Page 66 of Twisted

Premonition crept over her like a clammy hand. Empty stomach. Gagging. Cramps. Feeling clingy.

Shaking, her hand seized the little pink box, dumping out two tests.

But she knew, before she even sat down, that her life was about to change.

Jaeger

Present Day

“Mais?”

The cabin was quiet, the storm outside raging. He dumped his bags on the counter, pushing forward into the back room, worry gripping him. Had they found him? Had Rancho not kept this one fucking secret for him?

Hand on his gun, he crept into their bedroom, the light on in the bathroom seeping under the door, through which he could hear distinct sniffles. Maisie’d been having a tough go lately, so he released his gun and tested the handle, surprised when it gave. Maisie yelped, rushing at the door to slam it closed, but his curiosity was too great, now. She was hiding from him—hiding something from him, and he’d be damned if that woman kept another secret from him.

“Get…go…”she huffed through her tears. He snorted, gently easing the door open with his considerable strength, until she relented and backed off. He stood before her, her glacial eyes wide pools of utter fear, tears cascading down her cheeks, her body trembling as she cowered by the wall.

“Mais?” he said, gentle, hurt to see her so afraid of him. He fucking loved her with every single fiber of his being, but to see her this broken and distraught—it was a day he never thought would come. “Mais?” he tried again when she didn’t move.

“Go…go away, please,” she whispered hoarsely. “Please.”

“Baby doll…you’re scarin’ me—”

“Leave me alone!” she screamed, eyes feral and accompanied by dark circles. She burst into sobs, sliding down the wall, clutching her stomach and trembling. He sank to his knees, helpless before her as she sobbed and rocked, holding herself in and odd way…

Premonition trickled down his spine like cold fingers, and his mouth ran dry. He didn’t need her words to confirm his suspicions, but they cemented everything right then and there.

“Please go away,” she sobbed. “Please, please go…don’t take my baby…please I’m sorry…please go away don’t take my baby, don’t…don’t…”

Tears thickened his throat as the final mystery clicked into place, coupled by a rush of something akin to euphoria…something strange and unexperienced yet to him, but something he understood all the same.Mine, his mind echoed. His woman. His child snug in her womb. And she was petrified that he was going to be angry…that he’d…

He fell onto his ass as she sobbed and pleaded and apologized. He was livid. Fucking filled with rage. To think anyone…anyone had done that to her, to think that now she was so scared he’d be the same monster. He could never. His world had already shifted. It was him and Maisie and their baby. He didn’t know their child. He didn’t know a damn thing about fatherhood. But what became clear in the span of a millisecond was how fiercely he’d protect them both, how much he loved something already that was barely breathed into existence.

Tears flooded his face now. Happy, sad, scared, sorrowful.

“Look at me, Maisie Jane Walkup, look me dead in the eye right now.”

She trembled and pinched her eyes shut and cried harder.

“D-don’t, Jaeg, I’m sorry, I’ll leave, please, I’m—”

“Mais.”

The tone of his voice made her head snap up. Her eyes betrayed how broken she was. But she held his gaze and hiccuped and hugged her stomach, ever the fierce protector he’d always envisioned her as when swollen with his child. It would just be sooner, now, and he didn’t give a fuck about that. A beaming grin split his cheeks.

“You’re gonna be an amazing momma, Mais. Ya always have been.”

It took her a moment, her scarred lip trembling as she fought back more tears. He scooted closer, but she tensed and backed away. Holding up his hand, he slowed.

“’S our baby, Mais.” His voice was full of awe and wonder, and he could see her confusion, and then the tenuous string of trust. She swiped at her cheeks and nodded. More tears flooded his eyes, but he didn’t give a fuck. That was his woman carrying his baby. Nothing would ever harm a hair on their heads.

“C’mere, baby doll.”

He held open his arms. Maisie crumbled with a withered sob.

“Really? Jaeg, really?”

She slid over and he plucked her up, enveloping her in his embrace, protecting her and their child.

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