Page 60 of Keeper

Alex meets us in the foyer first with his head bowed and dress shirt unbuttoned halfway down. His hair is a mess and one of his shoes is untied. It’s the most unkempt I’ve ever seen him.

“Alex,” I scold gently, walking over to button his shirt and try to flatten his hair. “I understand you’re scared, but we have to keep up appearances. Don’t you think it’ll be suspicious if you look defeated before we even go?”

“None of it matters. We aren’t going to pull this off.”

Ignoring him, I drop down to tie his shoe as Draven joins us. It seems I’ll have to remind him to keep up appearances too, because he does nothing to hide the scowl on his face. “Tie your own fucking shoes, Alexander.”

He reaches down to take my hand and help me up, the scent of his cologne calming the anxiety threatening to suffocate me.

He’s wearing a deep blue collared shirt that brings out his eyes so well it stops me in my tracks. This is the man who killed Jake to help a friend, who killed Theo just for showing me kindness. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that Draven Creed will protect his child. It’ll be okay.

Bastard, baby, murderer, psycho, savior.

“Hi.” I can’t kiss him, not here, so I force myself to take a step back from him. “Any news?”

“Yeah. Unfortunately, Father’s computer was hacked last night and they can’t figure out what was taken. Whoever it was filled it with porn.”

He offers me a small smile, one that has a much larger effect. “That’s terrible,” I say with a surprisingly straight face. “What’s he doing about it?”

“I imagine he’s hiding in his office pretending he isn’t tempted to jack off.” He shrugs. “Not my problem, but I’m coming along to make sure everything goes smoothly here. Tie your shoes and pull your shit together, big brother. After today there will be no questions about whether or not you’re going to be a dad.”

Madeline lets out an audible sigh of relief next to me, blushing when all three of us turn to look at her. “What? I’m simply glad that Mr. Creed has someone he can rely on, that’s all. It’s a good thing you’re going, Draven. Thank you.”

She knows, and all three of us understand that. It’s just another layer of this twisted, dangerous web we’re weaving.

“Of course they can rely on me.” Draven’s smile is genuine as he steps in to kiss her on the cheek. “You raised me right, Miss Maddy.”

“Kiss ass,” Alex mutters, but the relief is evident on his face.

Draven did it. We can do this.

“We should get going,” I say quickly, taking Alex’s arm and heading for the door. “I wouldn’t want to be late.”

Or to stall so long that Ephraim changes his mind. We have one shot at this, and if we blow it... I don’t want to think about what will happen.

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“Sullivan Harbough,”I tell the receptionist. “I’m here to have a p—”

“Paternity test, yes. You and Alex can follow Nurse Stall to the back.”

Grinning, I turn and nod to Draven, who falls into step behind me. We’re fine, I think, until Nurse Stall glances at her clipboard then behind him to Alex. “Oh, I’m sorry. We need him to come too since he’s the father being tested.”

“And where he goes I go,” Draven says, an authority in his tone he doesn’t bring out often. “Do we have a problem?”

I’m still stuck on how she knows, but as I step closer, I catch a glimpse of a picture of Alex on her clipboard. Ephraim must’ve made sure they knew what he looked like after Draven’s display at the fertility tests.

“No, no problem,” she says with a cheery smile. “Right this way.”

Okay. I can do this. We can do this. My inner monologue has become a broken record, but there’s no alternative here. We have to succeed.

The small exam room becomes crowded when both Alex and Draven step in, and Nurse Stall looks a little uncomfortable as she sits me down. “It’ll be an easy test, as I’m sure you’ve been told. I’ll take a little blood from you, and we’ll be able to discern the fetus’ DNA profile from yours, then compare it to Alexander’s to confirm he’s the biological father. The results normally take a week, but Mr. Creed has put a rush on it. Do you have any questions?”

A half-cocked plan forms in my mind. “Um... nope. Can you do mine first, though? I tend to get a little squeamish around blood, so I’d like to be able to sit for a few minutes after it’s done.”

“Understandable. I’ll grab you a cup of water when it’s all said and done, and you can take all the time you need back here.”

She starts by taking my vitals before she begins opening up the needle packaging, and the entire time she works I feel Draven’s eyes on me.

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