Page 93 of The Keeper

Nausea swelled like a tidal wave, the acrid taste of bile scorching my tongue. “I know about the photos and videos. Not the specifics, but enough to know I never want to see them.”

My chin quivered, but I forced myself to continue, needing to get everything out in the open. “I also know about what he did to Avery. The sleepless nights and your need to rock her to sleep make a lot more sense now. What doesn’t make sense is why you kept it from me. She’s my baby too. I have a right to know if someone’s hurt her.”

Dane’s jaw clenched, his eyes filled with anguish as he met my gaze. “I was trying to protect you. After everything you’d been through, I didn’t want to add to your trauma. I thought I could shoulder it alone and keep you both safe without burdening you with the knowledge.”

He tilted his head back, blinking quickly to keep from crying. “Seeing that video…watching what he did to our baby? Christ, Piper. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to unsee it. I didn’t want you to have to carry that too.”

Tears welled in my eyes as I imagined what he must have witnessed. The thought of anyone hurting Avery made me feel physically ill.

I cupped his jaw in my hand, feeling the tension thrumming through his body. “You said it yourself. This is a partnership. If we’re going to make this work, we need to face these things together, no matter how awful they are.”

He nodded, turning to press a kiss to my palm. “You’re right, darlin’. No more secrets between us.”

“No more secrets,” I agreed, huffing out a pained breath as I shifted to get more comfortable. “Though I have to admit, knowing what that monster did makes me wish you’d made him suffer more before killing him.”

A dark gleam flashed in Dane’s eyes. “Believe me, baby, if I’d known the full extent of what he’d done, then I would have put a bullet in his head the first time I laid eyes on him. But, in the interest of transparency and no more secrets, you should know I didn’t kill him. You did.”

I jerked my head back, the movement pulling at my bruised and aching ribs. “What do you mean I killed him? I heard the…the snap when you did the thing.”

My words were coming out all wrong, but the idea that it had been me, not Dane, who ended Derek’s miserable existence was crazy.

He leaned in until his lips brushed against my ear, his voice little more than a low growl. “You must have jaws of steel, darlin’ because you bit down hard enough to sever an artery or vein. Fucker was barely conscious when I pulled him off you and dead before I could finish. I snapped his neck anyway so I could at least feel like I contributed.”

“Am I going to have to go in for questioning?” I asked with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

He cocked his head to the side. “You really think I’d allow that to happen, baby? The club’s taking care of everything. That’s all you need to know.”

I knew better than to press for details. There were some aspects of club business I was better off not knowing about. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder how they planned to explain away the bloodbath in Avery’s bedroom to the authorities.

As if reading my thoughts, Dane added, “Carnage called in some favors. As far as the police are concerned, Derek broke in and attacked you. You acted in self-defense. Case closed.”

I nodded, grateful for the simplicity of the cover story. It wasn’t far from the truth, after all.

“And the house?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“Nails has a clean-up crew there now. I also hired a company to finish packing up the house before the movers come tomorrow…which iswhat I wanted to do in the first place, but someone stubbornly insisted she could handle it.”

I shrugged, wincing as the movement pulled at my stitches. “In my defense, I didn’t know I was going to end up in a knife fight with my former boss.”

“That’s not fucking funny, Piper,” Dane grumbled, trying to resist the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“I mean, it’s better than the alternative, which involved panic attacks and uncontrollable sobbing,” I pointed out just as Dr. Wallace entered the room.

“Are you getting any relief?”

“Honestly, I still feel like I got hit by a truck,” I replied.

She nodded sympathetically as she logged into the computer on the wall. “I’m not surprised, given what you’ve been through. We collected a baseline serum, and the nurse will go over long-term follow-up care. To be on the safe side, we’ll start you on a post-exposure prophylaxis, which is safe to take while pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” I spluttered, my heart rate spiking on the monitor.

“Based on your hCG levels, I’d estimate you’re about six to seven weeks along.”

I blinked in shock, my mind reeling. “But... I took a test two weeks ago when I missed my period. Several of them, in fact. They were all negative.”

“Could be your hCG levels weren’t high enough to register,” she explained. “I’d recommend making an appointment with your OB as soon as possible to confirm and start prenatal care. I’ll step out and give you two a moment, but the nurse will be in shortly to go over follow-up care and get you discharged.”

Pregnant?

---