Page 46 of Storm

I hook my foot around Ezra’s leg just as he lunges for Richard, not wanting a physical altercation to happen in front of Miriam. Thankfully, she’s not offended by his question.

“I’m pretty sure we can do a test soon. I’m not sure of the logistics, but I’ll be sure to ask. You guys will have to supply a sample as well, so if it fits in your schedule to attend to the appointment, we can all get our questions answered.” She chews on her lip in thought, then says, “I am sorry about all of this. I know it was unexpected, but I appreciate that you’re willing to at least find out.”

“I’m not.” I glare at Ezra, who only shrugs at me. “What? I don’t care if the baby is mine or not. Well, I mean, Idocare, but I don’t plan on taking off if he’s not.”

“We’re going to come back to that at a later time, buddy.” Her words are clipped, but she doesn’t go after him for it. “I honestly don’t think there’s really anything else we need to talk about today. You guys know now, which was all I had tried to do before. I need to go home. I’ve already missed work today, which is going to fuck over my paycheck by the way,” she shoots at Ezra. “Plus, my Susu has been blowing up my phone all morning. I want to go home.”

“Youcan’t!” Ezra tells her. “It’s not safe!”

Thankfully, Kevin speaks up. “Ezra. We’re not going to force her to stay here. I’ll drive her home and, if you’d like Miriam, I’ll call your employer to let them know there was a valid emergency which caused you to miss work.”

“Thank you,” she mumbles.

Ezra is distressed, but Kevin’s ringing phone interrupts us. It’s in my hand because I read the emails Miriam sent him, so I push it across the table.

“Cooper,” Kevin says, putting it to his ear. Immediately, he looks at Miriam. “So, I know this is going to be weird, and I’ll let her fill you in, but she’s actually sitting across from me right now. Tell her Miriam will call her shortly.” He pauses as he listens, then turns away from us in a poor attempt for privacy. “She’s perfectly fine, I promise. I can talk to you later… Yes, I swear to you she’s okay… Alright. I’ll call you.”

Hanging up, he turns to Miriam. “Susanna had her boyfriend Chester call to tell me you were missing. Let’s get your stuff and get on the road. Then you can give her a call.” To the rest of us, he says, “We’re going to table all of this for now. I’ll get the appointment information on our drive and send it out for those of you who want to attend.”

Standing, he holds out his hand to help her up and I’m surprised when she takes it. Once she’s on her feet, she quickly lets go and rubs her palm against her leg. Her eyes run over all of us, but she says nothing before leaving the room.

“Stay here,” I murmur to Ezra who’s already moving to follow her. I feel terrible about it, but he can’t keep her from leaving. To Richard, I ask, “Are you going to go to her appointment?”

He looks surprised, but nods his head slowly. “Of course. We need to sort this out, and being there is how we do it. I’m going to go to my office. Let me know when you leave. You can drop me off at my car since you gave my keys to Victoria.”

He doesn’t wait for an answer before marching out of the room. Ezra and I hear the door to his office snick shut, then he gives me a pleading look.

“I need to be with her, Tate.”

Sighing, I place a hand on his shoulder. “You think you do, but you can’t, man. Will you trust me on this? We will make sure she’s okay, but it has to happen in the right way.”

He deflates in front of me, but wordlessly agrees. I know this is stressing him out, but if he pushes too hard with Miriam, she’s going to cut all of us out, and I don’t fucking want that. I agree with my friend. It doesn’t matter if the baby is mine. I’m not sure I want to walk away from her.

CHAPTER 22

MIRIAM

There’s this feeling you get when you walk out of a room and just know the people left behind are going to start talking about you immediately. It hits hard and there’s no stopping wondering what the insults are, who thinks you’re an idiot, and who’s defending you.

Ezra is probably defending me. I do my best to stem my laughter, covering my mouth in an attempt to wipe away my smile. That fucker is out of his mind, but while no one has access to my thoughts, I can admit he’s endearing. I don’t feel unsafe around him, not really. I just need to ensure I establish my boundaries clearly, and if he violates those, there are repercussions.

“What are you smiling about?”

Kevin’s question bugs me, and the little smile I was apparently sporting falls away. “I’m smiling because I’m finally headed home and out of that cesspool of male toxicity.”

I expectel capitánto correct me, making excuses for his friends, but he doesn’t. The corner of his lip ticks up, amused by my assessment. “I’m sure you’re quite relieved. Speaking of male toxicity, go through my phone and put our numbers back intoyour phone and unblock us. If for no other reason than if you find yourself in an emergency.”

“Fine, but you have to know I’m not calling you if I do have one.” He uses his thumb to unlock his phone and hands it over. As I scroll through, finding each one of the guys, I add their last names as well. Might be a good thing when I have the baby, to know the full name and spelling of said names, for paperwork.

Kevin taps his thumb on the steering wheel as I reconnect these men back into my life, willingly this time. “Just ask whatever’s bugging you,” I murmur, growing anxious over thetap tap tapon the wheel.

“You seem tired, but not the kind from just a poor night’s sleep. More like you’re physically drained.”

Snorting, I agree without looking at him. “That’s because I am. Growing a baby is a lot of work.”

“I remember you sharing your work schedule before. Do you think that’s contributing to your exhaustion?”

Setting both of our phones on my lap, I turn to him. “Paying for the baby I’m growing is a lot of work,Capitán. At some point I’m going to have to take time off, and while I will have maternity leave, who knows what that’s going to be like or how long I’ll actually need. I’d rather be prepared for the unknowns, at least financially.”

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