Page 63 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Harley sighed. “You have some sort of plan?”

Miles nodded. “She gave you the jewelry gifts, so we think she does actually care for you as a friend. Or, if nothing else, she may view you as a secondary mark she can swindle before bouncing out of town. Our plan is that you and Tatebreak up, somewhere public. Lots of witnesses. Then in your distraught state, call Emily for comfort and support. It’s a long shot, but she may agree to meet. You guys talk for a bit, and when you go your separate ways, the authorities move in and arrest her.”

It was a good plan. If we could keep her in public, it would be easier to capture Emily. She wouldn’t dare use her magic in front of humans. It would be as dangerous as me shifting in broad daylight downtown.

Harley chuckled humorlessly. “It’s almost like you guys wrote a scene for a movie.”

The four of us exchanged a nervous look before Harley said, “Okay. I’ll do it. If what she’s been doing is true, she needs to answer for it. I can’t believe this is happening. It’s crazy.”

Later that night, when we lay in bed, Harley curled into my chest, and said, “With everything that happened about Emily, I forgot to ask. What was in that box Luis left?”

My heart skipped a beat, and for half a second, I thought about lying. That idea fell apart fast. I’d already lied through my teeth today. There was enough being held back from Harley. In this one thing, I could be honest. I told her about the booties, the earrings, the note, everything. I also told her what I wanted to do to get back at Luis. After I was done, I held my breath, waiting for her response.

Finally, she said, “God, he’s such an asshole. I’ll take the DNA test. It’s not because I question who the father is, but because I want to shove it in his face. It’ll be for my peace of mind and to put it to rest once and for all.”

I squeezed her close and said, “It makes sense to me, too. I’ll schedule an appointment for the test after our fake break up.”

“Oh lord, I forgot about that. I hope I don’t screw it up. I was never a very good actor.”

I’d thought the same thing about myself until today. Sometimes you surprise yourself. I said, “You’ll do fine. Honestly, I think part of why you felt like someone was watching you was that Emily might have someone watching the house. We really think you might be her next victim.”

“Maybe. It would make sense. It sort of breaks my heart that I was starting to trust her, and she was lying about everything.”

“I’m sorry,” I said automatically.

“Why are you sorry? You didn’t have anything to do with it.”

I said nothing––partly because I didn’t know what to say, and partly because I was fairly certain it had everything to do with me. If anything happened to Harley because of what I was, I’d never forgive myself.

TWENTY-SIX

HARLEY

Breaking up was always hard. It was a lot harder when it was on the day you were scheduled to get a paternity test. It was even harder when the break up was fake. There’d never been a time in my life when I considered myself a good actor. Now, I was being asked to pretend to break up with Tate, make it believable, and then go running to Emily. Not only that, I had to keep acting like Emily was my bosom buddy. Could I fake cry? Would I need to? It was so stressful to think about it that I had a hard time focusing on what the doctor was saying.

I was sitting on the exam table, holding Tate’s hand, the doctor’s voice droning on and on. “…a very easy and simple procedure. It’s non-invasive and ninety-nine percent accurate. There really is nothing to worry about. You and the baby will be fine.”

None of what she’d said before had stuck, but I did understand that part. This was all safe. My baby was safe. That was what mattered the most. Secondarily, I could finally find out, for sure, if Tate really was the father. He was sure, and so was I, but knowing would take more stress out of our lives.

The doctor looked at Tate and smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, there can’t be anyone else in the room while we perform theprocedure. Mr. Mills will need to exit the room for a bit while we proceed.”

Tate’s hand tightened on mine. “Well, can’t I sort of… stand in the corner? I’ll be quiet. I’d really like to be here.”

The doctor smiled again. “Again, this is a very safe procedure. No need to worry. Besides, I have a nurse ready to take your oral swab. You can go with her and get that taken care of. Once you’re done, it will just be a few more minutes, and we’ll be finished. It’s simply our policy, I’m sorry.”

Tate looked like he was ready to argue, but I gave him a nudge. “Tate, it’s fine. It’s just some blood. I’ll be done in no time. You go on.”

He looked at me and nodded. He gave me a quick kiss before leaving with a nurse. After worrying so much about it, I was a little surprised at how easy it was. Anticlimactic, in fact. All she did was take a vial of blood. If I’d known it would be that simple, I probably would have argued for Tate to stay.

The doctor labeled the blood vial and patted my arm. “All done. You need to rest, and not stress about anything. We should have results in a few days.”

Tate and I met in the hallway after we were both done. I asked, “How was yours?”

He raised his eyebrows. “She put that swab halfway down my throat. Not very pleasant, but I’ve experienced worse.”

We stepped into the elevator. We were alone, and Tate said, “Are you good with the plan? The story seem believable?”

“I think so.”

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