Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Exhaling, Beckett steps back. “Come on. You look like you could sleep.”
“Are you saying I don’t look great right now?”
He grins. “You look fuckin’ great, but you’re pregnant and you need to rest.”
“You’re not going to be one of those guys, are you?”
“What guys?”
He takes my hand and leads me from the clubhouse.
“You know,” I tell him on the way to the car. “The ones that don’t let their women do anything because they’re fragile little soldiers who are incapable of looking after themselves just because they’re carrying a baby?”
He pauses and looks at me. “Somethin’ tells me nothin’ is going to keep you down.”
I grin and nod. “You’d be right.”
“I also know I’m a whole lot fuckin’ stronger than you.”
I gasp as I climb into his car. “You can’t use brute strength against me.”
“Can and will.”
I cross my arms as he gets in the driver’s side.
His eyes lock onto mine.
“We’re going to fight a lot, aren’t we?” I ask.
He nods. “Yep, and I’m goin’ to win every time.”
We’ll see about that, buddy.
Oh yes.
We’ll see.
25
“She’s back,” Beckett tells me, shaking me awake from a good sleep.
My eyelids flutter open as I stare up at him. “Huh?”
“Mateo got Becky back.”
I sit upright quickly, suddenly very awake. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Riggs said she’s untouched.”
“And Rocco?” I breathe.
“No longer a problem.”
I expected to feel many things at this moment, but what I do feel isn’t one of them. I feel a range of emotions, from relief to gratitude, but the one that stands out the most is fear. Constricting fear that Beckett will go back there and everything I’ve had in the last twenty-four hours will crumble.
He must see it on my face because he takes my chin in his big hand. “Know what you’re thinkin’, and it ain’t goin’ to happen. I care about Becky, I do, and we had a fuckin’ twisted go at things, but I made a choice to be with you and this baby, and I’m stickin’ to that choice.”
“You were in love with her only days ago...”
“I don’t think I was ever in love with her. I was wrapped up in the fuckin’ delusional world we were creating. It wasn’t real, Poppy. Not a single thing about it was real. It was never going to be anything more than it was. It was wrong, and it was exciting, but what it wasn’t was love.”
I swallow.
“You gotta trust me now, yeah?”
I nod. “Let’s go and see if she’s okay.”
I get changed and grab something to eat, and then we head to the clubhouse where I know Becky will be waiting for a reunion with Beckett that will never come—waiting for something that I have taken from her.
I’m sick to my stomach the entire drive, and when we arrive, I hesitate to get out of the truck. It takes a few minutes, but I put my feet to the pavement and walk inside, ready to face the music.
The second we step in; I see Becky sitting on the sofa in the main living area. She’s got a drink in her hand, and honestly, she looks pretty good. She has a small bruise on her cheek but otherwise seems uninjured in any way. She’s not as well kept as she usually is, but that’s to be expected considering she’s been held captive for a few days.
The moment she sees Beckett, she launches to her feet and runs towards him, throwing herself in his arms. I don’t stop this. Why would I? She deserves a moment to feel grateful that she’s alive. Beckett hugs her for a second, then pulls back and checks in on her. He asks her if she’s okay, and then the two of them go off to talk.
He gives me a look as he walks away, and I give him a nod.
This is his time, now.
“Hey, you okay?” Eve asks, approaching me.
I shrug. “What am I going to do?”
“Beckett is true to his word, honey. He is in this with you.”
“It’s hard, though,” I admit, sitting down.
“The change of heart?”
I nod. “We have had a rough go of things. The second I found out I was pregnant, he wanted to give it a shot. He’s a good man, I get that, but if I wasn’t pregnant, would we be here?”
“If you want my honest opinion,” Eve says carefully, “yes, I think you would be here. You have had a rough go at things, but you two have also spent a lot of time together and grown a bond that was quite clear to all of us, even if it wasn’t to the two of you. You clash, and that made it seem like it wasn’t there, but he looks at you in a way he doesn’t look at her, Poppy.”
I swallow. I’m still not convinced.
“Maybe you’re right,” I exhale. “I just can’t help but second guess this...”