Page 81 of Claymore
She wrapped her arms around me, and I carried her in, glancing at all of the expectant faces in the clubhouse living room. I gave them a single nod before we made our way upstairs. I kicked the door shut behind us, setting her down on the bed.
“Ella…”
I bent down in front of her, caressing her cheek. Her soft curls brushed across my skin, and I pressed my forehead to hers.
“Claymore.”
She sniffled, fighting more tears that welled up inside her eyes.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For everything.”
Chapter Twenty
Ella
Two Months Later
All I ever wanted was a fresh start. Two months had gone by so quickly and every day, my heart hurt a little less. It felt foolish to toy with the idea of a normal life, to believe that we could all finally relax now that Ray was gone, but I knew better. I told Claymore everything Ray had said, every word about Dani Garcia, the woman I used to call a friend. I reached into my keepsake box that I’d packed along with the other things from my apartment, pulling out a photograph I hadn’t seen in years. I stared at our little faces, so young, so full of life wondering where things went wrong.
Ray and Dani were inseparable as kids. They always planned for a crazy, adventurous future together, one I’d always felt left out of. It was like I didn’t belong in their world. When I finally realized that Ray was traveling down a dangerous path, part of me always wondered about Dani. I used to hope that she ended up happy somewhere far away from Sedona, but now I knew the truth.You’re no better than him, Dani. You’ve caused just as much damage as he did.
I stuffed the photograph back into the box, just as I heard a knock on the front door. I tightened the tie around my robe before I answered, taking a look in the peephole to see Ronnie’s face staring back at me.
“Hey, did you get it?”
“Yes, I did. Here,” she said, handing me a brown paper bag.
“Thank you, Ronnie.”
I opened it up, pulling out the pink box that read “Pregnancy Test”on the front. My heart started racing, wondering if I was just being paranoid, or if it was just the stress that was getting to me.
“How late are you?”
“A week and a half. Could be nothing, but it also could be something,” I said, pressing my lips together.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out. Would you like me to stay?” she asked, and I nodded.
“Yes, please. I could use the company. Claymore and Ripper are off looking into some new lead on Fang. Something about an old cop friend of Tank’s. I hope they find something,” I said.
“I hope so too. It would give us all peace of mind to know she isn’t a threat, but something tells me she might be.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Ronnie shot me a warm smile as I went inside the bathroom with the test in hand. I took it, setting it down on the bathroom counter before I washed my hands. I returned to the living room to find Ronnie there with her dark hair laying in soft waves over her chest and a comforting look in her eyes that I needed to see right about now.
“Three minutes,” I said.
“Nervous?”
I nodded, taking a deep breath.
“Part of me wants it to be negative because the thought of bringing a baby into this world with all that we deal with is terrifying.”
“And the other part?”
