“This is between us,” Colt rasped.
I pitched my voice soft but firm. “You’re bleeding. It has to stop. Now.”
He glanced down at himself. “Tore my stitches.”
“Fantastic,” I muttered. “Do you think you can possibly wait to beat Zip up until after you heal?”
Colt climbed off Zip, whose head was lolling back. He appeared to be in danger of passing out and I grimaced, thinking about how hard Colt had been hitting him.
When Colt move away from Zip, Joni rushed to his side, squatting down next to him and cradling his head in her lap. One eye was already swollen and I knew it would be black and blue by tomorrow.
Colt watched his sister tend to Zip and with a labored sigh, he stalked back to our room. The door slammed shut.
I glanced between Joni and Zip.
“What does this mean?” I asked.
“I claimed her as my Old Lady,” Zip slurred through a swollen mouth. No doubt he had a few loose teeth. “Took my punishment from her brother. It’s over now. He won’t interfere from here on out.”
Joni stroked his hair and looked down at him. “You sure you want me for your Old Lady?”
He smiled up at her. “Yeah, babe. No other woman is worth getting my ass beat for.”
She gently kissed the end of his nose and let out a feminine sigh.
“My nose is not what needs kissing,” Zip stated.
I turned and left them alone in the living room, not needing to witness Joni tending to Zip. As I was making my way back to the bedroom, I saw Silas standing in the hallway with Captain by his side and Darcy closing the door of Gray’s clubhouse room.
“Silas told me the kids are awake?” she asked with a questioning look.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Colt and Zip had an altercation.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Joni.”
“Ah. So that finally happened?”
“You knew?” I asked with a surprised smile.
She grinned. “Not a lot gets past me.” Darcy set her hand on Silas’s shoulder. “Should we get you guys back to bed?”
Silas nodded and hastily brushed his too long hair off his forehead. “Will you come back and sleep downstairs with us, Mia?” Silas asked, his eyes wide with trust.
“Colt isn’t feeling well,” I said. “I need to make sure he’s okay. And then I promise I’ll tuck you in. Is that all right?”
“That’s all right,” he said.
Before I knew what was happening, Silas lurched forward to wrap his arms around my middle, giving me a hug.
I looked at Darcy who stared at me with a slight smile.
I embraced Silas tightly and then dropped a kiss to his forehead.
“I’ll be downstairs in just a minute,” Darcy said. “There’s ice cream in the freezer down there. You guys need a bowl before you go back to sleep.”
Silas’s face brightened and with the promise of ice cream, he ran down the stairs, Captain at his heels. When Darcy was sure he was gone, she said to me, “Being a mom comes pretty naturally to you.”