Page 14 of Twice the Rivalry

“You know, you’re awfully brave for a man in the presence of two women that could put him in a whole world of pain,” Karissa announced thoughtfully as she stepped further into the room. “I can’t decide if I want to call you brave or stupid.”

“I know which one I want to call him,” Glitch sniffed. “But right now, all I care about is getting some food and some sleep. I’ll sort this bullshit out later.” Then she turned on her heel, and she and Karissa stalked out without a backwards glance.

He stared after them, instantly suspicious. Maybe she was tired, but from the brief interactions they had before, Glitch never left without landing some sort of barb. He stood and walked out of the room, determined to figure out what the hell she was up to, but as soon as he started to clear the end of the hall, he was shoved back against the wall to face down a very unhappy looking Taz and Jag.Shit, he thought, as he stared into the eyes of the men who no doubt wanted to gut him and leave him for the damn wildlife to scavenge.

Surprisingly, it was Taz who leaned forward so that they were nose to nose and hissed, “You’re lucky I don’t kill you where you stand for what you did to her. You don’t fuck with my sisters and get away with it, nerd boy. None of us give a flying shit about what could happen to us, but we will never take it lightly when you go after the two women that mean more to us than anything else. So unless you want me to come back here and help you die slowly and painfully from methods you can’t even fathom, then you will treat Glitch with the respect she deserves, no exceptions. Got it?”

Code held his gaze, refusing to look away or cower under that threat. “Yeah, I got it,” he said tightly.

Taz’s eyes held his, unmoving, with the kind of stare that sent a tremor of unease down his spine. He had a feeling everyone got it wrong with Taz. He might act like an easygoing jokester, but he was far more deadly than anyone gave him credit for, and that was what made him far more dangerous. The rest of them wore their lethality in the open, but Taz was the wildcard. “Good,” he finally replied, stepping back. “And just so we’re clear…” A fist came up and slammed Code in the gut hard enough that he let out a harsh grunt and slumped forward, trying to get his breath back. “There, I feel much better,” Taz said brightly, sounding much more like his normal self. Then he turned and walked away, leaving Jag behind.

“You want your shot too?” Code gasped out, slowly straightening.

Jag gave him a frosty smile and said darkly, “I don’t need to take a shot at you, you got the point. What I think you need to remember is that none of us are more dangerous than the two women you will now have to spend every day with for the foreseeable future. And if they decide to kill you and leave your body for the animals, well, who am I to interfere?” Then he turned and walked away, leaving Code to stare after him.

Fuck, he thought as he straightened to his full height with a wince. Damn, Taz had definitely not pulled that punch. He could give Rogue or Fury a run for their money with his force. He made his way out to the common room, heading for the bar to grab a beer, feeling the eyes of the Predators as he did. He set his jaw as he leaned against the bar and waited for Tom to get him a beer. This whole thing was a fucking mess, but it was one he caused. Unintentionally, but he had to take his lumps and live with it.

Didn’t mean he had to like it, but he’d handle whatever they threw his way.

Tom handed him his beer without a word. Tom was one of the few prospects that might actually last and be a damn good brother. The kid was like a mini Rogue in the sense of how somber and surly he could get when people didn’t follow orders, but he never shied away from doing anything that needed done or follow any order given to him. Personally, Code thought it had something to do with his past. He looked into him before allowing him to Prospect, same as he did for every Prospect, but that wasn’t something he shared.

People’s pasts were their own, and he was big on keeping those kinds of details to himself unless they would threaten or affect the club in some way. Well, except where Glitch was concerned, he thought to himself bitterly as he took a long gulp of his beer. With her, any of his preconceived notions flew right out the window. She was his blind spot, and he needed to shove her out of the way so he could see again. He would never let a woman have that kind of power over him again, and that included a certain pink haired hacker who was sitting in the corner with Karissa and the other women.

