Page 9 of Room Twenty: Owning Their Angel

I must have shown my confusion on my face, having forgotten that Taylor mentioned she moved to town with kids before falling in love. Lark told me about how the oldest two kids weren’t biologically his and that she had moved to Sweetwater Valley to be closer to her parents after her partner died from cancer.

“I’m sorry,” I told her softly, knowing it wasn’t enough but not having more to offer.

“Thank you.” She sighed, a bright smile on her face as she looked over at Maverick. “It might sound horrible, but it all happened for a reason. I can’t look back on being with Christopher with sadness because it gave me Everly and Elijah.” She looked at me, her eyes earnest and curious. “I was supposed to come here so I could meet Maverick and fall in love, the kind of love that fills your soul. Then we had Elizabeth and now our family is complete. Life has a way of giving you more than you want sometimes, but never more than you can handle, while giving you a path to where you need to be.”

“I hope so,” I pushed past my lips, my voice thick.

When she looked down and noticed my hand on my belly, her eyes lit up. “You’re pregnant.”

I nodded, my vision going a little blurry and my nose stinging from holding back tears. “I am. I just found out. I’m not sure how far along I am.”

Lark didn’t tell me I was a bad mom because I didn’t immediately go to the doctor. She simply made sure that we exchanged contact information and then gave me the number for the doctor she saw when she was pregnant with Elizabeth.

They were able to fit me in quickly, which I was thankful for. I was not expecting to be measuring around three months already. I was so sure the night at Club Sin with the broken condom was the culprit, but it happened before then.

I instantly fell in love with my child. I’m determined to, one day, tell Poe, Gray, and Zach, but that day is not today. I don’t know, maybe it was shitty of me, but I thought they might come after me. Even if they were pissed at me for running. They haven’t.

Sometimes, late at night, I think about my men and what we had. Those are the nights when I cry myself to sleep. I’m determined to give my baby the best life I can, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss the men I love.

They just didn’t love me, apparently.

CHAPTER 5

ZACH

Lucifer slaps my back while a shit eating grin spreads across his face. I smile back, but it feels brittle on my face. I’m not feeling this moment like I thought I would. Not like I’d imagined for months while I was prospecting.

It was my goal because getting my patch meant something. It still does, it means brotherhood and that my brothers have my back, which I am grateful for. But getting my cut, which now rests on my shoulders, meant it was time to claim our Cherub. Fucking finally.

There’s only one problem with that now. She’s gone and has been for the last three months.

Everything was fine. Gray was about to come up on the end of his year of prospecting and we were planning on taking Heather back to Club Sin to celebrate. She seemed a little off, but it wasn’t something the three of us worried about too much.

Then she disappeared.

We, understandably, freaked the fuck out. When we couldn’t find her, the three of us stormed into Lucifer’s office with Bedlam leading the charge. Prez didn’t look surprised to see us as he sat back and put his hands behind his head like he had all the time in the world to deal with our shit.

Bedlam growled, “Where the fuck is Heather?”

Prez wasn’t deterred, and he, surprisingly, didn’t immediately kill Bedlam. He sounded smug as fuck, “Oh, you’re finally admitting that something is going on with the three of you and Heather?”

“We were never denying anything, Prez,” I tried to be diplomatic even though inside a piece of me was dying a slow fucking death. “She’s not here and her stuff isn’t in her room. She didn’t say anything to us, and we’re worried.”

There was a challenge in his tone, “Why does it matter to you?”

“Because she’s ours,” Bedlam’s normally affable exterior was gone as he roared those words at Lucifer.

Gray grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back a few steps for Bedlam’s protection, not Lucifer’s. Our Prez’s eyes hardened as he looked at the three of us. “She came in this afternoon and seemed upset. I tried to talk to her about it and get to the bottom of it, but she wasn’t willing to share. She told me thank you for letting her be an angel and giving her a home, but it was time for her to leave.” My mouth popped open, but he held up a hand to stop me from saying anything. “No, she didn’t say where she was going.”

I started shaking my head, unable to wrap my mind around what he was saying. My voice sounded hollow as I asked, “She just left?”

Lucifer’s eyes softened slightly as he looked at me while my chest was heaving with the reality of what he was telling us. “She did leave, and I don’t know why, but I got the feeling it wasn’t because she didn’t want the three of you. I made her promise me she wasn’t in trouble, and she would come to the club if she was. I told her we’d protect her. She assured me it wasn’t anything like that.”

“You just let her go?” The betrayal in Bedlam’s voice was plain to hear.

Lucifer’s glaring eyes swung to him. “Do you want to tell me why you haven’t claimed her? We all know something is going on. Hell, some of the brothers give you shit for it without actually spelling it out.”

Bedlam’s shoulders slumped, the defeat that was weighing on me, obviously doing the same to him. I felt lost, like I was spiraling and out of control without Heather as my tether.

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