Page 57 of Not Ready

I honestly feel like I might lose my breakfast all over the conference room floor.

She’s just so…I don’t know the word, but it makes me murderous thinking about how vulnerable she was out in the world, just trying to survive with no one looking after her.

I saw the pictures Bishop took.

The guy was definitely in a position to take advantage of her. He made it not only into her apartment, but also into her bedroom. Just because he didn’t drug her that night doesn’t mean it had never happened before. If he did it when she was already asleep, then she might not have even noticed. She could have chalked it up to drinking too much with friends or just being exhausted from working two jobs.

“How did Bishop never catch sight of him before that night?” I ask, completely dumbfounded. “He watched her a lot.”

“Pure dumb luck?” Merrick offers. “Maybe him sneaking in was a more recent occurrence? Maybe it was a really rare thing, or he got caught the first time he tried? I don’t have all the answers. He could’ve gotten into the building from either side. Both the sidewalk and courtyard entrances had exterior weaknesses before Hargrove patched them.”

“Am I supposed to tell her about your theories?” I blink at the door. I almost wish he hadn’t said anything.

Not telling her is fucked up.

But telling her that her baby’s father could either be a plant or possibly not who she thought at all could really fuck her up in a big way.

There’s no good option here.

“No, hold off. I’m going to search the club feeds, now that I have a timeline. I’ll check the ATM feeds too since… Man, I did a conception tracker, and the way pregnancy is calculated with the dates and everything is weird as hell.”

“Why did you even tell me this?” I hiss, trying to sit up straight. “I’m supposed to sit on this information?”

I’m starting to get furious.

The helpless feeling is making it really damn hard not to fuck something up.

“I knew I couldn’t mention it to Bishop. Listen, don’t say anything until we have confirmation. I needed an exact timeframe to start searching for the one-night stand. He might be involved, or he might not. If he’s not, chances are, I can find him with no problem because he’s just a regular guy who got caught in the crossfire.”

“He disappeared on her. Now Andrew and his crew are gone. It’s a mighty fucking coincidence.”

“Maybe, or maybe he’s just a regular dickhead who didn’t realize she was pregnant. I lost Andrew and his guys, but no one stays hidden forever,” Merrick says, typing away on his computer. “Just remember that. One-night stand might not be involved at all. Telling her without proof would be borderline cruel.”

“I fucking hate you for putting me in this position,” I growl.

“Oh shit, are you into her too? I knew I couldn’t ask Mercy or Bishop because?—”

I don’t know what else he plans to say because I slam the receiver down, hanging up on him.

Motherfucker.

I think I’m going to puke.

Chapter Twenty

Vale

“I’m okay, really.” I give Mercer’s hand a squeeze.

“Right, of course you are. I, however, find I’m feeling a bit unsettled,” he says as we walk into the house. The building they run the business out of is actually a pretty far distance from the main house. So, I guess, technically, we took a drive, not a walk. “How about I get you set up in the nest? I can text Bishop and tell him to come home.”

“I said I’m okay.” I give him a tired smile, but he’s already pulling his phone from his pocket.

He frowns at the device. “Bishop left to file the paperwork. It’ll likely be a week or two before they get us in for the interview. He wanted to have the ball rolling as soon as possible.”

“And likely growl and curse the whole way there without an audience.”

His worry and anger were so heavy in the bond that I needed some space from it more than the conversation. And not because I was upset at his reaction. It was more that I could feel him trying so hard to block it, but physical distance mutes the bond. I figured it would lessen his stress if he didn’t have to worry about trying to block his emotions from me.

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