Page 211 of Even Exchange

Raccoon, my ass.

I shove down the anger, continuing through the folder.

It’s all standard information. Medical records. Graduation certificate from CBU.

Damn, her private investigator is thorough.

My fingers flip to a page with the header Prisoner Release Form.

I gasp. She didn’t.

My eyes widen, scanning the page.

She did.

49

NOAH

Wife

Me

You on your way? I gotta put my phone in the locker now.

I stare at the unread message. She hasn’t replied in two hours, and I got the doorbell notification when she arrived home from the library, but damn, that must be some nap. I fight the disappointment that she might not make it to the first game she’d join as mywife.

She is growing a child, after all.Ourchild. My lips curl into a smile.

I type out another message.

Me

I love you Mrs. Caruso

Tell baby Daddy loves her too

“You coming?” Knox says, pulling my attention away from the phone.

I push down the anxiety and toss it in the locker.

The first quarter goes by, and if I’m not on the field, my eyes are scanning the crowd. Elijah, Sophia, and Theo are at my seats. Alone. No Charlotte in sight.

They’re only twenty yards away, and during the two-minute break between quarters, given Barracudas will start on defense, I jog to the sideline and shout up to them. “Have you heard from Char?”

“No,” Sophia calls back, brows furrowing. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I say, waving them off. “She must have crashed after the library.”

I rush back to my team and force myself to focus.

This job pays my bills.

This job takes care of my wife and child.

They’re fine.

Just because she’s not in your viewpoint every second of the day doesn’t mean something is wrong.Maybe she went into labor?She’s only a month away from her due date. I shake off the thought. If that were true, Sophia would at least know and be by her side instead of here.

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