Page 47 of Diesel
She snorts, then steps back from him, creating distance that makes that tension wrapped around my chest loosen just enough for me to keep my green-eyed monster caged.
I follow her hand as it splays over her belly and the tiniest swell. It’s a baby bump. She’s pregnant.
“Sucking the life out of me. Obviously. ItisRhys’s kid.”
Right. So she—Dayna—is pregnant by the guy who got stabbed and should be in hospital but is upstairs. And my husband thinks her baby is a parasite.
Of course he does. Because that’s how Zane’s brain works. He sees the science and the medicine, not the wonder of what her body is doing.
Dayna peers past him and when our eyes meet there’scuriosity in hers. Maybe a little softness too. I don’t expect that, and it unsettles me.
“Are you going to introduce us?” Dayna asks him.
“I’m his wife,” I say before Zane can open his mouth.
And now I seem like a demented jealous bitch.
You are a demented jealous bitch.
I don’t like how comfortable she is with him. Zane never lets anyone close to him.
Her eyes flare. “I didn’t know you were married, Diesel.”
“No one did,” Riot bites, his words dripping with sarcasm. Ass.
“Play nice,” the blonde with the older baby warns him. “I’m Ivy. This grump is my other half, Nate—or Riot—and this little bundle of cuteness is our daughter, Seren. The guy looming behind you is Mace. He’s with my sister, Maylie. She had a baby two days ago. The little one in her arms is their son, who as of yet is unnamed.” She says the last bit with a mix of frustration but also amusement.
“Never mind the fact they’ve had nine months to decide what to call him,” Dayna interjects with a snort of laughter.
“He doesn’t look like the name we planned,” Maylie defends. “I’d get up to say hi properly, but I’m wearing a nappy and bleeding from my uterus.”
I blink. “Graphic. But I don’t need a welcoming committee.”
“And to complete the introductions, this bundle of joy is mine and Maylie’s little brother, Toby.”
The kid at the table gives us a smile and wiggles his fingers.
“Who else is here?” Zane asks.
“Riley, Nic, and… Blade,” Mace says.
I feel the ripple of tension work through Zane, and not because his hand tightens in mine. It’s a full body reaction. “Why’s he here?”
Riot shrugs. “Same reason you are. Nic’s tryin’ to build unity, even if no one knows what side he’s on either.”
Zane growls. “Open your eyes and you’ll see what side I’m on.”
The air grows so heavy it presses down on my shoulders. I glance around, realising how outnumbered we are. My pulse skyrockets, especially when I notice how still the girls have gone. Maylie covers her baby’s head with her hand, trying to sit up a little more.
The laugh that comes out of Riot is barbed. “The funny thing is Blade’s lookin’ more trustworthy than you right now. He bled for the club. You… you fuckin’ disappeared and came back with this whole fuckin’ life no one knew about. But hey, you two can get cosy while you’re here, maybe bond over who’s the better traitor.”
That word lands like a bomb. There’s a beat of silence, then it feels like the room exhales.
Oh,shit.
Zane steps forward, pulling me with him. I dig my nails into his hand, warning him to take a fucking breath.
He doesn’t. “Fuck you.”
