Page 42 of Brutal Sinner

I smile, but inside my stomach is churning. It’s so overpowering I can’t think straight. Jonny alone is overpowering. He always was a force of nature that carried me along with him until I fell hard. He was everything to me. An exotic species that captured my attention and ran away with my heart. I followed him into madness, and it was the hardest thing I ever did to run from him, knowing I was carrying our baby. I did it for him, not for me. At least that’s what I told myself.

Now I’m faced with the consequences of my actions, I’m uncertain what the future holds but it’s a scary one. I’m not sure I’m strong enough and I hate that I’m already planning my escape.

CHAPTER24

JONNY

As soon as Ryder steps on board with the rest of the Reapers, the doors close and the engines start, and I breathe a deep sigh of relief.

Thank God. She can’t back out now.

I realize she’s scared. I can tell she’s having a panic attack inside and the only reason she’s not freaking out right now is because she has Hope to care for. I watch as she straps her in along with herself and holds her tightly, nuzzling her little head and planting sweet kisses on her cheeks.

Nothing prepared me for how emotional this would be. I have a family. An instant family that I didn’t even know about.

As the bird soars into the sky, I reach for Faith’s hand and smile at her with a reassurance I really hope she believes. She is nervous and doesn’t appear to want to say much, so as soon as the plane levels out, I excuse myself and head to debrief with Ryder, Snake and Brewer.

They are sitting in the communal area and as I drop down in the seat beside Brewer, he chucks me a beer.

“You look like you need this. How’s the family?”

He raises his eyes in concern and I sigh. “As good as can be expected. This is a lot for Faith to wrap her head around.”

Ryder appears thoughtful. “How are you, Jonny?”

“Worried.” I frown and take a gulp of my beer.

“She ran from me once and when she sees where we’re heading, I doubt she’ll stick around long.”

“Leave it with me.”

Ryder turns to Snake. “The girls can take it from here.”

I smile gratefully. “Will they be ok with that?”

“Of course.” Snake looks concerned. “We aren’t the ones to make your lady feel at home. We’re scary motherfuckers who will never be anything else, and it’s fortunate we live among angels who won’t let us down. Leave Faith with Ashton and Bonnie. They’ll reassure her. They’re good at that.”

I catch Ryder’s eye and he nods. “I haven’t met a woman yet who doesn’t change her mind after they get working on them.”

He turns to Brewer. “What about accommodation? She can’t stay in the block.”

Brewer says thoughtfully, “The house near Maverick’s is almost complete. Just needs some paint and the kitchen finishing off.”

“Who was moving in?” Snake asks, and Ryder shakes his head. “Nobody. Tiger had his name on it but crashed and burned.”

The guys laugh and I join them. Tiger was so sure his childhood sweetheart was going to say ‘yes’ when he asked her to marry him. He didn’t count on her ambition though, and she turned him down and moved to Seattle instead, where she had been offered a high-powered job. To say he was pissed was putting it lightly, and he has spent every night since then fucking around just to erase her from his memory.

“Then it’s settled.” Ryder says as he cracks open a can himself. “Jonny and Faith can move in with Hope.” He raises his can in my direction. “Good luck, soldier. Instant families are hard to adjust to. I should know.”

The guys laugh because we all remember what happened when Ashton walked into the Rubicon. There was no way in hell Ryder was going to let her stay anywhere but with him. It was instant attraction that brought out the bastard in him, and he used every trick in the book to win her heart.

I just hope I have his skill set because my own battle is just beginning, which is sure to be a hard one.

For the next hour, we debrief the mission and I wonder if Ryder knew what was happening there all along. He was the one who insisted I went and as they wrap it up, I say, “Out of curiosity. Did you send me there because of the reverend? Did you know about this?”

Ryder glances at Snake and they smile. “I heard a whisper.” He shrugs. “I figured you had business there and decided to give you a helping hand. It worked out well for everyone.”

He nods and then as I reach out, his expression softens as I shake his hand and say gratefully, “Thanks for being the bastard I needed to set my mind straight.”