Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“What thing?”
“I know you know,” she whispered and opened her purse, a ratty tote bag practically glued to her side by her elbow. She reached inside and brought out what looked like a stick with a blue cap. “Don’t tell me you don’t know.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Veronica? Have you come unglued? Look, I know you’re having trouble dealing with the fact that I supposedly fucking abandoned you when you were five, but all that is utter bullshit. We’re adults. Behave like one.”
“You behave like one,” she snapped, missing the point entirely. She tossed the stick thing onto my desk and it landed with a plink.
I frowned at it, then stepped closer, tilted my head to one side. Well, damn. What the fuck? “OK,” I said. “A pregnancy test. I’m happy for you Veronica, I really am. I just think this announcement is bizarre to say the least.”
Her jaw dropped, and she swallowed, her tongue working back and forth. “You—you really don’t know. You actually don’t know. You didn’t kick her out.”
I watched her, puzzlement and concern creeping through me alongside the frustration. She needed to have her damn head checked. That or pregnancy hormones had driven her insane. “What do you want from me?” I asked. “Do you need money? You can have some if you need it for doctor’s appointments or—”
“It’s not my pregnancy test,” Veronica snapped. “It’s Riley’s. Riley’s pregnant with your baby.”
The world shuddered from left to right. My view of Veronica zoomed in and out. I leaned my palm on the desk, next to that stick, and swallowed convulsively. Pregnant. Pregnant with my baby. How is this possible? We were careful—I saw her take the Plan B.
The baby, the pregnancy, it wasn’t bad news. I’d made the choice to blow my load inside her, and I’d fucked the consequences then. But this was…this was unexpected.
“I shouldn’t have come here,” Veronica said, softly. “I thought Riley was lying. I thought you kicked her out after she told you, and that was why she cried herself to sleep the first week after she moved in with me.”
“She cried herself to sleep.” I focused on my sister’s piteous expression. “She cried herself to sleep.” I balled my free hand into a fist.
“I didn’t know she hadn’t told you yet,” Veronica whispered. “Oh god, this is bad. She’s going to shit on my head. Like she’s going to kill me. Oh god, Co—Jax, is there any chance you can forget I told you this until she’s ready to tell you?”
“No,” I replied and pushed off from the desk.
I marched toward the exit, but Veronica reached me first and clung to my arm, dug her heels in, and let out a muted shriek. “Wait!”
“I’ve got to see her,” I said.
“She’s not at my apartment.” Veronica squealed it. “She’s not there.”
“Where is she?” I growled and grabbed my sister by the upper arms. I lifted her into the air and set her down in front of me, white hot with rage now. “Where the fuck is she, Veronica? Tell me, now. No more bullshit.”
“I—I don’t know. She left. We had a fight, and she left. I was sure that she would come here or that you were—I don’t know. I was just sure she was making a mistake by wanting you.”
“It wasn’t for you to decide,” I snapped. “It doesn’t matter what you think of me or I of you. It’s not your choice. It’s hers, you idiot.”
“I’m not an idiot! I’m trying to do what’s best for my friend. I don’t want her to wind up like me, struggling to make ends meet because some loser asshole decided that a family wasn’t what he wanted!” The words erupted from Veronica and silenced me for a second. So, that was it. She was afraid of Riley winding up abandoned by some scumbag.
“You had the option to contact me,” I said, slowly. “It was always on the table. If you needed help, you should have fucking told me.”
“The last time I saw you, you were behind bars. How was I supposed to trust you after that? You own strip clubs. You—”
“Where is she?” I repeated, barely restraining my temper. Christ, she couldn’t keep me from the woman I loved. If no one could keep me from owning half of the fucking real estate in Miami, then no one would keep me from the one person who made me feel more than just a man. More than just a “strip club owner.”
“Are you going to leave her?” Veronica asked, fire in her eyes. “Are you going to pay her off and leave her? Because if that’s what you want to do, then I’ll never tell you what you want to know, no matter how much you growl.”
“Stop being a twat, Veronica,” I snapped. “I want to fucking love her. I want to marry her. I want our baby. I want it all, dipshit. Now, tell me where the hell she is, or I’ll destroy half of fucking Miami looking for her.”