Page 56 of Taken By my Brothers' Best Friends

He nodded.

“You let Bobby sleep in the bed with us last night. You didn’t even complain once.”

We all turned to where Bobby was stretched out upside down on the floor. Dean made a disgusted sound. “You’ve ruined my dog.”

“Dean, you dress him in clean pajamas every day. He was ruined long before I came along.” I winced as I yawned and my entire face ached. “Can we eat something in bed and take pain medicine and then go back to sleep? I’d like to get into the details of our love and everything later, if that’s okay.”

He slowly smiled. “Of course, Hellcat. Later.”

I looked over at the stairs and frowned. “And maybe we can sleep down here for now?”

Reed easily picked me up. “I’ve got you, Hellcat.”

CHAPTER 44

Vera

“And then I headbutted him and ran away.” I shrugged and looked around the group of women sitting in the back room ofPearly Things. “It was terrifying. Now that it’s all over, though, it just feels like a bad dream. My guys have been so thorough in making sure I feel better.”

Ava smirked. “I’m sure they have been.”

Meredith leaned forward and grabbed one of the penis shaped sugar cookies Maggie Adams had brought with her. She ownedMaggie’s Moo-Screambut she ventured into sexy cookies in her free time. Shooting me a look, Meredith bit into the cookie and spoke around it. “I knew you were tough, but when I saw what you did to Sheriff Morgan and Michael Mays, I wanted to make you president. You kicked ass.”

The sweet scent of the cookies hit me and the back of my mouth watered as my stomach soured. I fought the urge to vomit but I knew I was losing and made it to the trash can just in time. A month had passed since I’d left the hospital and things had settled into a new normal. Everything except my stomach. It refused to ever settle.

“You okay, Vera?” Bianca knelt next to me with a napkin and pressed her hand to my forehead. “No fever.”

I wiped my mouth and groaned. “Sorry. I’m fine, y’all. I think I ate something bad. I’ve been trying to cook and things haven’t always gone well.”

Bianca lowered her voice so only I’d hear her. “You’re a terrible liar. We’re going to talk after this meeting.”

I smiled and nodded but inside I panicked. I didn’t want to talk. “Okay.”

“Oh, my goodness!” Sugar exploded into the room, hair a mess and shirt buttoned incorrectly. “Sorry I’m late! I got caught up at work.”

The room was silent as we all stared at her. My nausea was forgotten as Sugar sat down on one of the pink suede couches she’d brought in for the club. She dropped her purse on the floor in front of her and hastily tried to fix her hair.

Ava was the first to break. “You had sex!”

Sugar’s face burned red. “No.”

“You did.” Meredith laughed happily. “Good for you. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“If it’s not Steve after all the years you’ve been pining after him, I’ll eat my shoe.” Ava leaned forward, the same way we all were. Sugar never kept secrets or played it cool. Whatever she’d done, it was big.

Realizing her shirt was askew, Sugar groaned and covered her face. “Eat your shoe. It wasn’t Steve.”

“Tell us everything!” Maggie clapped her hands. “This is so much better than forcing myself to go to church with my parents for the Wednesday service.”

The Devil’s Den chapter ofDoll’s Clubwas in full swing then. The room filled with raunchy tales and gossip that had us each laughing loud enough to be heard from the street. It was exactly what I needed to keep avoiding my own thing so I dove in fully. When the meeting did finally come to an end, I watched everyone leave with a growing sense of fear.

Bianca hooked her arm through mine and led me out to the street. We said goodnight to Ava and then she told Meredith she’d see her at home before she walked me towards her clinic. “Talk, Vera.”

I smiled. “No one ever tells me to talk.”

“Vera. I know something’s wrong.” She cast a long look at my stomach. “I hope it’s what I’m thinking and you’re not hiding anything else.”

I crossed my arms and shook my head. When I opened my mouth to lie, though, no words came out. “I don’t think… I don’t know how to even say the words, Bianca.”

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