Page 145 of Brutal Reign
“Who?” Beau and Eli ask at the same time, their interest instantly piqued.
I shrug a shoulder, smirking. “Guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” I say cryptically, glancing off toward the trees. Two people are emerging from them in our direction, but it isn’t Ares and his mystery guest. It’s River’s cousin Avery and her mate, Cam.
River hops up from my lap with an excited squeal, rushing over to meet Avery halfway.
“Hey!” I call after her in protest. “Thought you said you’d take it easy!”
She flips me the bird over her shoulder, completely ignoring my objection.
Guess some things never change.
Fifteen Years After That
RIVER
“Boys!”I shout furiously as I storm inside the packhouse from the garage, stomping down the hall toward the living room.
The little shits actually have the gall to try to dodge me. I catch them as they’re making a break for the stairs, the two of them skidding to a stop as I intercept their escape.
“Which one of you took the Chief for a joyride?” I growl, folding my arms over my chest sternly.
The twins point at one another, their hazel eyes wide on their identical faces. People tell me they’re the spitting image of my father when he was their age, and with the amount of mischief they get up to, that’s clearly not where the similarities end.
I slide my gaze back and forth between them, squinting in an effort to read their expressions for signs of guilt. “Walker Jacobsen,” I decide, pointing a finger at him. “It was you, wasn’t it? That’s it, you’re grounded for a month.”
“A month?!” he huffs, shaking his head disbelievingly. “I barely even drove it, I just went around the block!”
“It was my idea,” Conway admits sheepishly. “I dared him.”
I snap my gaze to my other son, my mouth dropping open. “Why would you do that?”
He just shrugs. “I don’t know, we were bored, and Dad keeps saying he’s gonna teach us to ride…”
“Then youwaitfor him to teach you, you don’t just take it upon yourselves to go out for a ride!” I admonish, throwing my head back in exasperation and scrubbing my hands over my face. “Just wait ‘til your fathers get home, they’re gonna…” I trail off at the sound of the front door swinging open, whipping a glance over my shoulder and breathing a sigh of relief when I see Seb and Ace stroll through.
“Uh oh,” Ace says, immediately picking up on the tension in the room. “What’d you boys do this time?”
“Conway dared Walker to go for a ride on my motorcycle,” I grit out, still fuming.
Ace winces, recognizing why I’m treating this as such a serious offense. I love my bike, sure, but even more, I love my sons. Walker could’ve gotten seriously injured if he’d wrecked. Orworse.
Funny, I finally understand that protective instinct my dad had.
“What the hell, guys?” Seb scoffs, looking between our pair of troublemakers.
“You said you’d teach us,” Conway mutters.
“Yeah, when you’re sixteen,” Seb replies flatly. “If either of you tries to ride again before then, I’ll make you wait another year.”
The boys’ eyes widen as Seb’s threat sinks in.
“We won’t do it again,” Walker blurts, shaking his head adamantly.
“Nope, we swear,” Conway agrees.
“Good,” Seb growls, jerking his chin. “Now go to your rooms so we can come up with an appropriate punishment for this one.”
Our sons take off toward the stairs, scrambling up them while I turn to face my mates with a sigh. “I’m not sure I’ll survive raising teenagers,” I grumble, stabbing my fingers through my hair.