Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
“She’s all right with you taking me?” There was a slight tremor to her voice that let him know she was emotional. “She didn’t threaten you?”
Another thing he hadn’t considered. He was fucking this up entirely, but that was what he seemed to do. “I explained the situation to her, and she believes I’ll do what it takes to protect you. I will, you know.”
She sniffled again and turned away from him, looking back out over the pasture. “Or I caused enough trouble that she thinks I deserve whatever I get.”
“You didn’t cause anything.”
“Not what your friend said.”
“Lacey? Look, I’m sorry. Lacey can be harsh, especially when she’s worried her mission and her people could be at risk.” How had it all gone so fucking wrong? He shouldn’t have called Lacey. He definitely shouldn’t have hauled Devi off like some prize of war. He should have remembered that he was alone and there was nothing he could do about it. “We can go to London in the morning. I need to make some arrangements.”
He would roll the dice and call Kala to see what she could put together. And then he would hope Huisman didn’t realize their connection.
“Arrangements?”
He shrugged. “It’s not easy to travel when all of the intelligence world is out to get you. And a big portion of the criminal underground. I might have a Red Notice out.”
“Zachary.” She said his name like an admonition. Like he’d done something terrible to embarrass her.
“It’s what happens when you try to chase down your criminally minded mother,” he admitted with a long sigh. “Now I have to deal with the fact that my father is involved somehow and pray they don’t know who my brother is.”
“Your brother?”
He took a long breath. He shouldn’t do this. It was bringing her further in. “None of this matters. You should stay as far away from my problems as you can. Honestly, the less you know the better for you.”
“Is that your excuse for lying to me? You were trying to protect me?” She crossed her arms under those pert breasts of hers. They weren’t big. They were gently curved and had pink nipples that tightened into buds he liked to suck on. “You know it’s considered the worst trope.”
Now he was lost. “Trope?”
“Bri writes romance novels. We’ve read them since we were teens, and guy protecting the fragile girl flower from the horrible truth by lying to her and pushing her away is the worst trope. It’s like a recurrent element. Something that happens in the genre over and over again. Like surprise pregnancies.”
He barely managed to not let his jaw hit the floor. “What? But we were careful.” His heart started to race. This changed everything. If Devi was pregnant, there was no mission beyond protecting Devi and his kid. At all costs. Except she’d taken a hit to the head and been fucking drugged, and he was pretty sure that was not a recommended activity for pregnant ladies. “I need to call Arthur back. He should look at you. I told her not to drug you.”
She stepped in front of him, her hands going to his arms where she held him back. “I was talking about tropes in romance novels, Zach. I’m not pregnant. We were careful. Are you okay?”
He was shaking slightly, and he wished he could hug her. Instead he steadied himself and stepped back. “Sorry. I guess I just…”
“Freaked out at the thought of getting me pregnant?”
He shook his head. “No. That part didn’t bother me. That part would be wonderful even though I know the timing would be hard, but the thought of you and our baby in Huisman’s hands got to me for a moment.”
“Well, I suppose if I was pregnant, you would get your Taggart connection.”
They were back to that. Every time he got a second’s worth of hope it came crashing down, and it irritated him. He knew he was in the wrong, but could she give him a second’s grace? He was tired and hadn’t eaten and his damn side hurt. “Which am I, Devi? First, I was the horrible asshole who got you pregnant and would leave you high and dry, and now I purposefully got you pregnant so I can join your clan because once your uncle discovers the pregnancy, he’ll drag me to the altar and force me to marry you.”
“Other way around, buddy,” she shot back.
“No way around, buddy.” He gave her back her words and couldn’t help the bitterness. “No one is going to force Devi Taggart to do anything she doesn’t want to do. No one would blink an eye if you told them you were having a baby, and oh hey, it’s that asshole’s, so could you bury him, uncle, so I don’t have to put up with him anymore and I can go find the pure-hearted man of my dreams without that piece of trailer trash in my life?”