Reign (The Sainthood - Boys of Lowell High #3)(25)

“He’s hurting her?” Diesel asks, concern blazing in his eyes.

“He’s hitting her, and she’s letting him.”

He shakes his head. “You want me to talk to her?”

“No. She won’t thank me for interfering. What you’re doing now is the best way to help.”

“Okay, but if anything changes, you let me know.” He wraps his arms around me, and I rest my head on his chest. “Take care, sweetheart.” He kisses the top of my head before letting me go.

“You too.” I step back, waving as he drives away. I turn around, unsurprised to see Saint standing in the doorway.

“I hope we’ve done the right thing,” he says, looking even more worried than before.

“Me too,” I concede, because there are no guarantees.

He opens his arms, and I fall into them, closing my eyes as he cradles me to his chest. “I can’t bear the thought of anything else happening to you,” he admits, holding me close.

“I feel the same way about all of you.” I look up at him, palming one cheek. “But our world is a dangerous one. There will always be risks and times where we’re gambling with our lives.”

“Not if I can help it,” he says, pressing his lips to my brow, his mouth lingering there.

“What do you mean?” I slide my hands up his chest, holding him closer.

“Have you thought about after this is all over?”

“Not in a while,” I truthfully admit. “Before Dad died, my goal was to graduate with a strong GPA and attend college at Brown. I couldn’t wait to see the back of this place, but now there’s a lot more at stake, including you guys and my mom.”

“Wherever you go, we go,” he simply says, pulling my mouth to his for a kiss. “None of us want to stay here anymore.”

“You don’t?” I can’t contain my surprise. He shakes his head. “I thought you wanted to take over The Sainthood and mold it into a legit organization?”

He shrugs. “That was always the plan, but plans change, and it’s not like we couldn’t join a different chapter if we move or rejoin the Lowell chapter if we return at some point in the future.”

“You’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“We have.”

“Is this what you were discussing earlier?”

“Partly.” He curls his hand around mine, taking me into the house and closing the door. “We need to talk to Lo,” he calls out to the others, and they stop what they are doing, looking over at us. Galen’s Adam’s apple bobs in his throat, Theo smiles, and Caz bites down on his lip.

Saint leads me to the smaller of the two couches, sitting down beside me. The others sink onto the longer couch, sitting upright, looking anxious, and it has me on edge.

“What’s going on?” My gaze skates between all of them. “You’re making me nervous as fuck.”

“Galen came up with a way to protect you from Sinner and his buddies,” Saint starts explaining. “For reasons that will become obvious, we needed to discuss it among ourselves first to ensure we were all onboard.”

“And we are,” Caz blurts. “As long as you are.”

“Okay. Now, I’m intrigued.” My brows climb to my hairline.

Saint glances at Galen, and he nods, taking over the explanation. “The Sainthood is governed by a set of rules that have been in existence since the organization was started. Over the years, some of those rules have been amended, others have been added, but there are a few rules that are unchangeable. That no one would dare challenge.” He wets his lips, and I smother a giggle. It’s so weird seeing my super-confident guys looking so uncertain. I can’t wait to hear this.

“Go on,” I encourage.

“Women are regularly shared within The Sainthood,” Theo says. “With one firm exception.” He pauses for a nanosecond, and butterflies flood my chest, jumping around like crazy. My eyes widen as I sense where this is leading. Theo’s eyes crinkle as he smiles. “Wives are strictly off-limits unless the husband agrees to share her with other members. It’s a hard and fast rule. One that Sinner will have no choice but to abide by.”

My heart careens around my chest, and blood rushes to my head. “Hang on here a second.” I sit up straighter, eyeballing them one at a time, because I honestly can’t believe they’re suggesting this. “Are you saying we should get married?”

Saint laces his fingers in mine, flashing me a wide grin. “That’s exactly what we’re saying, princess. Marry one of us, and we can lay down the law with that bastard. Sinner won’t be able to put a finger on you, and that’s a fucking promise.”





CHAPTER 10


GALEN

SHOCK SPLAYS ACROSS Lo’s face as she stares at us like we’ve lost the plot. I get it. We’re young, and it probably seems extreme. But, we’ve discussed it at length, and there are no other options that keep her safe. However, we won’t force her into it if she really doesn’t want to do it.

“Well, fuck,” she says after a couple minutes of strained silence. “You’ve managed to shock me silent. That’s a first. I feel like it deserves a medal or something.” Her tinkling laughter betrays her nerves, and something has finally rattled the unshakeable Harlow Westbrook. I’ve never seen her look or sound anything less than confident. This has really thrown her.