Page 88 of The Shadows We Keep

“I can see allowing him to breech the compound was a mistake,” Domenico sneers at me, but Keira shifts to block his view.

“What did you expect him to do after you kidnapped me from our bed, naked might I add.” My body tenses under her, my jaw tight and teeth clenching. The thought of the scum of the earth seeing her naked flesh, let alone having their grimy hands all over it, has me itching to reach into my boot and fling my blade into his chest.

“I’ll admit, my men may have been a little rougher than I expected. Seems you killed their cousin the other day.” Domenico’s indifference is aggravating. His men’s leash seems to be too long for their own good.

“They brought that on themselves,” Keira quips back. “Don’t expect me to apologize.”

“Oh, there’s no need,mio cuore,I’ve already dealt with them. You’re losing me good men from your actions, but they should have known better.”

Mmm, so he cares about what happens to her.

I store that information away.

“You still haven’t said what we’re doing here. It’s clear you could have kept me and my men out. Which tells me you anticipated my arrival but didn’t want to bring us in together. Otherwise, your men wouldn’t have waited for me to leave the apartment before they broke in. So, why not cut all the theatrics and move on with it?”

Domenico shakes his head at me, having ever the arrogant air about him.

“Mr. Greyson, your fate’s been in my hands since moment I saved my daughter from the hospital after the accident. It’s not what I need from you, but I’m the man to make what she needs happen. Keira, on the other hand, is my blood. She will be a part of this family, as it should have been for the last twenty-plus years. How you three work out your entanglement is none of my business.”

She shifts ready to throw back an insult, but I flatten my palm against her thigh to stop her. “And what is it you need from me?” I inquire, turning toward Alina for the first time since we’ve sat down.

She looks small and timid for once, nervous to tell me whatever is on the tip of her tongue.

“It’s not what I need Harkin. Your daughter needs you.”

My vision blurs as the room turns red.There’s no fucking way. She couldn’t have been pregnant back then and even if she was, how did she not lose the baby during that accident or from downing pills like they were candy.

“No.” The tiny cry leaves Keira’s stunned lips as she pops off my lap and heads for the double doors of the office. I doubt she knows where she’s going, but Domenico doesn’t make a move to stop her even after she’s fled through them.

I jump up ready to chase after her. I don’t believe Alina’s story for a second. Even if the miraculous is true and she was pregnant and didn’t lose the baby, I’m not naïve enough to not question the paternity. She was the type of party girl to cheat and hook up with some random guy when my back was turned. So high out of her mind, she probably thought he was me. But I knew, and we fought about it all the time. She’d always deny it, but I knew and yet I stayed. And here she is, trying to pull this shit again. Once a pathological liar, always a pathological liar. Too bad that truth is just dawning on me now.

Her claws clutch my arm as I make to move past her to go after Keira. “Harkin, wait! We need to talk about this.”

I shake off her hand and call back over my shoulder. “I want a paternity test.” Not waiting to see her reaction, though I can hear it as I break through the doors at a jog.

“Keira!” I roar through the compound, not sure which way her feet took her. Stopping down the hall, I pause, training my ears for anything that might tell me which way she took to escape.

I don’t hear feet pattering against the marble floors, but the longer I stand there the rise of angry voices and shouts come from around the corner. A scream pierces the air and I take off at a run. When she comes into view, the picture isn’t what I was expecting. There’s no one else here, man handling her like I anticipated. Instead, she stands in front of floor to ceiling windows that look out onto a courtyard, screaming at the top of her lungs, bent over and pounding against the glass.

I slow my pace, sliding in behind her, cradling her body back into mine.

“Shh, little one. I’m right here.” Her body collapses against my embrace and then fights to be freed.

“Let me go Harkin. I can’t do this! It’s always her. She always wins.” She’s not only screaming but big fat tears roll from her eyes down her rosy cheeks.

“Baby, shh. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I try to calm her, but my statement only seems to bring tears on faster.

“She got the fancy house, the parents that loved her, you.” She whips around in my arms to face me. “Harkin, she got you. The only thing I’ve ever wanted for myself in life she got. And not only then, but she gets you now too. How am I supposed to compete with your flesh and blood. Jesus Christ, Harkin, you guys have a child together.”

“Woah, slow down.” I try to implore her, but she lost in her head. Not listening to a syllable, let alone a word coming out of my mouth.

“I should have known. I should have known you’d never be mine. That we were too good to be true. I should have stayed away!”

“Keira, stop this.” She struggles against my hold, but my arms tighten refusing to let her go.

“You were always hers, Harkin. I may have gotten you for a few stolen moments in real life and it was better than I could have ever imagined.” She draws in a deep breath, hiccuping on top of another sob. “All those nights I spent thinking about what it would be like to take her place with you—” She cuts herself off, clamping her eyes shut at the realization of what she’s finally shared.

I grip her chin, until our faces are only centimeters apart. “Open.”

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