Page 56 of Dancin' with Demons

“Renegade!” My voice cracks with the scream and the next sound is thundering footsteps as he and Reaper come barreling into the kitchen.

“Raylynn,” Renegade says my voice and the worry and protectiveness are deep in his tone. With a shaking hand I hold my phone out to him. His eyes scan the screen and I watch as the anger floods his eyes, his body tensing from head to toe. “Reaper, take Savior to her room, keep the door closed for now.” Setting my phone on the counter, Renegade pulls his from his back pocket, unlocks it, hits a few buttons before putting it to his ear. “Catacomb, we got a problem. No, you need to see this.” He pauses between each sentence, listening to Catacomb I’m sure, I just can’t hear the other side of the conversation. “You need to come here. I can’t explain right now but what you want isn’t an option.” Again, he pauses, and then takes a deep breath. “See you shortly, Prez.”

The moment he hangs up, he slides his phone onto the counter next to mine and grabs me, pulling my body against his as he wraps his arms around me. Burrowing my head against his chest, I try to take deep breaths, counting in my head as I inhale and exhale, all while Renegade’s hand moves steadily up and down my back.

“You’re safe, little love,” he whispers against my hair, “I promise, ain’t no one gonna touch you or our little girl.”

Chapter 21

Renegade

Thirty minutes later, Savior is in bed, fallin’ asleep to Moana playin’ on her television, while Reaper and I are at the kitchen table with Raylynn. I’m kinda surprised at how well she’s holdin’ her shit together given everythin’ she’s been through. Once she pulled away from me after I called Catacomb, she put on a pot of coffee, wiped down the counters while it brewed, and put all the dishes in the sink. Once she made Reaper and I a cup, she made herself one. That’s how I know she’s upset— she won’t stop movin’. I picked up on that sign not long after we came to the house. If Raylynn is scared, nervous, upset, anxious, pretty much any emotion other than content, she keeps busy.

“Ren!”

Catacomb’s voice booms down the hall from the front of my house a moment before the quick, determined steps of way more than just my prez echoes into the kitchen. A second later, Sandra, Lacey, and Pint file in, their faces etched with concern, followed by the prospect Joshua, Hardwire, Circuit, and finally, Catacomb. Our eyes meet for a moment and he tilts his head slightly to the side, noddin’ toward the hall. Before I can get up from the table, Raylynn is out of her seat.

“Do you want some coffee, guys?” She glances over her shoulder as she steps up to the counter on the other side of the kitchen, pushin’ to her tiptoes to open the cabinet and grab three mugs down. “I can make another pot if the ladies want some. Cat, black, right? Hardwire and Circuit, right? I suck with names. How do you take yours?”

All three brothers look at me with wide eyes, and I shake my head just enough for ‘em to catch it.

“Black with sugar, Ray. Thank you,” Hardwire says slowly.

“Just black for me, please,” Circuit says, glancin’ at me again as I step over for the four of us to stand close to the kitchen doorway.

Reaper gets up to join us, keepin’ his voice low. “She’s barely stoppin’ movin’ since that text came in.”

“She okay?” Hardwire says, turnin’ his head just enough to glance at my woman.

“I think she’s tryin’ not to freak out,” I whisper, clearin’ my throat and standin’ straight as she comes over, her steps determined, perfectly carryin’ two cups of coffee in one hand and the third in the other.

“Catacomb,” she says holdin’ the single cup out for him to take. “Black with sugar and black.” She moves on cup to her other hand and holds each out to Hardwire and Circuit. “Okay. I’m goona go—”

“Raylynn,” Catacomb says in the deep and stern tone he only uses when he really means for someone to listen.

“Yeah,” she says quietly, my chest tightenin’ as she keeps her eyes on the ground.

“Woman, look at me.” Catacomb leans over and sets his coffee on the counter top next to him and stand just as Raylynn brings he eyes to his. “We ain’t gonna let shit happen to you or Savior, you understand me? We got you. Had you since the moment Renegade took you off that table.” In the span of two seconds, Raylynn chokes on the first sob, and to my surprise, my president reaches out and grabs her, pullin’ her into his chest as she cries. “Shhh, now. Ain’t a man in this house that ain’t willin’ to die protectin’ you and that little girl. Whatever you’re expectin’ to happen, you need to let it go. We’re family. We protect our own, Raylynn.”

Pressin’ her head against his chest for another moment, she nods before takin’ a deep breath and standin’ back from him, wipin’ the tears from her face. Catacomb rests his hands on her shoulders, they look each other in the face for a second, and then he nods. Turnin’ away from him, she steps up to me and wraps her arms around my waist. “Sorry.”

Puttin’ my arms around her, I sigh. “You don’t need to apologize for bein’ upset.”

“I wasn’t,” she says, her voice still quiet as she leans her head back enough to look at my face.

My brows pull together. “Then what?”

“For huggin’ Catacomb. I know you don’t like when the brothers hug me.”

As I open my mouth, all four men behind us chuckle.

“He might pull that shit with everyone else, but he tries it with me and I’ll punch him in the throat.” Catacomb has a smirk on his face when I glance at him.

Shakin’ my head with a laugh, I squeeze Raylynn to me. “Cat gets a pass. Reaper gets a pass. The Geek Squad, maybe. Trickster, definitely not.” That makes her laugh. “We’re gonna go in my office and talk. I’m takin’ your phone so Cat and the boys can look at the message. Joshua is gonna hang out here with you and the women.”

“Okay,” she whispers, pushin’ to her toes to press a kiss quickly to my lips.

As the brothers file into the hall and head toward my office, I watch Raylynn head back to the coffee pot to brew another one for Sandra, Lacey, and Pint. As she presses the start button, all three women converge on her and put their arms around her. That’s when the tightness in my chest eases some, and I can force myself to head to my office, too.

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