Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Halo, this is Fender, Bane and Crosby’s father,” Linc said.
Fender Cash closed the door and moved his gaze to Linc as he walked past me. He didn’t speak, and I honestly wasn’t sure I could move. His son was dead. He blamed me. I understood that, but it didn’t make it easier to breathe. All the heaviness I’d managed to crawl out from under this week was back, and the weight was even worse than before.
“Come here, Halo.” Bane’s tone held a faint trace of sympathy.
But then when it came to Bane, I tended to make things up in my head that weren’t there because I wanted them to be. I looked over at him, and he had his hand on the back of one of the leather chairs.
“Sit down,” he told me in a firmer tone this time.
Each step I took felt like I was pulling chains that weighed a ton behind me. When I reached the chair, I slowly eased down onto it, knowing that the minute I was seated, things were going to be said that I didn’t want to hear. It was as if a storm was spinning in my head that wouldn’t slow down for me to make sense of it all.
“You’re pale,” Linc said. “Take a deep breath and let it out.”
I nodded and did as I had been told. It didn’t help.
Like last time, he sat on the edge of the desk in front of me. Luther was leaning by the window, looking out, while Bane was now behind me. His scent might be the only thing keeping me steady. If he knew that, he’d scowl at me or possibly grimace.
Fender sat down in the chair to the left of me and rested one of his ankles on the opposite knee.
Linc glanced at him. “Need a drink?”
Fender shook his head. “Not before noon. I’ll leave that to Bane.”
Linc released an amused chuckle.
Luther turned to look back at us and held up the glass in his hand. “Don’t judge,” he said with a smirk.
“Ares is dead,” Linc said without any ease into it or warning.
I’d known that. My chest didn’t constrict, nor did my eyes fill with tears. There was no sudden wave of emotion. I had already lost Ares. Whatever grief I might have felt with his death had come and gone before today. It felt as if a door had slammed on any connection I’d once had with him. Severing it, along with one with Nick, Iris, and even Carina. The only sorrow I felt now was for my little brothers. I ached because I doubted I’d ever see them again. I would miss them growing up. They were the only family I had left that I would grieve over.
I nodded my head once to acknowledge it.
Linc’s gaze flicked up to Bane, who was behind me, then back to me. “The recording you heard of the phone conversation, it came from Ares’s cell phone. He had a program on his phone that recorded every call on your sister’s phone and sent it to his phone. The moment a call went in or out of her phone, he was alerted and could listen to it.” He cleared his throat and reached for the iPad behind him.
Oh God. I didn’t want to listen to more.
“We’ve heard every call made between you and Crosby. If he’d used his cell, we would have known someone was recording his calls and tracked it down to Ares. But Crosby bought a cell phone just to call and text you. For several reasons that are easy to guess. The first being so that Saylor wouldn’t see it. She knew the passcode to his cell phone, and I am sure she looked at it often. But also to keep you hidden from the family until he was ready.”
He held the iPad in front of him, then tapped it.
“I took the test.” My voice sounded shaky and on the verge of tears as the recording played aloud.
“And I told you that whatever it says, I am not going anywhere. I love you, Halo.”
Crosby’s voice hurt to hear. I pressed a fist to my chest and dropped my gaze to my lap. I wished I had been able to tell him I loved him, but I hadn’t wanted to lie.
“It’s … it’s positive,” I said just above a whisper. “I just don’t know how. I … we … we always used a condom.”
He let out a sigh.
I closed my eyes. I could remember all the fear and uncertainty I’d felt, standing on the front porch, telling him this. The snowball effect after this call had destroyed so many people.
“Angel, listen, one broke a few weeks ago. The second time we were together. It was an old one, but that was all I had on me. I had known I shouldn’t trust it, but I got carried away. I’m sorry—only because I know you’re upset and scared right now. But I’m not sorry because you’re pregnant.” He paused. “Because I get to keep you forever. We will move in together. I want this. I want you.” His voice took on a pleased tone. As if he was actually excited about the situation.