse with me? You could rent out the apartment.”

Sway stopped walking. “You want me to live with you?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Dropping the bag, Sway put both arms around his waist and kissed him hard. “I’d love to live with you.” Staring into his eyes, she saw something in them that was different.The haunted look was still there, but something else lived there too.

“I love you, Sway.” Those words had her heart stumbling over itself. She never expected them from Vicious.

“I love you, Vicious.”

“That’s my girl. Now, let’s get the fuck out of here.” As they walked through the clubhouse, she kept her smile tucked away so she wouldn’t laugh at her happiness. The brothers would start asking questions, and they’d never get home.

Everyone had a comment to make as they headed to the front door.

“Thanks for taking him off our hands.”

“Good luck, Sway. He’s a horrible patient.”

“Sweet Jesus, is he finally leaving?”

“Sway, make him your bitch.”

A tall, lean guy cut them off before they could get the front door open. “I’m your chauffeur today.”

“Are you now?” Vicious asked.

A firm hand on his shoulder had him looking back at Teller. “If you prefer someone else to drive you two home, I could ask Player and Joker. I’m sure they’d love to babysit you both.”

Sway cut in, putting her two cents in. “Nope. This lovely young man can drive us.”

“This is Tank, Sway. He’s a prospect for the chapter,”Vicious explained. “Teller, keep Player and Joker here, please.”

“I think there’s a party tonight to celebrate you two getting sprung,” Teller told Vicious, chuckling at how the entire chapter was ready for him to go home. The brother sucked at being a patient, but Teller couldn’t blame the man—they’d kept him from his woman for a month while taking care of business. “Tank, get these two home and get back here ASAP.” Teller slapped him on the back as he walked away.

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