Page 170 of Unexpected Redemption

She flips her palms out to the sides. “I mean, damn. How the hell am I supposed to hate you after that?”

“Maybe... I don’t know. I’m just spitballing here. Perhaps you could considernothating me.”

With a flamboyant roll of her eyes, she bristles past me. “Consider not hating me,” she mocks, crinkling her face and deepening her voice to sound more masculine.

Two steps away, she pauses and spins on her heel. Finger extended toward my face, she sneers, “Hurt her again, and you’llwishI was kind enough to punch you. You get me?”

“I got you, Stella. But I will never hurt her again.”

She lowers her finger, eyeing me closely. “Fine. I’ll be watching you.” A quick nod. “By the way, that was some good-ass steak. And the collar is perfect for her. Nice job on both those things.”

Chapter 38

Mile High Club

LETTIE

Welp. It’s happened. My jeans are officially too tight. My baby bump is bumping.

Looks like it’s sundresses and yoga pants until I can get to a store to buy some maternity clothes. Fortunately, Florida has a lovely climate year-round, and I won’t need to bundle up much.

Then again, why shop in a store when you can buy online?

Now, to use or not use the company credit card. That’s the question.

Kidding. I won’t use Redleg money to buy clothes. Honest.

Perhaps we can do a little shopping after we arrive in Georgia. It’ll probably be safe enough, considering a whole freaking crew of bodyguards is traveling to Climax with Tomer and me. It’s like a hot guy convention is about to breach the town. No one tell Claudia Hecht, Alexandra Hoffman,orChristina Rybka. That trio makes twitchy coochie Kate the cougar look like a cub.

Although the danger the Lenkov Bratva poses isn’t fully resolved, Tomer and Boss Dad decided we could make this trip, assuming we follow their million and one safety precautions. Big Al was kind enough to rent a private jet for our trip, which he assured us would be safer than flying commercial.

I glance at the row behind us, finding him and Madeline sitting quietly with his hand resting on her leg. I can’t help but wonder why he was so adamant about making the trip with us. Tomer says he rarely leaves HQ. If the famous gut trait is genetic, I suspect he’s gonna confront Mama.

Good for him.

He needs to wait in line, though. Me first. I got dibs.

Others flying with us are Jonesy, Aaron, Leo, and Sue. It would seem Leo was unwilling to let his mother go without him. He’s been incredibly protective of her since she was shot. Tomer says he always has been. Meanwhile, Sue was happy they could have a mini-vacation before she gets into the second half of her pregnancy, which is right around the corner. Hate to disappoint her, but Climax isn’t a stellar vacation destination. She’ll see that soon enough.

Yesterday, Josh, Junior, and Scotty flew to Georgia on a commercial flight. Their job is to ensure we’d be safe from the second our plane touches down on the runway. Bit of overkill if you ask me.

However, I’m not opposed to protecting my growing caterpillar and ensuring all the people I love are safe and sound.

Speaking of people I love... Stella’s a few rows back. She’s finally returning home. With Pumpkin in tow.Shudder.

The only bright side to having a bearded dragon on the plane with us is that the creature will no longer be in Florida uponour return. Not sure why that matters since there are lizards everywhere you turn in the good ol’ Sunshine State.

Feeling extremely mature and demure, I crane my neck, ready to stick my tongue out at Stella. But she’s not there.Huh. Maybe she’s using the restroom.

I’m gonna miss my bestie when we leave her in Climax.

The last few weeks have been fantastic. Not a trace of resentment remains between her and Tomer. Not even the news of the pregnancy dampened their budding friendship. I chickened out about revealing the news on the night she and Tomer squashed the tension between them. It would have been like stomping muddy boots across freshly mopped floors and hoping they didn’t dull the shine.

Aside from that, I’m a chicken shit by nature. And my home in denial is lovely this time of year. That being said, I grew a pair and shared the news a few days later.

She was overjoyed for me.

Either because she knows how much I’ve always wanted a family or how brightly I was shining when I told her. Regardless of why, her reaction warmed my heart and removed all lingering discomfort between us.

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