Page 92 of Midnight Racers

There was little traffic on the road at this time in the morning, so I made it across London in reasonable time, turning into the leafy suburbs where my replacement lived. Grandma always said I took after Mum, but this clown was all Dad, and my hatred for that man knew no bounds.

I casually rapped at his door, until I heard footsteps on the stair.

“Yeah?” He actually wore pyjamas and a dressing gown, yawning as he opened the door.

“Good morning,” I said, pushing my way into his house. He tried to fight against the force of me, but right now I was full of rage and operating on no sleep. The fact that my woman was beyond my reach made my temper even worse.

My hand grabbed Tom’s scrawny neck as I pinned him to the wall. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Flynn, and you are my pitiful excuse for a brother. I happen to know you tested positive as a match to donate to Dad a while ago. My advice to you would be to hand over your body part to the selfish bastard who sired us.”

“Or what?” He tried to dislodge my hand from his throat.

I pulled the gun from the holster at the back of my jeans and stuck it in his face. “Or I come back and blow your brains out. I would beat the crap out of you right now, but they like you to be healthy when they cut you open to remove a kidney. I’ll let Aunt Cathy know you’ll be at the hospital bright and early ready to donate.”

I dropped him on the floor. “You can’t do this,” he whined.

I crouched in front of him. “I’m having a really bad day, so don’t push your luck. That man hasn’t meant a damn thing to me from the day he walked out of my life. I have no problem with him disappearing from this world and you with him. Have a nice day.”

Since it was his kidney they needed, I kicked him in the balls before I left because, as I said, I was having a shitty day.

I drove home past where Charlotte was staying, but the curtains were closed and there was no sign of the occupants being awake.

I sat for several seconds and acknowledged the fact that I missed her. My life was empty without her smile, her laugh, and the way she curled herself around me when she slept. It was the one thing I swore I would never do, but I had fallen helplessly and hopelessly in love with Charlotte, and I had no idea how to fix what I had broken.

***

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Charlotte

“Everything looks perfectly healthy, Miss. Jones,” the maternity nurse said as she watched the monitor. “Just about the right size for three months.”

Mum squeezed my hand and I closed my eyes. It should be Flynn here beside me. Did he sit with that other woman during her scans? Did he hold her hand and tell her everything would be okay?

The nurse stopped for a moment. “The doctor said there were some concerns over the pregnancy and if you wished to continue with it?” she queried gently.

I shook my head, and another tear escaped. “Sorry, I can’t seem to stop crying,” I replied. “No, there are no concerns. This baby will want for nothing, even if the father and I are having a rough time.”

She nodded and returned to her scan, taking measurements and typing as she went.

“I remember my first scan with you,” Mum said. “I was so nervous because Dale wasn’t very old and James and I were having financial problems. One look at that monitor and I knew then that I loved you. Take a look, Charlotte.”

I hadn’t even realised I had been avoiding looking at the monitor. I turned my head to the side and the first thing I saw was the tiny fluttering of a heartbeat. The nurse started from the beginning to point out all the visible features.

“Motherhood is a scary journey,” she said as she handed me the photographs of the scan. “Everyone is overwhelmed and time tends to take care of most problems.”

Mum and I had lunch in our favourite restaurant, with her telling me stories of her pregnancies to try and cheer me up.

“Do you love him?” Mum finally asked as I pushed my apple tart and custard around my bowl.

I didn’t need to ask who, she was talking about Flynn, a man she’d never met and was about to become related to.

“I never meant to fall in love with him.” I chewed the corner of my lip. “I felt like one of those moths who flies too close to the flame just to feel its heat. He made me believe I was enough, and no one has ever done that before.” I buried my head in my hands.

Mum touched me to get my attention. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yes, I love him, but that doesn’t seem to be enough.”

“Love is always enough,” Mum replied. “And I don’t care who this other woman is, he had you living in his house, not her. I think when we get home, it would be best if you ring him. He has the right to know about the baby, and take it from someone who has lived through disaster after disaster in a relationship, the only time talking doesn’t work is when one side doesn’t engage in the process.”

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