Page 61 of Tripp

Stone mumbled something before crushing the small distance between him and his woman, reaching her in only a few strides. “What did you say?” The look on his face was priceless, and I had to stop myself from busting out laughing at his astonishment.

“You heard me.” Adelaide kissed him before placing his hand on her belly. “Riley is gonna be a big sister.” The light in her eyes filled me with warmth. I knew how much shit she’d gone through not that long ago, and to be able to have another kid was definitely a blessing for them both. Stone nodded before finally smiling. He pulled her close and kissed her, all the while remaining silent. He was obviously shocked. Shit, we all were.

“We can take him,” Sully blurted, diverting the conversation and suddenly looking desperate to keep the baby in her arms. “I can watch over him while you try and find her.” She looked over at her husband who was sitting at the bar, the pleading look in her eyes pulling at my heartstrings.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, baby,” Marek answered, sorrow laced deep in the lines of his face. He tipped his shot glass and swallowed the contents before rising to his feet.

“Please. I know it’s not permanent. I promise I won’t get attached to him.” Sully looked down into the infant’s face and smiled, the baby’s tiny hand wrapping around her finger.

“You’re already attached,” Marek said, coming to stand next to her.

Deciding to add in my two cents, I said, “Come on, Prez. I promise I’ll find her as soon as possible. I could really use your help.” I rested my hand on his shoulder for emphasis.

Several tense seconds passed, keeping us all on edge as to what he would decide. Finally he huffed out a frustrated breath and relented.

“Fine. But you better find that bitch soon, Tripp. I mean it,” he admonished. Even though he appeared put out by the request, his eyes filled with something akin to pride when he gazed at his wife holding the little one.

“I will. First thing tomorrow, I’m on it.” Giving him a quick nod, I turned my attention to Reece. “Any time you wanna leave, just say the word. I know it’s been one helluva day, and I don’t blame you at all if you just wanna get outta here.”

Whatever tension she’d been holding onto dissipated as soon as I wrapped my arms around her.

“I’m okay to stay a little while longer.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Pulling back, she rested her hands on my chest and looked up at me, the thrum of my heart picking up speed from her simple touch. “Go talk to your friends. I’ll be on the couch with my new favorite badass.” Looking over her shoulder, I saw Sully and Adelaide had moved to the sofa, huddled together and fawning over the baby.

“I think I can take her,” I teased, winking at Adelaide when she briefly looked over at me.

“I don’t think so.” Reece laughed. “You’re no match for that woman.”

“You might be right about that.” Leaning down, I pressed my mouth to hers, the softness of her lips conjuring up all sorts of sordid images. Before I became a slave to what my body wanted, however, I ended our kiss. “I won’t be long.” I lightly smacked her ass before sauntering toward the bar to join some of the men. Marek occupied the corner seat, nursing his drink, while Stone was surprisingly engaged in conversation with Trigger. As I neared I could hear them discussing the VP’s future child. Words such as ‘karma’ and ‘hope you have another daughter’ flew from Trigger’s mouth, a smirk lifting the corners of his lips as Stone’s face turned ashen.

Slapping Marek on the back, I swung my leg over the stool and sat down next to him. “How ya doin’?” It was meant to be a rhetorical question at first, but after the words left my mouth I really wanted to know how he’d been faring, especially after everything he’d been through. Him and Sully both. I’d asked him a similar question earlier and he gave me a coded look accompanied by a generic sort of answer, which was to be expected seeing as how Reece had been present.

I was the guy who witnessed the first slice into Marek’s soul when Psych spewed the lies about the two of them being related. I saw all hope fade from his eyes, only to be replaced by fear and uncertainty. I saw it only fitting that I was the one who delivered the good news by reading the DNA results, almost coming full circle from desperation to elation.

“I’m good,” he answered, continuing to nurse the amber liquid in his glass, the ice cubes clinking together and drawing out the staleness of his response as he lowered his drink. Marek glanced over at me when I simply bumped his shoulder. “What?”

“You know damn well that answer ain’t gonna fly. Not now. Not after everything we’ve been through.” Sure, Marek had been the one to bear the brunt of Psych’s lies, but I’d been affected by his reaction to the entire situation.

“What do you want me to tell ya? That I withdrew so far into my own pain and misery that I practically pushed Sully away, treating her like shit and not givin’ a fuck about how she was feelin’? That I thought about eatin’ a bullet if it turned out that she was indeed my half-sister because my heart would’ve been shredded and there wouldn’t’ve been any reason to live in a fuckin’ world where she wasn’t mine?” He ran a hand through his hair, the blue hue of his irises darkening with his still-present pain. “It took everything in me not to grab her and hold her close, fearing the outcome every second of every goddamn day. But Sully didn’t deserve to be put through that shit, to drive herself crazy waiting for the final results.”

“And you did?”

“It was my cross to bear,” he answered quickly, and I truly believed he thought he spoke the truth. “Anyway, we got through it.”

“Barely,” I uttered, flashing him a smirk when he turned to look at me once more.

“Yeah. Barely.”

The chatter in the clubhouse swirled together, all bodies present involved in their own conversations, allowing me time to delve deeper into what happened when he finally told his wife the reason he’d withdrawn from her.

“How did Sully take the news? You know, when you eventually fessed up as to why you were actin’ like such a prick?”

A gruff laugh escaped my fearless leader.

“She was beyond livid.” Marek leaned over the bar and grabbed a bottle of whatever he could reach. Normally Trigger would be on point in serving the drinks, but he was still too busy razzing Stone. “Actually, I’d never seen her so furious. She called me every name in the book. Not that I didn’t deserve it.”

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