Page 28 of Gluttony

There—Obstetrics.

“What are you doing?” she inquired again, this time attempting to lean over the table and see the phone screen.

As he read, his chest got tighter and tighter, until he finally read the words he’d been looking for.

With as much control as he could muster, he took a slow, deep breath. Placing his phone face down on the table, he met Tornado’s gaze, sending a silent message. Tornado’s steely eyesflashed with rage, though the rest of his expression remained as flat as Florida.

“What?” Frost asked, sensing the tension.

Red cast him a quick speaking glance before finally pinning his gaze to Shannon.

“According to your medical records, you had your first OB appointment twelve weeks ago.”

Her eyes widening, her face going pale, her mouth dropping open in shock, she recovered quickly. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’m only six weeks, which makes you the father.”

Chuckling darkly, he shook his head and slowly rose to his feet. All six foot three of him glowered down at her. “You visited Dr. Brown at the practice on Morgan Highway twelve weeks ago, where the good doctor confirmed your pregnancy with a urine and blood test. At your appointment ten days ago, he performed an ultrasound, once again confirming the gestational age of your baby.”

Now, Shannon didn’t look so arrogant; her hands were shaking, her eyes flashed with fear, and she was breathing raggedly. Shaking her head jerkily, she stammered, “No-no, you’re lying! You’re the father; the baby is yours.”

God, the woman was either really desperate for his patch or delusional as fuck.

Probably both.

Tapping his knuckles against the table, Red cocked his head, his gaze landing on her baby bump.

That baby wasn’t his, but Shannonwasits mother.

Poor, unlucky little boy.

Frost rose to his feet, menace oozing from his massive frame.

“Shannon Scanlon, I don’t take kindly to anyone coming to my home and telling lies about my men.”

“But I’m not lying—he’s the father! Redtube is the father!” the shrill mania in her voice gave Red pause. What the fuck was wrong with this woman? She’d obviously fixated on him.

Shit, this is what he got for being such a dick…withhis dick.

Val could never know about this; she’d use it as an example of why his past was an insurmountable issue between them.

Suddenly done with the day, Red turned to Frost and asked, “Can Cluster deal with this? I need to get back to work.”

Shannon gave an indignant shriek and rushed around the table toward him. Cluster got to her before she could get to Red, and she fought against Cluster’s hold on her shoulders.

“Chill out, preggo, don’t want to hurt the baby, do ya?” Cluster remarked, attempting to turn Shannon toward the door.

“I’ll text Tony; he has cleaning duty today,” Frost announced, making Shannon shriek again.

“I’m not going anywhere! Red is my baby’s father—I deserve his patch; I should be his old lady!”

Holy fuck, the woman was crazy as shit.

Not even bothering to look in her direction again, he saluted Cluster, lifted his chin to Tornado, and offered Frost a quick, “Thanks, Prez,” then he strode from the conference room, suddenly in need of a fucking ride.

He had no idea where hell he was going, he just knew he was wound too tightly to sit behind a desk, hopelessly searching for a woman who didn’t want to be found.

TEN

Val puther laptop to sleep, peered angrily at the empty mug on her desk, and cursed; she remembered that her box of Nantucket Blend K-pods was empty, so there would be no more coffee for her until she got some more.

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