The sound of a baby crying had him looking over, along with everyone else in the room, and he couldn’t help the smile that pulled across his face when he saw Harley being picked up by his father from the portable bassinet. Harlow and Steel had their son only a few short weeks ago, and already the baby had them all wrapped around his little finger. Especially his father, who was constantly taking him to hold and soothe. Hell, he got himself in trouble with Harlow because he didn’t want to hand him over for his feeding, and Harlow told him in very creative terms how if he didn’t hand him back, it would end with Harley being his only son as he’d never be able to have sex again.

Seeing the wisdom in not pissing off a postpartum woman, he handed him over, but he was right there to snatch him back up when she was done. The little boy was the spitting image of his father, right down to being a big kid—which Harlow had been eager to hold over Steel’s head—and surprisingly stubborn glint that isn’t often found in a baby’s eyes.

Steel nestled his son in the crook of his arm and expertly started to rock him, making the cries stop. “Just think, brother,” Code heard from Fury behind him, “that will be you in a few weeks, but with two screaming girls.” The taunting in Fury’s voice had the rest of the room chuckle.

Code turned and saw Savage’s face form its normal scowl, but there was a longing in his dark eyes as he looked over to where Royal was sitting beside Harlow on the couch. Royal was due to deliver their twin daughters any time in the next few weeks, and while Savage liked to grumble about having girls, it was clear he was excited to have more children running around. “My girls will be much more well behaved,” Savage predicted.

A flurry of snorts and laughs filled the room, making his scowl deepen. “Honey, they are your children, so I don’t think there’s a chance of that,” Royal said with a wicked grin.

“I just hope they don’t take after him in size,” Karissa remarked with a wince. “Damn, could you imagine both girls being so tall? Your poor vagina is going to be paying the price.”

“Mine certainly did,” Harlow grumbled, glaring at Steel. Steel just held her gaze and continued to rock their son.

“Girls are generally smaller when they’re born,” Esme said with a shrug. She was also pregnant, though definitely not as far along as Royal. If he remembered right, he heard her and Karissa talking that she was about two or three months along now.

“You had a boy, so how would you know?” Royal asked with an arch of her brow.

Esme rolled her eyes. “Because that’s what the doctors told me after he came out. He tore me so bad, I had to have so many stitches that my pussy looked like a patchwork quilt. I’m surprised it still works,” she replied drily.

“I’m never having a baby. Ever,” Win declared firmly.

“Amen, sister,” Wren agreed, looking slightly horrified. Which was saying a lot for those two.

“Good,” Rogue called out, making both girls roll their eyes. Scarlett worked to hide her smile.

Code turned back to his beer, uncaring about a whole conversation on who might or might not have children. Pretty soon the place would be crawling with a bunch of babies, along with Ronin, Gabe, and the twins, so it didn’t matter to him all that much. He liked kids, but he had no desire to have them. Besides, babies required women to make them, and other than the club whores, there were no women around for that. And the club whores were becoming increasingly problematic, so he had been avoiding them.

He finished his beer and set the bottle on the bar top for Tom to grab before turning and looking around the room. Most were talking in their own little groups, and he had no interest in being social. He didn’t relish the idea of receiving more punches to the gut, so instead, he headed back to his space, the one place in this entire building he felt comfortable. Though he supposed that would be changing, with Glitch sharing the space with him. So he was going to soak up every moment of solitude that he could.

He sat in his chair and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and taking in the quiet for just a moment. He never felt more at home than he did in front of his computer, and after the past few days, this was what would ground him again. He opened his eyes, opened up his system, and got back to work on seeking out all the places that Glitch got in and shoring them up again. He had a feeling she was going to try again, and he wanted her to come up against as many walls as possible.

He wasn’t sure how long he worked before the door opened, and he paused what he was doing to see who needed him. He didn’t stop the frown when he realized it was Glitch. She had changed and was now wearing a pair of cutoff shorts that showed off tanned, smooth legs, and a white crop top that ended a few inches above her exposed belly button. On her feet were a pair of simple black flats, and when he finally moved his gaze up to her face, he saw that she pulled her bob back in some sort of clip so her hair was completely out of her face.

She looked equal parts adorable and sexy as hell, and it was a combination he could have gone without knowing was possible for her. He needed to keep seeing her as a hardened former mercenary, and nothing else. That was safest for them both.

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