Page 141 of Born for Lace

“Good.” Lagos snatches the gun and forces it into my hands. “Use it, little flower. This will work better than that little nail file. If I frighten you, use it.”

I hold it loosely, my eyes glued to the strange device I’ve only seen but have never touched. “I don’t want it.”

“Flower.” Lagos’ tone drops, deepening with intimacy and throbbing with emotion. I peer up at the formidable man lording over me. “If you take the taser,” he says, “I will drive us to the farmhouse.”

I don’t want the taser, but his dark gaze pools with warm intensity, so powerful and confident that it calms the uncertainty in my heart.

“Okay,” I whisper, closing my fingers over the weapon and accepting it. He is a forty-something-year old Xin De Shadow, a trained killer, and I am a pregnant Common girl born for lace. I have to accept that he’s dangerous.

I have to keep focus. “Do you have a vehicle? You didn’t… walk here. Did you?”

“You can take Tomar’s truck.” Robert’s words throw me, and I blink at him.

“What? What will he take?”

“He’s staying here.”

My mouth drops open. “What happened to no Xin De in the community?”

He lifts his chin, his expression steadfast. “I stand by that. That rule has kept us safe for decades. So… he is staying in the gorge at our Community Protection base. He has skills and connections we could use. We spoke about it when— When he thought he was going to settle down with… Well, with you and the babies.”

I gasp. “He had it all planned.”

Lagos’ black gaze somehow burns. He strides to Spero’s cot and, with one hand, scoops the infant to rest along his forearm, his muscular torso rippling with a loud claim—mine.

This is mine.

He stares down at Spero, the moment binding, the assertion and connection pulsing through the air like tangible matter.

“Get your property, little flower,” Lagos warns without looking up from our tiny assassin, “before I decide to hunt Tomar down.”

I want to move, but my feet are stuck to the floor, my utter shock is like solid lead in my soles.

He is holding Spero.

He is cradling Spero in one arm, making the six-month-old look tinier than usual.

“Now.” Lagos growls. “Now, little flower.”

Right.I rush around the house and collect my possessions; mybeibaowith the stockings from Sweets and the silly trinkets from Tide, clattering around inside; a large duffle bag with all my new clothes and Spero’s fluffy toys.

As we fill the truck, tucking Spero into a blanket nest on the back seat, the Community Protection officers stand with rifles at the ready. It’s a formidable situation, the air stirring with wariness and concern.

I was welcome.

Weare not.

Robert waits patiently by the vehicle, overseeing. “Lagos.” He calls over as my brute opens my car door for me. “She will need a doctor to deliver that baby.”

Lagos frowns at him, mistrust pulsing between them as I climb into the seat.

“You should consider bringing her back here in three months,” he states, dangling the offer, letting the dominant Xin De decide for himself. “We may not welcome your kind, but she is Common. I will induce her early and safely deliver the infant. I don’t want her to become a statistic of Xin De Maternal Death. Your kind is to blame for this… She deserves better.”

To my surprise, Lagos bares his teeth, agitation tight in his jaw, but nods.

And I know we will never really fit in anywhere. He is a rogue, and I am his. He is a loner who doesn’t want to live without me.

Even if he wanted to stay and do the same as Tomar, they would never allow him. Tomar, with his gentle, sophisticated words and cooperative nature, yes, but not Lagos. He is everything they want to keep out. The very essence of a dangerous Xin De.

---