Page 98 of Traitor

I wouldn’t have known anything had Grey not asked me to help keep an eye on Dakota and Kate as well. I’d kept tabs on both of them over the years, even back when I thought he was dead, so it hadn’t taken any real effort to find them again.

“You thought you were the only one called in to babysit? I’ve been watching out for the girls for years. I managed to keep my dick in my pants though.”

Granted, she was my half-sister, so the thought turned my stomach completely. Even when I hadn’t known we were related, something had kept me away. Maybe it was just my fear of Grey.

With Dakota, it had been easy to see how we were related—the blonde hair and blue eyes made it obvious. I hadn’t seen the resemblance with Kate though—she seemed to favor Celia more. The only indicator that she was Grey’s was her mouth. When it was set in that hard line, she looked just like her father.

“Goddammit, what am I supposed to do? He’s asking if I found anything. Obviously, I knew she was married when I showed up to get her for our date. This is just proof of that. Why did she ask me out, but then run off and marry him?” Jeremy continued talking, but I zoned out the rest, lost in my own thoughts.

“Look, Jeremy. We’ve investigated Nate—he’s clean and in no way associated with the Sons. Just give Grey the tape and face him like a man. You did the best you could; she’s twenty-six, not two.” There was no way that advice was going to work for him—Grey would place the blame solely on his shoulders.

I didn’t see it as his fault, but then again, I didn’t have daughters—or sons, for that matter, to look after.

“Knock, knock,” David called out, before sauntering in.

“I’ll call you back,” I abruptly ended the call, before standing up to shake hands with him. “What brings you downtown?”

He just grinned stupidly before sinking down into the chair in front of my desk. “I’ve got some news…”

I grinned back. “I knew you were going to come out sooner or later, asshole. So, who’s the lucky guy? And don’t say me, because I am married now and not down for any funny business.”

He shot me the bird before continuing, “After that comment, I should leave your ass hanging, but I’m feeling mighty fucking generous today. We just left the doctor’s office—Beth is pregnant.”

My smile wavered slightly, but he didn’t appear to notice. “Congrats, man. That’s great news!”

David leaned in. “You better get on it, Mike. Unless, you’ve found that your sudden need for men has made it hard to get it up.”

“Well, dickwad, we did just get married three months ago. I think we’ll enjoy the honeymoon stage a little longer if that’s alright with you.”

I smiled and laughed, all the while resisting the urge to batter his fucking face. So, maybe we’d only been married for three months, but we hadn’t used protection in a year. We’d decided to leave it up to fate. Anytime I brought it up though, Lauren would change the subject and find another room in the house to redecorate. If she wasn’t at the gym or out on the shooting range, she was onPinterest, finding ideas for remodeling.

Her latest project was the master bathroom and before that, the master bedroom. She’dFeng shuiedthe shit out of it and then promptly gotten her period the next day. I’d heard her crying in the bathroom and tried the door handle, but it was locked. Later, I saw the box of tampons near the sink and with a sinking feeling, knew for sure.

I felt so fucking helpless. She was going through this and, no matter how much I wanted to be a part of it, she was alone. I’d thought that losing her was the worst thing I’d ever been through.

I was wrong.

Watching her go through this hell, month after month, was the hardest thing I’d ever dealt with. When we were dating, I’d been oblivious to it, and maybe it hadn’t been on her radar either. Since we’d been married though, everything had come to light. The way she’d look at Kaden, with a huge smile on her face, even though her eyes told a different story.

I was seeing my wife fall apart a little more each month, and it was killing me to know that there was nothing I could do about it.

“Hello? Earth to Mike?” David waved a hand in front of my face.

“What? Sorry, I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

He frowned. “I asked if you were doing anything special for Lauren’s birthday. Beth said she was surprised you hadn’t planned a raging kegger with strippers.”

I laughed hollowly again. “We’re just keeping it low-key, per the birthday girl’s request.”

Today was Lauren’s thirtieth birthday and instead of a huge celebration, my wife had requested that we just stay in and watch movies. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Initially, she’d asked if we could forget it completely, before finally agreeing to movies.

No cake.

No candles.

No singing.

No acknowledgment whatsoever that thirty years ago today, my better half had come into this world.

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