Page 173 of Brutal Collateral

What I see next shatters me.

On the marble counter is a pregnancy test.

I pick it up. “What the hell do two pink lines mean?”

She takes it from me. “You seriously don’t know? Don’t you listen to country music?”

“Are you pregnant?” It hits me with the force of a prizefighter’s fist to the face.

“That’s how you ask me if I’m having your child?”

I back her against the vanity. “Answer me, wife. Are you carrying my child?”

“I guess I am. We’ve been careful. Except when...” She closes her eyes. “That night we got a little out of control in your car.”

“The night of the engagement dinner at your aunt’s house?” I calculate backward. “That was two months ago. You’ve not bled in two months?”

“I... I was never regular. And with all the weight I lost.” She holds her stomach.

I stand frozen, the earth no longer spinning, air gone from my lungs. My chest constricts with a tidal wave of emotion so powerful it could knock me over. I try to respond, but every damn thing that forms in my head sounds inadequate. All I can do is ride out the storm raging within me.

Ava’s eyes shimmer, her strength growing, seeing me break down. But behind her eyes, I see something raw and vulnerable. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel. This wasn’t part of the plan, Griffin. I—”

I cup her face, tempering the strength in my lethal hands. I’m so full of alpha possession, it’s a fire rushing through my veins. Hearing those simple words, news that men hear every day, but I never thought it would be me. My heart pounds so damn loudly that I’m sure she could hear it.

“Ava,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “Do you know what this means?”

“This means you’re stuck with me.” She blinks, surprise flickering in her eyes.

Laughter erupts from my chest. “Baby or no baby, I wasn’t letting you go. This...” I kiss her, fierce and desperate.

Whatever the hell I could say doesn’t do justice to the depth of what’s racing through my mind.

“How do you feel?” I ask, holding her face. “This isn’t about me. This is about us. What you’ve given us.”

“I’m adjusting,” she says, exhaling. “I did feel happy when I saw the lines.”

“Really?” I cradle her against my chest.

“Really.”

I steer her back into the bedroom where all I want to do is curl up with her.

Tonight, my axis has shifted twice. Ava giving me a child is worth more than any power from my position and more than loyalty from those who bend the knee to me. She’s given me something that willalwaysbe mine.

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