Page 14 of Tore Up

Oh God, oh God, oh God.

“What is it you want? She told you he’s at boot camp,” Nicco told him as his voice cracked.

“I want vengeance. That’s what I fucking want,” he drawled. “An eye for an eye might be all I can have right now.”

“Wait!” Nicco shouted.

I was afraid to look up at either of them.

“She’s pregnant.”

His words, however, caused my head to snap up, and I stared at Nicco in shock. How did he know? I’d not told a soul other than Crosby.

“And you think I care?” The man sounded disgusted.

Nicco’s gaze met mine. “If the vengeance you’re seeking is for Crosby, then, yes, I do.”

Crosby? I sat up from my crouched position. A cold chill ran through my body as I stared at Nicco, then looked at the other man. Why were they talking about Crosby and getting vengeancefor him?

“What does that mean, Nicco?!” I demanded, my main concern no longer being the gun.

The man swung his weapon back to Nicco. “I’d like that answer too.”

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and looked over to see Ronnie with his own gun pointed at the stranger. I froze, wanting to warn the man because I needed to know what he had to do with Crosby.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say something when the man moved so fast that I would have missed it if I’d blinked. The crack of the gunshot made me jump just before Ronnie fell back, hitting the wall as the gun dropped from his hand. I gasped in horror as blood oozed from between his eyes. Covering my mouth, I was sure I was about to be sick.

“Fuck!” Nicco swore. “I told Ares not to, okay? But he’d found a pregnancy test hidden in the trash. Then, he got Carina’s phone and checked it or some shit. He looked at their messages or something. He got real fucking worked up over it. Halo had been talking to Crosby a lot, and he had heard it—I guess listening from another room. Then, he listened in on the last call she made to him. She told Crosby about the positive test.” He shook his head. “Ares has a fucking temper, and he is real protective of Halo. I told him not to take the damn gun and go hunt him down.”

I stared at Nicco as all the blood drained from my face. I heard a wail and realized it was me. Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I began to rock.

This wasn’t real. This was a nightmare. This couldn’t be happening. No. Everything was fine. It was fine. Just fine.

Another click from the gun, and I heard the heavy weight of a body falling with a thud onto the floor. I didn’t look. I stared straight ahead.

Not real. Not happening. If I looked, it would be real. I couldn’t look.

Whatever they had been talking about, I misunderstood it. That was all.

Black combat boots stopped in front of me. They were big, like the rest of him.

I kept rocking.

“Is it his?” the deep voice asked.

Is it his?

The baby.

“Crosby’s,” I whispered. “The baby is Crosby’s.”

“Get up!” he barked at me.

I shook my head and rocked faster. “Where is Crosby?” I asked. The hysteria in my voice made it high-pitched. I was losing it.

A hand wrapped around my arm and jerked me up to my feet. Although it was painful, I didn’t cry out. That pain didn’t compare to the agony unfurling inside me. The hand tightened on my arm and shook me.

“You really don’t know?” The hate he felt saturated his tone.

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