Page 25 of Property of Spike

She hesitates but nods, her gaze dropping back to Asher. Her fingers move gently over his tiny head, soothing him as he nurses.

I should turn around. I should leave. But my feet don’t move.

Instead, I step inside, shutting the door behind me.

Moving to my desk, I sit, though I barely notice doing it. My eyes stay on her. On them.

The outside light catches the gold in her hair and the soft curve of her cheek. Her focus is completely on Asher, her expression calm and... serene.

It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

And the most unsettling.

Something stirs in me. Something I don’t understand. I’ve seen women nursing before. Hell, half the guys in the club have kids, and no one blinks an eye at the old ladies who breastfeed out in the open.

But this is different.

She’s different.

Chapter Nine

Riley

“I have to call him,” I say, staring at the article on Spike’s computer, my heart pounding.

“Absolutely not,” Spike growls, his voice sharp enough to cut glass.

“If I don’t, he’s going to turn this into a manhunt,” I argue, refusing to back down.

“Maybe she could call the police station instead,” Max suggests cautiously. “She could let them know she and the baby are safe without speaking to Chuck directly.”

“That won’t work,” Maverick interjects. “He’ll just claim she was coerced into saying it. The best thing to do is stay hidden.”

“For the rest of my life?” I snap, my frustration bubbling over.

Spike’s jaw tightens. “What did you expect to happen when you left?” he asks, his tone cutting. “His woman and his son vanish from the hospital without a trace, and you think he’d just let that slide? You knew he wouldn’t stop.”

His words sting, but I refuse to look away.

“We’re risking a hell of a lot to keep you safe,” he continues, his voice lowering but no less intense. “Going up against a Police Commissioner isn’t a small thing. One slip, one phone call, and it could all come crashing down. Do you understand that?”

“I do understand that,” I say firmly, refusing to waver under Spike’s intense glare. “But he doesn’t have to know where I’m at.”

“Your call could be traced,” he snaps, frustration clear in his tone.

“Then maybe I go to the police station instead,” I counter. “If they see me in person, they’ll know I’m okay. I’ll explain that I left because I didn’t feel safe.”

A thought hit me. The spy. What if he already knows I’m here? I open my mouth to tell him about it, but he speaks first.

“And walk right into his hands?” Spike growls, taking a step closer, his towering presence making the room feel smaller. His dark eyes flash with unrestrained anger, his voice dripping with derision. “How fucking stupid can you be, Riley? You might as well have stayed and let him use and abuse you while he raisedyourchild with another woman.”

His words hit like a slap, the weight of his anger and contempt pressing down on me, squeezing the air out of my lungs. My brain freezes every thought as I try and process his anger.

“Fuck, Spike,” someone mutters under their breath, the tension in the room crackling like a live wire.

I feel lightheaded, my pulse pounding in my ears. For the first time since arriving here, I want to be anywhere else but here. For the first time since I met him, I don’t feel safe.

“If this is how you make decisions,” Spike continues, his voice harsher now, “maybe you don’t deserve that kid. Did you think about him when you packed up and ran? Or did you just decide to gamble with his life and hope for the best?”

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