Page 55 of Dagger

“Where do you get the idea that you’re a burden? That I would think of you that way?” I asked.

She just looked at her feet. I could almost feel the waves of exhaustion coming off her. “Look at me,” I said as I lifted up her chin.

When she gazed at me, I saw the dark circles under her eyes. “Please, just come home.”

She shook her head. “This is my home.”

I was too fucking tired to argue. I knew I could simply toss her over my shoulder and carry her, but we’d be right back here again tomorrow. I let out a heavy sigh and scrubbed both hands down my face. It might be a shitty thing to do, but I decided to guilt trip her into coming with me instead, “I’m tired as fuck from watching you all night, Sinclair. It’s been three days since I’ve tucked Dani in or read her a bedtime story. I feel like we’re going backwards.”

She stared at me, and I stared back. For long minutes our gazes were locked together, but the moment her shoulders sagged, I knew I had her. “Fine.” She turned away and spent the next fifteen minutes putting away her food, tying off the trash, and then, finally, packing a bag of clothes and toiletries. “I’m taking my car.” That was all she said as she yanked open the front door and stepped out, waiting silently for me to join her on the porch.

I stuck close to her little sedan as she drove the familiar path to my house, feeling relieved that she’d relented and did the right thing, but also worried because it felt like I lost something.

The moment I opened the door, she took her bags upstairs and locked herself in the guest room.

Yeah, things were different now and I wasn’t sure if they could be fixed. But she was here, and she was safe.

That’s what mattered right now.

Chapter 29

Sinclair

“Ithink maybe it’s stomach flu or something I picked up at work,” I told the doctor as I sat on top of the butcher paper covered exam table. The fluorescent lights were harsh and blinding, the walls off-white and beige and covered with posters of the female reproductive system, babies in utero and a chart showing fetal development. I turned back to the doctor with a shaky smile. “I teach fourth grade, so I’m surrounded by young children as well as their germs all day. I’ve been feeling rundown a lot and it hasn’t improved, so here I am.” My hands fidgeted in my lap, and I kept a nervous smile on my face. My nausea hadn’t settled, and I felt so exhausted all the time. I’d been through stress before, but it had never affected me like this, and I was worried that something was wrong.

Seriously wrong.

“Okay, no problem.” Dr. Brooks smiled and gave me instructions for blood and urine tests. She was a very kind woman with a good bedside manner, and I felt the tension leave my body. Twenty minutes later I was inside her office as she took a seat behind her desk. “We have some news,” she said with a tight smile.

And just like that the tension returned times a thousand. “Okay,” I said, drawing the word out until I needed to catch my breath. “Is it serious?”

Dr. Brooks’ lips pulled into a straight line. “You’re pregnant. The urine test was processed immediately but the blood test will give us an idea of how many weeks.”

I sat there trying to come to terms with what she’d just said. “Is there a chance I’m not pregnant?”

“A very small chance,” she offered. “But unlikely. The urine tests have a high degree of accuracy.” After a long pause she handed me a bunch of leaflets, “Here are some resources so that you can explore your options.”

Explore my options. I knew what she meant, and that was exactly what I should’ve been doing, but I couldn’t. I watched Dr. Brooks’ lips move, but I didn’t hear a word she said. The only word I heard was pregnant.

I was pregnant.

Having a baby.

Having abiker’sbaby.

The next thought slammed into me. Icouldn’tbe pregnant. Not by Dagger and not now. “Wow,” I whispered, mostly to myself.

“This is a big shock, I know. The receptionist will give you the log-in details so you can check the blood test this evening and I’ll get you a list of doctors in the area.”

I nodded even though I felt as if I were underwater. I always thought that if the time for children ever came, I’d be in a committed relationship, if not married. I also imagined it another five to seven years into the future. Right now, I wasn’t stable, not financially or professionally. Not to mention the factthat Dagger wasn’t exactly the man I saw at my side when I pictured my future. He was big and magnificently beautiful, but his life was also incredibly dangerous.

“Miss Bronson, are you okay?” Dr. Brooks’ voice was full of concern.

I blinked and looked around. It was almost as if I’d forgotten where I was. “Yeah, I’m okay. I will be when the news sinks in.” I tried for a smile that I didn’t feel before I got to my feet and left her office. I still couldn’t believe this was my life as I took the log-in details and the list of obstetricians in town.

It was unbelievable, really. I mean notreallysince I’d been nothing but lax in terms of birth control when it came to Dagger. I should’ve been more careful, but I wasn’t, and this was the consequence.

What was I going to do?

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