Page 6 of Ruthless

The dark-haired one, holding the baby, waves her hand out to me as her green eyes brighten. “I’m Charlee, and this is Lily.”

I clear my throat and plaster a smile on my face. “Kennedy.”

“And I’m Kelsey, as I’m sure you already know.” She bites her bottom lip and hesitates for a brief second. Just when I think she’s going to give in to the urge and hug me, she stops herself. Instead, I’m given a small wave of the hand. I’m not sure whether I’m relieved or disappointed at that.

“Nice to meet you.” I press my lips together in a thin line and dip my chin. It’s formal and cold, but my nerves are shot, and I have no clue how to act around her. Someone who was once a close relative is now a complete stranger to me.

Charlee opens her mouth to say something else, but Axel walks back into the living room, ensuring that all eyes are on him. He wraps an arm around Kelsey and pulls her into his side.

“Your cousin packs much lighter than you do, Wildcat.” He presses a kiss against the side of her head and laughs.

My body tenses at his choice of words as our eyes grow wide. Hearing him call her my cousin still seems so foreign to me, but he just blurts it out like it’s no big deal.

Kelsey elbows him in the side. “Way to go on not making things awkward, Ax.”

“What’d I say that was awkward? It’s true. She’s blood to you.” He glances down at my diamond ring again and jerks his chin out, drawing their attention. “And now she’s family to us all.”

“Oh my god!” Charlee screams, causing Lily to struggle in her mom’s arms.

The baby reaches out toward Axel with a slight grunt.

“You want your uncle Ax?” Axel holds his hands out, takes the excited baby from her mom, and blows a raspberry on her cheek, causing her to let out a high-pitched giggle.

Both Charlee and Kelsey rush over to inspect my ring and bombard me with questions. It’s a bit unnerving. I’ve been raised in a house full of men, and I’m not used to being around so much estrogen in my life. It was hard to make any friends growing up. They were either scared of my family or using me to get in my dad’s good graces. I learned to stick to myself early on and became somewhat of a loner in that aspect of my life. The only close friend I have is Fiona, and she’s moved up to Boston.

“Let’s leave these crazy women to do their thing and go see what your dad and Uncle Z are up to, Wildflower.” Axel bounces Lily against his hip as he heads toward the door but doesn’t even make it a couple of steps before Charlee stops him.

“Don’t you dare use my baby girl as a buffer, Axel Savage.” She storms after him, but he stops halfway to the door and flashes her a smile that could drop panties everywhere.

“Look at this face, Hellcat.” He lightly pinches one of Lily’s chubby cheeks between his tattooed fingers. It causes her to smile, showing dimples that rival her uncle’s on cuteness. “There’s no way anyone could throw punches with her around.”

“Fine, but be careful with her.” Charlee sighs and lets it go.

“As if any of us would let anything happen to Wildflower.” Axel shakes his head at the same time Lily wiggles in his arms and lets out another excited giggle. “That’s right. Tell your mama, baby girl. Uncle Ax is always right.” He waves a hand over his shoulder to us and whistles as the two of them walk out the door.

Charlee watches them go and then turns her attention to me. “I bet you’re tired. I remember those first few months of my pregnancy. I wanted to live in my bed and sleep the day away. Let’s show you to your room, and you can get some rest. We can catch up later.” She spins on her heel, and I follow close behind, rubbing my hands together the entire time.

Kelsey hangs back next to me, looking as lost as I feel on how to act around each other. I don’t blame her at all. I’m sure we’ll talk later, but fatigue is starting to set in now that I’m out of the truck.

They lead me off to the left of the living room and down a small hallway into the first open doorway we find. The room is so big that my tiny apartment could fit inside it. Black wooden furniture rests on the dark wood flooring and slate gray walls. There’s a bay window that has a built-in seated bench with black curtains draped on the side of it. In the center is a king-size bed with a plain charcoal gray comforter and enough pillows to get lost in. A small nightstand is on either side of that. Off to the right side of the bed is an open doorway leading to what I’m presuming is an ensuite bathroom. A couple of big dressers align the wall that is opposite it. Everything is neat, nothing out of place. There’s no over-the-top decor either. It’s all so simple and dark—much like the angry bearded man I now call my husband.

“We’ll leave you to get settled. Let us know if you need anything. You and I will catch up later once you’re rested.” Kelsey smiles and shuts the door behind her. The resounding click echoes like a hammer slamming down on my uncertain future.

Ready for this day to be over with, I lie back and slump down on the bed and let the mountain of pillows swallow me whole. My hand goes to my stomach as I let out a long sigh and think of the little life growing inside me. It’s been a crazy minute since I’ve had time to myself or been able to breathe since Zane burst through my door and asked me to marry him. Now that the dust is settling, chaos fills my head.

Am I doing the right thing? Did I make a mistake?

I wish my mom were still alive, so I could ask her what the hell I’m supposed to do now. The unknown has me in knots. I’m lost at sea and drowning with no rescue in sight. The only thing I know for sure is that it’s done, and there’s no going back. I’m a Savage now. Until death do us part.

CHAPTERTHREE

Zane

I watch the back of Kennedy’s head until she’s tucked away inside the house, away from us and all of our bullshit. The last thing I want is for her to hear Asher ream my ass out even more. Sometimes he’s like a dog with a damn bone that won’t let up until he sinks his teeth in deep and leaves a trail of blood behind. Too bad I’m not in the mood to let him and set him straight before he can.

“I don’t want to hear any more about it. What’s done is done. She’s a Savage now, and that’s all there is to it.” My fingers flex at my sides as I stand up taller and hold his stare, daring him to argue.

His gaze holds mine as a muscle in his cheek jerks. When he sees that I’m not backing down, he dips his chin, letting it go. My brother isn’t stupid. He knows when to push and when to back down, but something about this feels too easy. He’s typically not one to let shit go this quick.

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