Page 28 of Savage
My mouth opened in shock at Eddie’s thoughts. Surely kids didn’t think like that? However, it seemed that these children did.
Phoe’s eyes narrowed, and she placed her hands on her hips. Drake appeared horrified, as did the other adults.
“Is that what you are all thinking?” Artemis asked Nova.
“Truthfully, Mom, I could kill any man here. But Rage remains a man’s world. Female worth is valued by how many kids we can give them,” Nova answered.
Spellbound by this drama, I noted it was Ace’s turn to look appalled now.
“Very clever, Eddie. Turning this into a battle of the sexes, but you’re not getting out of this one so easily,” Phoe said, her narrowed gaze on Eddie.
Disappointment flashed in Eddie’s eyes, and Phoe let out a wordless noise of frustration.
“Drake Michaelson! Deal with your children. That child gets her cunning from you!” Phoe shrieked and turned on her heel.
Wow, all that had been part of Eddie’s plot to escape punishment. I watched as Eddie swapped annoyed looks with Davy and wondered at the mentality of these kids. They were all batshit crazy. Eddie had a B plan as she moved forward towards a plaster child.
“Oh, they’re easy to break out, Daddy!” Eddie said and shoved the closet boy, who had his arms raised as if to strangle her. The kid screamed as Eddie pushed him over, and he fell sideways. There was a loud cracking noise, and Eddie peered down at the youngster, who I recognised as Dante.
Drake strolled over to his son, cursing Eddie at the top of his lungs.
“Shut it. You deserved this. Punishment will be forthcoming for everyone involved.” Drake bent down and peeled a piece of plaster off Dante. He had to exert some effort to crack it.
“Sorry, Daddy, we added some shi—stuff to strengthen it,” Eddie admitted.
“President or serial killer, only two ways Eddie’s going,” Axel muttered to Rock loudly, who nodded while he glared at his daughter Bonnie.
“I wasn’t involved, Daddy,” Bonnie said sweetly.
Rock raised an eyebrow.
“I’m telling the truth. Plus, I was the distraction alongside Davy and Eddie,” Bonnie replied with a shrug.
“Well, these kids are brutally honest,” I mumbled to nobody in particular, even while eying Harper and Isla. I didn’t know if I should cheer because they had been so naughty for the first time in forever. On the other hand, they’d immobilised the boys, which was unbelievable.
“Oh, they’re always honest and proud of what they accomplished,” Savage said, appearing behind me.
“Do you really think like that?” I heard Artemis say to Nova as I glanced up at Savage. My stomach fluttered; now his mere presence was causing butterflies. The look of sheer amusement on his face nearly had me chuckling.
“Yes, Mom. The men here have more value for the boys than girls,” Nova replied as Ace loudly denied that, but my attention was on Savage.
“That’s ingenious,” Savage continued. “One of the best Eddie’s pulled off.”
“I’m unsure how to handle Harper and Isla; they can’t behave like this,” I said, still dumbstruck that they’d been involved.
“Leave the discipline to Drake. He’ll come up with something creative.”
“Excuse me, it’s not for Drake to punish my girls,” I snapped. My defences and motherly feelings rose to the fore.
“Drake will make it a collective punishment. And it’ll happen now. Grace, none of us spank, harm, or scold a child. Drake might not give them dessert or will make them clear the tables, or even ban them from movie night. But the punishment will make them think about what they’ve done,” Savage explained.
A blush crept up my neck as I felt several pairs of eyes on me.
“Grace, I’ll never hurt a kid,” Drake said, turning. “But those girls did this and should pay the piper together.”
“Fine,” I snapped, turned on my heel, and walked away. None of this sat comfortably on my shoulders, and I spun back around to grab the girls.
Savage blocked my way.