Page 12 of Culmination
“About the baby, Matthews. You kept that from me, and I want to know why. This changes everything.”
The glee in his voice unsettles me. Why would he care? What could it possibly change? Trying to exude a sense of calm I don’t feel, I voice those questions.
And then, with a boisterous laugh, he answers me, informing me of the abominable plans he has for Brie. For the child..
I bite back the response that’s on the tip of my tongue.
Over my dead fucking body.
Thing was… I’m not exactly sure that won’t happen.
Not if he has anything to say about it.
By the time we hang up, I’m frantic. I don’t even care if the bastard’s having me watched. I immediately call Brie, desperate to hear her voice, to know she’s safely tucked away in the hotel room.
She doesn’t answer.
“Answer the goddamn phone!”
My fist slams into the steering wheel harder than I intended. I’ve called Brie seven times in the last forty minutes. With each call that goes straight to voicemail, my uneasiness heightens. Sick knots twist in my stomach, and I swear to God, if he’s touched a single hair on her head, he’s a dead man.
I beat the steering wheel at the sound of her mailbox greeting.
Fucking hell. I never should’ve left her alone in the hotel room.
Then again, there’s no way I could’ve taken her with me.
Besides, Theo can’t have her. He ended our phone call by summoning me to his estate--and I’ve been ordered to bring Brie there. To deliver her to him into open, treacherous arms, where he plans to keep her until she gives birth.
Yeah, the sick fuck Theo Morningstar not only knows that Brie’s pregnant, but he’s under the impression that the baby she carries is his grandchild. His new heir now that Adrian’s dishonored him.
I want to call him back. Tell him to fuck off. I want to tell him he’ll never see Brie again—and he’ll never see the baby. That the only man who’s touched Brie in months is me, and that the baby’s mine. Not Adrian’s. That he can forget it because he has no claim.
Only I do.
But I don’t. I can’t. Because I know that, for at least the next six months, Brie will be safe as long as he thinks the baby carries his blood.
I just have to make sure Theo Morningstar is rotting behind bars before she gives birth.
That…
Or dead.
I DON’T KNOW IFI’m trying to distract him or myself, but either way, as soon as Rafe steps into the room and closes the door, I launch myself at him before peppering his jawline with kisses. He laughs, circling his arms around my waist and lifting me up. My legs wrap around him. My arms do the same around his neck.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone missed me,” he teases.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve gotten pretty attached.”
He laughs again before setting me down on the ground. I roam his body with my gaze while he removes his concealed carry and places it on the table along with his phone. My eyes narrow when I see it, remembering that he didn’t answer any of the times I called, but I’m too distracted by lust to bring it up right now. He slips his shoes off then turns back to me.
“What the fuck?” he clips, causing me to jump.
“What?” I ask innocently, all the while mentally cursing myself for not turning the lighting down. Not that my bandaged head would’ve been unnoticeable.
“What the hell do you mean, what? I’m gone for a few hours, and when I get back, you have a fucking head wound?” A mixture of both anger and concern flashes in his eyes.
I inadvertently bring my hand to my head, flinching when my fingers graze the bandage. “It’s not a big deal,” I tell him even though I know he’ll demand an explanation.
