I pointed to Gwen. “This bitch shot a fucking psychopath three times, and then gave birth moments after doing so. With no anesthesia. That’s not even mentioning all the shit she survived before that.”
I pointed to Amy. “She managed to somehow come out with a soul and a sense of humor when it sounds like her parents did the best to suck both out. Then she survives not one but two kidnappings, and a punctured artery.”
My eyes went to Mia. “She got knocked up at fifteen, by another psychopath drug dealer kingpin maniac. Gets beaten within an inch of her life, while nine months pregnant, but manages to survive that and deliver the baby. Then escapes said psychopath to raise her daughter, give her a home and love when she had nothing. Sixteen years on, she faces him again and manages to make it through the other side. Now her kid is a fucking famous rock star who will support her in her old age.”
My eyes rested on Lily. They got a little misty but I managed to keep my steam. “This one,” I whispered. “She struggles with a demon more ferocious than any of you have ever seen. One you’ll never see because it only exists inside the mind. She conquers that on her own. Then finds her way to untie herself and drag my bleeding old man out of a burning fucking building and saves his life.”
I tore my gaze away to focus on Gabriel, who was regarding me intently.
“Something I’ll be forever indebted to her for.” With effort, I looked around the room. “Sure, you muscled brutes may have had a small”—I held my thumb and forefinger inches apart—“hand in that, but it was mostly the chicks who bore the brunt of the horrors. And are still standing. Laughing. And wearing fucking heels. You’ll never know that pain either.” I paused. “So how about you stop treating us like we’re made of glass, because here you’ve got living, breathing, glittering proof that we’re not glass. We’re diamonds, and we’re fucking unbreakable.”
All the men were glaring at me by the end of my speech, and all the women were grinning. Wide.
I ignored all of it. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home to watch Women Who Kill and eat frozen pizza.” I glanced around the room. “I’d advise you to free up some time in your weightlifting, steel-eating schedule to give it a watch. It’d prove educational so you can see what might happen if you do something like, I don’t know, try to ‘lock down’ a woman who spent three fucking weeks in chains and isn’t looking to spend two more fucking seconds in them.”
On that, I turned on my heel and walked out. I realized mid-storm out that I’d come on Gabriel’s bike and didn’t actually have a ride.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. Asking for a ride would seriously mess with the badass vibe I had going. Maybe I could hotwire a motorcycle. I hadn’t driven one before, but I was guessing it couldn’t be that hard.
“Okay, I’m going with her,” I heard Amy’s declaration from behind me.
“Fuck, Sparky,” Brock growled.
“I’m totally going too. She had me at frozen pizza,” Mia’s voice chimed in.
“Jesus, Mia, don’t you fuckin’ dare,” Bull warned.
“Love you too, honey,” she called.
I grinned and stopped.
Amy caught up with me. “Movie night?”
“Sounds good.”
So that’s how we ended up crowding Rosie’s living room watching serial killer documentaries while Rosie was noticeably absent.
Lucky
“Jesus, brother, your woman….” Brock shook his head, rubbing his hand against his mouth. “Fuck, I thought I had the one with the most fire, but she’s givin’ Sparky a run for her money,” he exclaimed.
Lucky didn’t smile. “I fuckin’ know,” he muttered. All that shit Becky had said? In front of his brothers? Pissed him right the fuck off. And turned him right the fuck on. And made him proud as punch all at once. All the while fighting that shit that lurked in her eyes as she spoke of dragons and diamonds. Because he saw it. She was fighting the pull of that fuckin’ room, and she was winning. He was proud, but he also hated that she even had to fight.
Cade leaned forward. “We owe your woman a lot. I owe her a lot. My sister….” He visibly flinched. “Shit would have gone fuckin’ dark if she hadn’t stepped in.”
“Stepped in?” Gage repeated. “The bitch fuckin’ ran into the fire to save Rosie.”
The thought chilled Lucky. To the core. His woman, so fucking fearless. Dauntless. He was terrified it’d be the end of her. And him.
On that poisonous thought, Cade spoke.
“We need to up our efforts to find and exterminate these swine. This was close to home. Far too fuckin’ close. No one hits us where our families walk and lives to tell about it.” He looked to Bull. “We got any more on Devlin?”