Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 124320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
“That’s good. You should go.”
“Kimba, I need to know what you’re thinking.”
“You know what I’m thinking. I’m thinking…” I swallow the hot tears crowding my throat, give myself a moment to steady my voice before continuing. “I think if this is your baby, you should be there for your family.”
“Aiko is Noah’s mother and my friend. I’ll be there for her whether this is my baby or not, but that’s not what I’m asking you. What are you thinking about us?”
“Ezra, there’s a lot of balls in the air right now.” I skirt around the question, not because I don’t know the answer, but because I’m afraid with a word if I let him, with one touch if I see him, he could change my mind. “I have a lead on the biographer. Keith thinks she might be related to Mrs. Washington.”
“Nosy Mrs. Washington? From the old neighborhood? No way.”
“Maybe. Could be just a coincidence. I’ll try to find her, talk to her and see.”
“That’s one ball in the air,” he says wryly. “Can we talk about our ball?”
“Let’s see what happens at the appointment before we have this conversation.”
“I don’t need to know if the baby is mine to know I want you,” he says in a rush, like he’s afraid I’ll hang up. “If I’m the father, I’ll be a good one. You know that.”
“You’re a fantastic father. I would expect nothing less.”
“But my mind hasn’t changed about Aiko. Our relationship is over and has been, and my heart hasn’t changed about you. I still want to be your last.”
“Ez.” I push the pain out in a long breath. “Don’t.”
“Tru, don’t let this ruin us.”
“I need to go.”
“If you could—”
I hang up. I have to.
I dial Piers immediately to stop myself from calling Ezra back.
“Hey, boss lady,” he says. “What can I do you for?”
“You got that address yet?” I ask, forcing the conversation, the turmoil with Ezra out of my mind. “For this Serena chick? I think I’ll pay her a surprise visit. Best she doesn’t see me coming.”
“Sneak attack. I like it. I should have the address soon. I’m working on it. Oh! I thought of something that might prove useful in your quest.”
“What’s that?”
“So that publisher has a parent company,” Piers says. “And you’ll never guess who it is.”
“Who?”
“The Rafferty Group.”
“Come again?” I sit on the edge of the desk, not sure I heard him right.
“Yup. Rafferty.”
“As in James Rafferty, the man we helped elect governor two years ago?”
“The same. He obviously isn’t involved in the day-to-day right now, governing and all, but it’s his family’s business. He still has pull.”
“Then so do we.”
“He owes you,” Piers says. “Not only did we get him elected, but we covered up that—“
“Piers,” I cut him off. “I’m the girl who buries the bodies then forgets where they lay. Yeah?”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. The fine governor knows that we know. That’s all that matters. He’ll want to do us any favor he can. I’m about to shut Serena Washington down. Great work, Piers. This I won’t forget.”
“You need Carla to set up a call with the governor?”
“Nope. I’ll call him myself.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Ezra
“That was her on the phone, wasn’t it?”
Aiko stands at the door to the guest bedroom where I’ve been sleeping. I sit on the edge of the bed, phone still in my hand. Kimba hung up long ago, but I still hear her voice, the resignation in it. If this is my baby, I’m going to lose her, and it’s like a shoal of piranha trapped in my belly, a feeding frenzy of anxiety and dread.
I don’t answer Aiko’s question, but stand and cross the room to leave. She doesn’t move, but blocks my exit, a tiny wall keeping me inside.
“Ko,” I say, hearing the impatience in my own voice. “I need to get by.”
“Ezra.” She runs her hands up my chest.
I slip past her, striding out into the hall and heading down the stairs. I settle in at my desk, open my laptop and try to distract myself with all the other things that require my attention. There’s an email to re-schedule the publisher’s meeting I missed because of Aiko’s bombshell announcement. I need to finish this book. Another email from the YLA finance director regarding next year’s budget and a grant we’re applying for. I need to look at her projections.
I need to settle the issue of this pregnancy.
I need Kimba.
My head drops into my hands. It’s futile trying to concentrate when my future hangs in the balance. I give up, let myself feel the weight of possibly losing her…again. Not as a boy who had no idea what a magnificent woman she would become, what we could be together, but as a man who’s known her body and glimpsed her soul, been consumed by the fire that burns inside.