Page 111 of Vengeful Secret

“Cream or sugar?”

“Just a couple cubes of sugar,” she responds, and I make her tea, sliding it across the table to her. She takes a grateful sip before looking up at me. “How’d it go with my father?”

I blink, having forgotten that Bree Burke was once Bree Murphy.

“Um, not great,” I hedge, unsure if I should be spilling secrets. But Bree is family, right?

She nods. “I assumed not. Did he offer a deal?”

“Lara for you,” I admit, wincing. I’m not sure how she feels about her father, so I don’t know if this is painful for her or not.

She doesn’t react with shock. “I figured as much. It’s not a real offer because he knows Patrick or Gray will never give up a family member. He just wants to poke the bear.”

“You think so?”

“I mean, he’s planning for war no matter what happens. Even if Gray had handed Lara over to him, he’d still be after us.”

I swallow hard. “How did you get out?”

Bree smiles. “Patrick and Declan pulled me out. At first, it was a play to piss off my father, but of course, Declan and I fell in love.”

My eyes widen. “That’s an amazing story.”

Bree rubs her stomach. “One to tell this little boy one day.”

“When’s you’re due date?” I ask, smiling.

“Six and a half weeks,” Bree says, groaning. “I wish it was tomorrow. I’m scheduled for induction, but I’m hoping I’ll go into labor early.”

I nod slowly, sipping my tea. “Just a word of advice, buy some ice packs. You’ll need them for after.”

Bree pales. “I don’t even want to know why.”

“You really don’t,” I say with a chuckle. I look at her a moment longer. “Are you worried? About your father? This war?”

“I'm worried about Patrick. About Declan. All of us. I know my father will probably outlive us all. It’s just the way guys like him are. If you’re asking if I’m worried that he’ll win.... I am.”

I lick my lips nervously and finish my tea, standing up. “Thank you for the chat, Bree.”

It was terrifying.

Bree gives me a weak smile. “I’m sorry I don’t have better news.”

“It's okay,” I assure her, but I head back upstairs feeling as bad as ever.

I crawl into Ciara’s bed, but I end up tossing and turning all night.

The next morningwhen Ciara and I go down for breakfast, Gray is nowhere to be found. Ciara’s going back to school today, so I thought he’d want to go with us.

I guess he’s busy with work after the parlay.

“There’s pancakes, Mama,” Ciara says happily, swinging her legs from her booster seat.

I smile at her, ruffling her blonde hair.

“Where's Daddy? He loves pancakes.”

“Working, honey.”

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