Page 60 of The Rise

I look up, and my eyes find Lana across the room with the girls. There’s a smile on her face as she laughs at something they’re talking about. That’s what I want. I want all her smiles. I want all her pain. I want everything she has to offer.

Hoax drops down next to me, passing me a piece of paper. I grab it and look it over.

“This is it?” I ask.

“Yeah. That’s it.”

“Fuck, Hoax.”

“You’re not ready for this?” he asks as he looks over at me.

“Should I be?”

“You did it. I would assume you’re ready for it,” he laughs.

“I don’t know, Hoax. I feel like somehow I’m going to fuck this all up too.” I run my hand through my hair as he slaps a hand on my shoulder.

“There’s no way you can fuck it up.”

“What the hell do you mean? Look at us,” I say, glancing over at him.

“We’re not that bad, are we?” Now I laugh.

“We kill people.”

“Bad people,” he adds.

“True. Fuck, Hoax. How is this going to work? I live here. My life is here,” I remind him.

“You have Lana now. She’s your life too, Hunter.”

“I know that, but fuck, Hoax.”

“Are you going to tell her?” he asks. I nod my head. What other choice do I have? It’s not like she isn’t going to find out.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know. Thought you might let it be a surprise.”

“Oh, it’s going to be a fucking surprise.” Now he laughs. Asshole. I scrub my hand over my face as I look back down at the paper. I can’t believe it.

“Is it just me, or is Becky looking fucking hot today,” Hoax says, pulling my gaze from the paper to him.

“You have a thing for pregnant women?” I ask him. Hoax doesn’t answer at first, and I bark out a laugh. “You fucking do, don’t you?”

“Here’s the thing, Hunter. I have what they call a breeding kink.”

“A what?”

“A breeding kink. the fucking idea of getting a girl pregnant with my kid is hot as fuck. But I also have a pregnancy kink, and I find pregnant women sexy as hell.”

“My fucking God. Are you serious?” He looks over and stares at me like I’m the fucking crazy one.

“Yeah, I’m serious. I want to fuck my baby into someone.”

“Jesus, and here I thought I was fucked up.”

“You are fucked up, but you can’t tell me that you don’t think seeing Lana swollen with your baby and chained to the fucking wall isn’t sexy as hell.”

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