Page 168 of Wild Blades

“But what?—”

“Less talking, more moving.” She claps her hands together. “You have nine minutes.” She sounds more like a sergeant major than my sister.

Worry works its way into my brain. The old feelings of unworthiness have taken up residency in my head once more. “What if she doesn’t want me?”

“Well, duh, she’s leaving because she thinks you don’t want her. God, you two are a mess. Do I have to do everything around here? She knows it was the cleaner who was here the other week. I wished you had told her that at the time, though. Anyway, that doesn’t matter now. Do you love her?”

“Of course I do.” There’s no doubt that’s my baby. I won’t let her leave.

“Well, she still loves you, too, but if you don’t tell her how you feel, how will she ever know? She was here every day trying to tell you how she felt and to explain why she did what she did, but you didn’t even open the door for her. No wonder she gave up on you. And she’s about to jump on a goddamn plane in less than six hours and she’s carrying your baby.”

My brain is catching up with Kali’s explosive news. “I’m going to be a dad.” I’m so fucking excited about that, the blood pumping through my veins, sending my adrenaline into orbit.

“You won’t be any such thing if you don’t get up those stairs and make yourself look at least half presentable. Eight minutes. Go.”

“What happens if she—” She doesn’t let me finish.

“Just move. Now.” She looks like she’s about to explode, red patches of frustration bleed across her neck.

“Are you not freezing?” I look down at her dark navy strapless dress and strappy sandals. It’s no outfit for winter.

“Very. But we have a party to crash, and we need to look the part if we are to gain entry. Now hurry up. I need to pee. Seven minutes.” She darts off to the bathroom under the stairs and I don’t know how I manage it, but I’m shaved, showered, and dressed in one of my black Tom Ford suits, black tee shirt and all black chucks, which Lola picked out for me.

Then I’m shoved by Lola, who is being very forceful today, into the back of Max’s Range Rover. Lola apparently slipped him a backhander to get the information out of him for Kali’s leaving party, then bribed him to take us and escort us to the party.

She’s a little bit scary sometimes.

I find it odd Lola wasn’t invited to Kali’s party, because Kali and Lola get on like sisters. Maybe Kali is so completely devastated and no longer wants anything to do with me or any of my family anymore.

I’m not giving her a choice to walk out of my life like I did to her.

It’s time to fucking step up and fight for what I want.

“Kali’s not leaving,” I tell Lola in the back of the car, already out of breath and in need of another shower.

“You had better hope she doesn’t. Think about what you’re going to say to her when we get there, okay?”

“Yes, boss.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Wade

“Why are we at Marcus’ house?” I ask Lola as we run up the steps at the front of his mansion two hours later.

My stomach is full of crickets jumping about as if it’s a warm summer's night. It felt like the longest journey of my life.

“Because he’s the one throwing the party for her,” she replies, holding her dress up so as not to get it dirty.

Although, looking around, there isn’t an inch of snow to be seen on any of the marble stairs leading up to the house. It’s immaculate.

“She did great things for his business. It’s his repayment of sorts,” Lola adds.

She did great things for me. I see that now. I’ve been such a fool.

“I can hardly keep a low profile, can I? Everyone knows my face. Christ, this is my dad’s house.”

My dad’s house.

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