Page 37 of Red Zone

My stomach twisted.Lily wasn’t just Skye’s daughter—she was mine.I wasn’t confused anymore, not about that.But the reality of it? The weight of what it means?That still hadn’t settled. “You’ve been in her life this whole time. You had to know, right? Why the hell wouldn’t you say something?”

Mav’s gaze hardened, his voice dropping to a dangerous calm. “You think this is about me? This is about you not stepping up when it mattered. I’ve been there for Skye because she needed someone who wouldn’t bail. Where were you, Liam?”

His words hit their mark, stoking the fire raging in my chest. I growled. “If you’re not the father, then stop acting like her damn guardian.”

Maverick took a deliberate step closer, his voice a low growl. “I’m not her guardian—I’m her friend. Someone who didn’t bail when things got hard.”

The accusation burned, but I couldn’t let it go. The thought of what she’d done swung into another round of denial. “She would’ve told me if I was the father.”

He stared at me for a long moment, the tension between us thick enough to cut. Then, with a slow shake, he said, “Ask her, Liam. If you want the truth, ask Skye. But if you’re not ready to hear it, stop dragging me into your mess.”

I swallowed hard, his words twisting like a knife. “You think I haven’t tried? She won’t give me a straight answer.”But did I actually ask her? Or did I ask a roundabout question about the father being in the picture?

“That’s on you to fix,” he said, his tone softening slightly. “But don’t come at me like I’m the enemy here. I’ve been there for her because she needed someone. And if you care about her—about Lily—you’ll stop pointing fingers and figure out what the hell you want.”

I stood frozen as he climbed into his car and started the engine. He wasn’t my competition. He never had been. But ifMav wasn’t the father, that only left one answer.She’d known this entire time, and she never told me.My stomach knotted, a slow, searing ache settling in my chest.She chose to do this alone. She chose to keep me out of it.

My hands fisted at my sides. The betrayal ran deeper than I expected, cutting through the anger and landing somewhere I wasn’t ready to face. It wasn’t just that Skye had kept her from me—it was that she never even gave me the chance to step up. The motor’s hum faded into the background, his words echoing in my head as I made my way back to the barbeque.

Mav wasn’t wrong. I had a lot to prove to Skye if I wanted her in my life—and I did.And Lily?I already cared about her like she was mine, and I wasn’t about to walk away again. The anger and betrayal I felt wasn’t as easy to let go of.

I shoved the difficult conversations to the recesses of my mind, not yet ready to have a confrontation with Skye. I needed time to process learning about who I was to Lily. In the meantime, I was determined to spend as much time with them as I could. I wanted Skye to see that I would be there for her and her daughter. I wasn’t the same person as I was before.

Kylian and Ares sat at the kitchen table and chatted with Coach about scouts and prospects while I found Skye playing a board game with Lily and Coaches wife in the living room. Not ready to leave, I talked them into letting me join in and teamed up with Lily. One game turned into two before Lily’s yawns came one after the other.

As Lily leaned against me, Skye’s hands froze mid-motion, gripping the edge of the game board. Her lips twitched like she wanted to say something, but she packed up the pieces instead. The cautious way her eyes flicked between me and Lily made my chest tighten. She wasn’t just protective—she was scared.

“You don’t have to stick around,” she said lightly, but something in her voice was cautious.

“I want to.” I kept my tone easy.

Her shoulders stiffened like she was bracing for something I wasn’t sure I could stop.

“Time for bed, Lils,” Skye said, packing up the game. “If you go right up, I’ll read you a story.”

“No.” Her arms crossed defiantly over her little body, and she flung herself against my side. “Want Liam.”

Skye’s lips pressed tightly together, and I laughed, lifting Lily to her feet. “Go get ready with your mom, and I’ll come read you a story afterward.”

The little negotiator grinned then raced up the stairs, Skye following with a perplexed expression as she glanced over her shoulder at me. That left me with her aunt, who stared intently at me again. Her look wasn’t just surprised—it was conflicted. Like she wasn’t sure whether to pull me closer or push me away. Lily’s easy affection for me was adorable, but it felt like walking a minefield.How long before Skye’s walls come back up?

I got to my feet and helped Eileen up, making a quick stop to tell Kylian and Ares I would be about fifteen minutes more.

The room felt different—charged with something unspoken. My pulse slowed, the tension thickening as my gaze flicked to the staircase where Lily had disappeared moments ago.She had grinned up at me, trusting and unguarded, and it hit differently now.The weight of it all settled, pressing in at the edges of my ribs.

Eileen’s gaze lingered on me, unreadable—like she was waiting for me to say something, torealizesomething—before she quickly turned away.

But I already knew.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SKYE

“Skye Finley.” Aunt Eileen grabbed my arm and pulled me into her bedroom next to mine and Lily’s. “That young man is amazing with Lily.” My aunt crossed her arms over her chest and leveled me with the look that used to make me agree to anything she told me to do—but that was before I became a mom.

“Yeah, he is, but I bet that’s because he doesn’t have any of the responsibility weighing him down.” I slapped my hand over my heart, frustration buzzing along my skin from the impossibility of our situation. “I know what his priorities are.” Or I did, but trusting was difficult. “Just, don’t push me on this. Please.”

“He was young then, sweetheart.” Aunt Eileen pulled me in for a hug, rocking slowly. “Everybody changes as they mature. It’s not just about you, Skye. He has a right to know. Give him a chance. You and Lily are so special, and I know he sees it by the way he watches you when you’re not looking.”

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