Page 37 of Merciful Lies

“Why are you smiling if some woman threw some shit in your face?”

“Cause now she owes me,” Angel explains.

“Owes you? You know what, I don’t want to know.”

And I don’t.

“What’s the news with the bakers?” I ask.

Angel starts telling me what went down after I left the bakery with Anna. Luc adds what he discovered.

And none of it is good.

“That fucking cocksucker.”

I am talking about Anna’s brother.

“If he wasn’t dead, I’d fucking kill him myself,” I growl.

“Yeah, well, he did sell you a night with his sister to clear up his debts,” Angel states what all of us already know.

But it makes me fucking mad.

“Easy, Boss,” he grits, and I look down to see I have my hands wrapped around his throat.

“Alright, let’s make a plan,” I say and sit back down in my chair.

I’m not going to talk about my reaction to his statement. I don’t really want to think about how I tricked Anna into my bed.

She is there now, and that’s all that matters.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN-ANNA

Iwander through the condo after I wake up alone.

Again.

An entire week has passed, and I barely see Nico. I’m so lonely, but I’m healthy and that’s a plus.

There’s a housekeeper who comes every other day. She’s older, friendly, and I like her very much.

But she is there to work, not to be my friend, and I hate taking up her time when I know she has her own family to go home to.

The doctor said everything looked great. All my tests were excellent. The baby is healthy, and we even saw him on the tiny little screen when they did the ultrasound.

It’s confirmed. We are having a boy.

Nico looked so proud when they told us. Of course, I teared up. Being pregnant was like being a giant walking hormone.

He didn’t seem to mind, though. Nico just wrapped his arms around me and held me tight against his hard, powerful body. He kissed my head, whispering words of praise I never expected, but really needed to hear.

We buried Sammy’s ashes in the plot where our parents were laid to rest. It wasn’t a real funeral. Just a short service.

Private. Small. Tasteful.

Exactly the kind of thing I could handle right now.

Sammy didn’t have friends. He’d spent the little time he had on earth feeding the monster that was his addiction.

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