Page 81 of King of Hearts

Shit.

I put the car in drive and pulled up closer so it didn’t seem like I was spying on them…at least not any more than I already was.

“Taylor?” Kyle opened my car door for me, holding it while I got out.

The girl in the garage folded her arms in front of her, not defensively…more like she was afraid of me and those arms were supposed to protect her. Did she know who I was? It only worsened when her eyes went big and round when I grabbed my baby from the back.

“What are you doing here?”

Grabbing Alex’s bag and my own, I shut the back door and walked toward the garage so I was out of the rain.

“I need to talk to you.” I let the carrier hang in front of me while my gaze bounced between Kyle’s furrowed brows and the girl’s fearful composure.

With a heavy sigh, Kyle ran an oil-stained hand through his hair. “Yeah, okay…head inside, I’ll be there in a second.”

I nodded, giving the girl a small smile before walking away. Before I got to the door, I heard the girl mutter.

“That’s his daughter…my dad showed me a photo once. She’s dangerous, Kyle…why is she here? What’s going on?”

So, she did know who I was.

Kyle let out another sigh.

“Rylie, just…chill, please. I’ll call you later.”

Oof. Wrong thing to say to a girl who he looked at like he might love. Not my problem though.

I walked into the small, attached entry and slipped off my shoes before settling into a chair in the living room, where I waited for the only boy who had a one-way ticket through the back door into the underworld.

* * *

Kyle satacross from me on a couch that had a flower pattern similar to something found in the seventies. He kept glancing at me then looking up, like he was uncomfortable. I could tell by the way his knee bounced in place and how he kept checking his phone.

“It’s just breastfeeding…it’s normal, Kyle,” I said, looking down toward my daughter, who was feeding like a champ. She’d had a difficult time latching the first two weeks, so the fact that she was going to town made me ecstatic.

“I know, it’s just…” Kyle let out a sigh, keeping his eyes on the ceiling.

“She’s almost done, anyway.” I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. Closing my nursing bra, I lowered my shirt and set Alex up on my shoulder to burp her. “Okay, it’s safe.”

Kyle let out a dramatic sigh and lowered his eyes. “Finally. No offense, but that was awkward as hell.”

I laughed. “Maybe for you. I created a fucking human—you’re going to try to tell me it’s weird when I feed her?” I raised an eyebrow. “Besides, most of my breast was covered by her blanket. You’re being really dramatic. Have you ever even seen a boob before?”

Kyle’s face flushed a violent red.Oh my god.Was he avirgin?

“Just tell me why you’re here.”

I bit my lip so as not to laugh at how his voice cracked. He was still just a kid. I hated that he was working for my father and mixed up in grown-up shit he had no business being near. Yet, to get what I needed, I was willing to drag him into it.

“I need a meeting with Markos.”

Kyle tossed his head back, laughing.

I frowned in response. “You don’t have to be an ass.”

“Sorry, it’s just…the shit you’ve put me through—do you have any idea what sort of shitstorm has gone on behind the scenes? Ivan is pissed. He wants nothing to do with Markos, Juan, or any other fucking guy. He’s got a price on your head.”

My heart stalled in my chest.

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