Page 125 of Mine to Worship

He disappears from the screen and it’s just me and my wife.

“So, you thought I needed a babysitter?”

I need to tread very carefully here.

“I thought you would love having him around,” I try with an understanding grin.

“And I do. Oh and you’ll be happy to know Kendrick came up twice today, Jason once, and Tara and Aubrey visited on their breaks.”

“That’s good,” I lie through my teeth. They aren’t checking on her nearly enough. I’ll fix that after we end the call.

She taps her lips with a finger. “I’m debating if I should kiss you when you come home or strangle you.”

“The first, I’ll take the first.”

“Hmm, did you get the impression I was giving you a choice?”

Her bossiness makes my cock twitch. I breathe in, summoning patience.

“Did you hear me?” she asks.

“Sorry, angel. I have a lot on my mind.”

And she, being the perfect woman she is, nods in understanding. I stopped asking myself if I deserve her or not. She’s mine and that’s the end of it.

While they make themselves comfortable on the couch, I put my phone in the holder and watch a comedy with them, but mostly I gaze at her. The bowl of popcorn rests on her belly, and she and Brandon fight over the remote control. When the movie is over, Ellia stretches, kisses my brother goodnight on the cheek, and takes me with her to our bedroom. When she climbs into bed, she places the cell on my pillow and says, “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“I’ll wake up with you, too.”

Her smile melts me from within.

“Good night, husband.”

“Good night, wife.”

I watch her falling asleep while my anger grows at how Richard’s idiocy will cost us a fortune to clean up. I am not a quitter, and too many people rely on me. I won’t disappoint any of them. He put so many lives in jeopardy to finance his illegal night activities. The more of his warehouses I shut down over the years, the more the idiot invested in his fighting and prostitution rings.

When Ellia falls asleep, I call Mikaela and entrust her with summoning a team of ten people from my staff. Even though I said I was leaving the day after tomorrow, I need the third day to create and enforce a battle plan. I work through the night, my eyes swinging back and forth between my laptop and my phone, watching Ellia curled up, half on my side of the bed. My body longs to feel her skin against mine.

Her round belly peeks out from under my shirt, and emotions subdue me, when I imagine holding my daughter in my arms for the first time.

I ignore the throbbing in my back as I am hunched over the reports, years of financial losses while I was building an empire on the other coast. We are brothers. How can he be this careless, this unfit to make smart decisions?

“Good morning,” I hear Ellia say, her sweet voice heavy with sleep, while she rubs the remnants from her eyes.

“Morning, angel.”

My entire demeanor changes to light at her voice. I am a goner for this woman.

Worry etches into her eyes.

“You’re still working. Did you even take a break?”

“The sooner I am done here, the sooner I can come back home to you two.”

“Yes, but we want you healthy and fit.”

“You’re incentive enough to keep me going.”

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