Page 92 of Knocked Up by my Best Friend's Brothers

“Oh, my God!” Teagan exclaims from behind me.

Immediately I whirl around and get her out of the bedroom. “I told you to stay put!”

“Oh, God! Nate, was that… was that Spike?!”

I manage to push her back into the living room and hold her tight as she cries her heart out. There’s no way to erase what Teagan saw.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I really am.”

“They did that. The Mancini’s—” Teagan manages between heartfelt sobs.

“Most likely, yes.”

“They’ve been a step ahead of us this whole time.”

“We’re going to get through this, Tee; I promise.”

She looks up at me, and the pain in her eyes brings me back to the day my brothers and I were first deployed. It’s just like that. Her fear of never seeing us again, of losing the people she loves. It was always harder on Teagan. She never go to know Mom the way Cassius, River, and I did. And when we buried Dad, I felt the little girl inside her dry up with every inch of dirt that covered his coffin.

“I promise,” I say again, if only to see a spark of hope in her gaze.

“You’d better. Because I expect to be a matron of honor at Christa’s wedding when this is all over,” she replies.

“A wedding is going to be weird with three grooms. You know that, right?”

“I don’t care. We’ll make it work. Just get her back and be done with those Mancini fuckers, okay? Whatever it takes,” she says.

“Agreed.”

30

Christa

When Vince returns with Alexandra, I prepare for the worst. I’m ready to fight tooth and nail.

“What did Spike do?” Alexandra asks. She doesn’t look as pleased as I thought she’d be.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reply.

“That worm you sent to our Portland servers,” she says. “Our guys weren’t able to disable it. We had Spike under surveillance, and we copied all his files last night. What did he do?”

I need a moment to make the connections, but when the appropriate synapses do meet, a subtle smile stretches across my lips. “He must’ve suspected something, so he probably took precautions.”

“I knew it,” Vince hisses, close to losing control. “I told you we should’ve killed the bitch a lot sooner!”

“Hold on,” Alexandra calmly replies. “It’s not over yet.”

“Let me guess.” I chuckle dryly. “You can’t find the email.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “I wouldn’t enjoy this too much, if I were you. You’re still going to die screaming.”

“Your daddy got arrested because he’s a career criminal. Maybe it’s time for you both to do some self-reflecting. Maybe then, you’ll understand that no matter whom you punish, it won’t get him out. He will rot in prison,” I say.

That’s it, I’m done.” Vince takes his gun out, eager to use it on me. My heart skips a few beats, fear clutching my throat. “

“Put that down!” Alexandra says, slapping the gun out of his hand. “Give me a fucking second, will you? I told you; I’ve got this.”

“I’m guessing you’re her big brother,” I tell Vince. “Are you going to let her boss you around like that, Vince? What kind of Mancini are you?”

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