Page 36 of Ruthless

The movement causes Rory to break his staring contest with my sad face and pushes himself away from the doorjamb into my room. He kneels in front of me and tilts my head to face him.

“He doesn’t deserve those.” His tatted thumb swipes underneath my glasses to catch another tear falling down my cheek.

“I know.”

I’d like to blame my emotional meltdown on my pregnancy hormones, but that would be a lie. Some of it is because of one stubborn bearded baby daddy.

“You want me to kick his ass, just say the word.” Rory’s blue eyes deepen as he fights the urge to remain calm.

“Thanks, Ror. You’re all heart.” I sniffle and roll my eyes at him.

“The chicks don’t complain.” He shrugs and stands to his feet.

“Please don’t tell me about your sex life ever.” I wrinkle my nose at the thought of my brother’s revolving door. “Unless you want me to cover you in regurgitated chicken fried rice.”

“Noted.” His lips twitch as he fights the urge to smile. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yup.” I stand to my feet and follow my brother out to the elevator and into his truck.

I sit back against my seat and toy with the edges of my blue tunic, doing my best not to get lost in my head again. The familiar scent of tobacco and spice fills the cab, and a small smile plays on my lips. My brother always has loved to indulge in cloves.

The drive to the doctor’s office is about what I expected. It’s silent and awkward, except for the endless supply of U2 songs Rory plays on repeat. I asked him once what it was about that band, and his reply was simple—“Bono.” Enough said in one word.

From the time Rory parks the truck in the parking garage to the time we make it into the waiting room is a bit of a blur. I’m moving on auto-pilot and hoping my morning sickness will remain under control. It’s been hit or miss lately. Rory’s phone goes off, and when he looks at the caller ID, his eyebrows scrunch together.

“I have to take this. Go check in, and I’ll be right behind you.” He’s holding his phone up to his ear and walking off before I can nod my head. Whatever it is must be important. My dad’s number one rule is family before business, but this must be important enough for Rory to take a call now.

I shrug it off and walk inside the office. It’s eerily quiet except for the occasional ringing of a phone. A few women are sitting in some of the chairs, and they are much further along in their pregnancies than me. A wave of panic filters through me, but don’t let it pull me under. I square my shoulders back and walk up to the front desk to check in with all the confidence I don’t feel.

The lady behind the counter greets me with a smile as she types a few keys on her computer. “Name?” she asks.

I clear my throat a couple of times before I can get my name out of my mouth. “Kennedy Donnelly.”

“Savage. It’s Kennedy Savage,” Zane corrects, making me jump. He’s so quiet that I never even heard him come up behind me.

“Right.” Her eyes grow wide as she stares at the tattooed giant behind me.

With his long dark hair down around his black T-shirt. A T-shirt that looks like it’s two sizes too small as it leaves little to the imagination. Her eyes widen as they come into contact with the outline of his nipple piercings, and an irrational burning sensation flitters across my chest. I stomp out the spark of jealousy before it makes me do something insane and end up needing to find a new doctor.

She darts her eyes back and forth between us before giving us a slight nod. “Go ahead and have a seat, and they’ll call you back shortly.”

“Thanks.” I do my best to make up for the brute behind me, but the damage is done. She nods and goes back to staring at her monitor.

I spin around on the heels of my Vans, walk right past the bearded pain in my ass and plant myself into the nearest seat, which so happens to be a small two-seater bench. Zane slips into the space next to me, and luckily for him, there isn’t an armrest separating us. He’s so large that his body practically swallows up the entire space. I scoot over to give him more room, but it’s pointless. His long muscular legs are still butted up right next to mine. The tips of my Vans bounce against the thin gray carpet as I do my best to ignore how good the heat of his body feels next to mine and glance around the small waiting room.

I cross my arms over my chest, trying and failing to keep my gaze from drifting to the behemoth of a man sitting next to me. The longer time passes without us saying anything, the more I stew on what happened the previous night, and I get angrier by the minute.

A heavy sigh escapes me. “What are you doing here?”

“We’ll talk later. I promise.”

Zane leans forward, planting his elbows on the tops of his thighs as the tips of his dark hair sweep down, acting as a curtain in front of him. He lifts his head and tilts it my way, giving me an unobstructed view of his face. The pain behind his eyes is almost enough for me to drop my ice queen facade, but then I remember how he took off last night with no discussion, and my temper flares all over again.

“Until you leave again.” I shake my head as it takes everything in me not to smack him upside his beautiful head.

“I promise. I’ll tell you everything, Ken. Full disclosure.” The lines around his face deepen as he absently strokes the ends of his beard. “For now, I need you to let me be here for you both.”

“Fine.” I drop it because the last thing I want to do is cause a scene in the middle of my doctor’s office. It doesn’t mean he’s off the hook, though.

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