Page 94 of Collect the Pieces

“You and Trin are pretty firm on the ‘no kids’ thing, right?” I ask, deciding to just go for it. Circling the question will just piss Wrath off.

“Yeah,” he answers slowly, his sharp gaze searching mine.

“You both don’t want them, right?”

Wrath’s head tilts slightly. Only this big fucker can express sarcasm with a head tilt.

“What?” He lifts both blond eyebrows, his slow question edged with dry amusement. “Trinity’s a woman, so she must want babies?”

I scrub my hand over my jaw. “That’s not quite what I meant.”

“Neither of us want them,” he says. “We talked about it before we got married. I think we were both relieved.” He lifts his massive shoulders. “Every now and then we check in with each other.” His face breaks into a wide grin. “Or we see what the others are going through.” He lifts his chin toward the living room. “And we look at each other and say, ‘thank fuck we’re not doingthat’.”

I snort with laughter, thinking of the few times I’ve caught them exchanging that exact look.

“What’s wrong?” He nods toward the living room again. “Did Margot stop to see the twins and it freaked you out?”

“Yeah, kinda,” I admit. Why the fuck else would I be asking?

“Did you bother to talk to Margot about whatshewants?”

“Didn’t occur to me until, well, this weekend.”

“You don’t wantany?”

I open my mouth, then stop. “I grew up in a really fucked-up household.”

He hums with a sound of commiseration.

“My father was a religious nut,” I continue, “and since I don’t believe there’s a magical sky daddy watching my every move, I’m not worried I’ll whip them raw to save their souls or anything but…” I can’t believe I put my feelings into such visceral words.

Wrath nods, like he understands exactly what I mean. “You don’t want to risk taking out that anger on your kid?”

“Yeah.”

He’s shaking his head before I finish. “I’ve seen you in some stressful situations. Fucked-up shit that would test a lot of people. You’re a sick, bloodthirsty fucker for sure, but only to people who deserve it. Otherwise, I suspect Ravage and Eazy would be missing a few fingers by now.”

“Appreciate you acknowledging my bloodthirsty side.”

“We all have one.” He rolls his eyes. “Obviously. But some people can’t turn that shit off at home. I think you’re very aware of the difference.” He cocks his head, studying me with the same kind of scrutiny as a researcher in a lab full of rats. “I’ve seen you on the road. On tour, the way you looked after Shelby. Hell, the way you’re so protective of her here. And I’ve always watched you treat club girls with respect.”

My lip curls. “I’m not getting the comparison.”

He blows out an annoyed breath. “You’re not a shitty human that takes advantage of people weaker than them. Hell, the fact that you haven’t run Remy over yet tells me you have a metric fuck ton of patience.”

I snort with laughter. “True.”

Another question forms in my mind.

Fuck,he’s really not going to like this one. “What if one of those times you check in with Trinity she changes her mind?”

But instead of angry, Wrath looks pained. He glances over his shoulder like he wants to be sure Trinity’s nowhere in the vicinity. “I don’t know. Before we got married…it would’ve been a deal-breaker for me. Now…I don’t know. I think I’d do anything she asked of me.”

We sit in silence for a few seconds, then his lips tilt into a half smile. “Nah, I don’t have to worry about that. Before you guys got here the other night, Teller shared a charming tale of little Ivan pissing in his face during a diaper change. Trin gagged more than she laughed at that one.”

Checkmark in the no-thank you column.

“I’m sureyoulaughed your ass off.” I snort.

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