Page 111 of Ruthless Beasts

"Where she at now?" I asked, and it was in that moment he realized she was gone, and he had slept through the whole fucking thing.

He sat up, his eyes popping open in a panic, the blue so much more intense under the weight of the pain meds. "Where's Belle?"

"In bed, waiting for your lazy ass," Ace offered. He thrummed his fingers over the edge of the tub and stood up. "Need help standing?"

Mercer placed his palm on each side of the tub. "I've got it. I'm not fucking wasted; I was just tired is all."

Ace and I met each other's eyes knowingly, but backed up. "Alright then, get your ass out of the empty tub. I'd like to shower and get to bed, too."

Mercer's brows furrowed. "Where did the water go?"

I shook my head. I couldn’t believe him sometimes. He's the definition ofdo not operate a vehicle while under the influence of this medication."Up you go, big boy."

"Don't ever fucking call me that."

He was so fucking testy.

He pushed himself up, his arms shaking, and when he got to full standing, he swayed. He was lucky he wasn't alone with Belle for long in this state. He could have really fucking hurt her. I grabbed his arm, viewing the damage for the first time. It was really fucking deep.

"You should have gotten this looked at," I barked.

"Surface wound," he muttered.

"It needs stitches. No wonder you're so loopy. You probably lost a lot of blood on top of the pain meds you popped." My grip tightened on his arm as he tilted his whole body, trying to get a look at the damage.

"So stitch it."

Not what I planned to do with my fucking night, but here we were. It took another ten minutes before Ace and I had gathered the supplies we needed. We didn't want to wake Belle, who had practically fallen to sleep instantly, so we had placed Mercer inour sitting lounge to wait for us. Not shockingly, he was asleep again by the time we were ready.

A pour of disinfectant on the wound woke him up quick enough, nearly ending in Ace getting a black eye. Ace grinned, not bothered by the fact that he was almost murdered. "Worth it. That's what you fucking get for scaring me at that house."

"I didn't know he'd be waiting for us," Mercer muttered, his skin looking a little green after that dose of disinfectant.

"If you're going to be sick, let us know."

"I'm fine. Just do it," he growled.

So I plunged the needle into his skin, watching as he gritted his teeth through the pain as I stitched up the gaping wound that could have cost him his life.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

BELLAMY

"Holy fuck, baby." Mercer's eyes were wide as I waddled into the kitchen.

I offered him a glare. I was well aware that I had suddenly popped. I woke up earlier this week, and I was massive. I swear, every bone in my body struggled to get coordinated. And my feet? Well, I wasn't even sure if I had those anymore.

His hand came out as I tried to pass next to him, yanking me to his side, where he placed the sweetest of kisses against my neck. "I meant nothing by it, baby. You just grew overnight is all. It's hot as fuck."

"Everything to you three is hot as fuck," I groaned as I tried to pull away. I wasn't feeling very sexy at the moment. Yet these guys never failed to show me that I was, baby bump be damned. They found me attractive.

"How many weeks are we at now?" He leaned down and kissed my stomach, being ultra sweet to counteract just how grumpy I felt.

"Almost thirty-four." I rubbed a spot on my rib where I knew this child was pushing up against, making me so damn uncomfortable.

"How the hell did time pass like that?" He shook his head in disbelief before stepping away to flip the pancakes he was making.

"That's what I'm wondering, too," I huffed as I continued my journey to the fridge to grab some ice-cold orange juice. It was literally the only thing I had thought about all morning. All week, actually. I couldn't get enough. "How's your arm?"

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