Page 23 of New Year with the Cartel

I already knew that even before, but now, with someone to worry about, things were different and more complicated.

"Gustall?" Fendwyr's voice, closer now. "Are you ill?"

I quickly flushed the toilet and rinsed my mouth. Shit. He could sense what was going on with me? Then, I immediately thought that, of course, he knew. There was very little that escaped him.

"Just a headache," I called back, the lie coming easily again. I'd felt weird when I lied to him for the first time, but I was getting used to it. "It's just the stress, probably." I wished it was just that.

A pause. I couldn't help but wonder if he was going to call me out on the lie. If he did, I didn't know how I would answer. "Take better care of yourself. I need you focused."

Need, not want. The distinction wasn't lost on me. Fendwyr's possessiveness had grown even stronger since discovering the necklace was in Rodriguez's possession. He kept me close, watching my every move, yet seemed blind to the real reason for my changing scent and behavior. Or maybe he just didn't want to say it out loud. Not yet, anyway.

A few seconds later, when I emerged from the bathroom, the scene before me made my blood run cold. The informant, a beta barely older than me, lay crumpled in a corner. Blood trickled from his nose, and his fingers were bent at unnatural angles. My goodness…

Fendwyr stood over him, not a hair out of place, adjusting his cufflinks as if he'd just finished a business meeting rather than a torture session. And to him, that was what he most likely thought.

"Did he talk?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, though it wasn't working.

"Eventually." Fendwyr's smile was all predator. "Rodriguez is moving the necklace tonight. We'll be ready." He turned to me, his expression softening. "You look pale. More so than usual."

"I'm fine." Another lie. The metallic smell of blood was making my stomach turn again. It was bad.

He crossed the room in three long strides, gripping my chin. "You've been 'fine' for days now. Perhaps I should have the doctor examine you."

Panic flared in my chest. What was I going to do?

"No! I mean... it's nothing serious. Just stress and lack of sleep." But those things, by themselves, could be worrisome.

His eyes narrowed, but before he could press further, one of his lieutenants burst in.

"Boss! Rodriguez's men were spotted at the south warehouse."

Fendwyr's grip tightened before releasing me. "Gather the team. We move now." He turned back to me. "Stay here."

"But—"

"That's an order." His voice dropped to a growl that made my omega instincts want to submit. "I won't risk you near Rodriguez."

I watched him leave, my hand moving to my stomach again. The beta in the corner groaned, drawing my attention. I couldn't do anything to help him.

"He'll kill them all," he mumbled through bloody lips. "Rodriguez's men, the dealer, anyone who gets in his way. That's what he does."

"Shut up," I snapped, but the words hit home. I knew he was right, even though I didn't want to admit it out loud.

What kind of world was I bringing this child into? A world of violence and power plays, where its father tortured people in meeting rooms and ordered executions as easily as others ordered coffee.

Yet even as these thoughts tormented me, I could hear gunfire in the distance. Despite Fendwyr's orders, I found myself moving toward the sound, drawn by an inexplicable need to know, to see, to understand what kind of alpha was fated to be my mate—and my child's father.

I wished I didn't have to know, but my mind didn't work that way.

From the second-floor window, I had a clear view of the warehouse yard. Fendwyr moved like a force of nature, his menfalling in behind him with perfect precision. He only let people he trusted by his side.

When Rodriguez's people opened fire, the response was swift and merciless.

I watched, one hand pressed against the glass, the other protectively over my stomach, as Fendwyr executed three men who tried to surrender. His face showed no emotion, no hesitation—just cold, efficient violence, and I never expected any different.

"Beautiful, isn't he?"

I spun around to find Jake, one of Fendwyr's most trusted lieutenants, watching me. He almost worshiped my mate.

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