Page 114 of Grumpy Sunshine

I shoved his face into the floor with the palm of my hand and looked over at the people now working tirelessly to fix whatever this motherfucker had just done.

“Tell me what you gave her,” I said as I got near his ear.“Or I’ll ruin you.”

“They have my wife.I can’t.I can’t.I can’t,” he replied.

“Well, they’ll have her anyway if you don’t show up and tell them the job’s done, I’m sure,” I snarled.“And if they do let her go, I’ll make sure that whatever they did to her, I’ll do it ten times worse, and she won’t be walking away from what I do.So either tell me, or I will go hunting.”

“Insulin,” he said into the floor.“I gave her a deadly dose.”

I reared back and punched him in the side of the face.

With nowhere for his head to go but farther into the solid floor beneath him, it was a deadly hit.

I heard the bones in his cheek and eye crack, but didn’t care.

Standing up, I hurried to the room and called out.

“Val, Felix!”I bellowed.“Insulin.He gave her insulin!”

Twenty-Six

If I’m losing a fight, I’m biting you.Can’t beat ’em, eat ’em.

—Overheard conversation between Aella and Silver

AELLA

I was feelingfinnnne.

“You’re not at all upset about everything that happened today?”my sister asked.

I slid my eyes over to her.“No.Why would I be?”

“Because you were almost killed.Twice,” she pointed out.

“But both of those guys are dead, and I didn’t die.Seems pretty easy lemon squeezy to me,” I chirped.

My sister looked at me with horror in her eyes.

“Your man just punched some guy’s head into the ground and killed him.In front of like the whole hospital,” she said.“And you’re okay with that?You’re not worried about repercussions?”

I smiled.

“Can we talk about how cute motorcycle gangs are?”I teased.“I mean, inseparable friends, matching outfits, and they go on adventures together.What lucky ducks they are to have that kind of special relationship.”

There was a long, silent pause and then my sister said, “I think that you are so blindingly in love that you’re not looking at the bigger picture here.Or maybe that morphine is messing with your brain.”

“What bigger picture?”I wondered, my mouth dry.

Also, my face was beginning to hurt, but I didn’t let that stop me from talking.

I thought I’d never be able to talk again, so I was letting my mouth a little bit loose.

“The one where you’re dating a man that’s in a one percenter motorcycle club, that possibly kills people, that has such a bad rap that they are on every watch list in the United States and Canada, oh…and let’s not forget the little fact that one of them, which happens to be your father, has promised to make our mother’s life a living hell for the rest of her life.”She paused for breath after that long sentence.“Not that I’m too upset about that last part.If anyone deserved to have their life ruined, it would be her.”She paused again.“I just ran my credit again and found three more loans taken out in my name.”

“Apollo will take care of it.He’s a badass and can do anything,” I chattered.“Have you seen my fiancé yet?”

“Right here.”

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