Page 98 of Hushed

When the man turned his back to type something into a keyboard, she slipped beyond the desk and ran into the club. It was filled with people, but the music had stopped, and Gage and Reggie were wrestling.

“Stop it, both of you,” she screamed as loud as possible.

Both men did and turned to stare at her.

“What is this about me knocking you up?” Gage asked, rubbing a red spot on his jaw.

“Reggie burst into my apartment this morning and took Maggie’s pregnancy tests and ran out. He asked where you were before he found the tests, so I figured he was heading here when he stormed out. I tried to follow him, but he was too fast. I just jumped on the next train into town. Left my charger at home and my phone died on the train.”

She sucked in deep breaths as she finished and stared at both men.

A man she recognized as Peter Mercer stepped forward. “Folks, we have a crowd staring at us. Why don’t the three of you go into the Library? But I think me, Ripley and Noah would like a word with Reggie when you’re done.”

Gage gave a terse nod and stalked toward the hallway that led to the Library, and Kenzie ran after him, not bothering to wait for Reggie.

They all three walked into the Library, and Gage pulled her close. “Are you OK? Where is your security?”

“I… now that you mention it, I’m not sure.”

He scowled. “We’ll talk about that later. I saw your text and didn’t question it since it seemed like you were on the train. Why does Reggie think you’re pregnant?”

Kenzie shook her head. “I told you, those pregnancy tests of Maggie’s. Did you know he was alive?”

Gage shook his head. “I swear, I didn’t.”

Reggie cleared his throat. “I’m right here.”

They both turned and glared at him. “Start fucking talking,” Kenzie bit out. “I’m pissed at you.”

She dropped onto an ottoman and waited for him to speak. He paced and dragged a hand through his hair, and Kenzie couldn’t believe she was staring at him.

“After we rescued Ripley and that girl and I took a bullet, someone came into my recovery room and told me I was dead according to official records, because they needed to send someone undercover to stamp out the rest of the trafficking ring. Corbit Upwood and his accomplices had quite the network, and what we shut down back then was just the tip of the iceberg.”

Kenzie looked at Gage who was nodding as if what Reggie said made sense. To her, it was gibberish.

“Why are you back? Is it over?” Kenzie asked.

He shook his head. “No. My work took me to New York a couple of years ago, though, and I’ve been keeping tabs on you. Then you showed up at The Cage.”

Kenzie’s eyes went wide. “You were there?”

Reggie nodded. “You wouldn’t have recognized me, and I stayed out of your way. But I kept an eye on you in case you took a drink from Chris.”

She grimaced, glad she had done nothing to embarrass herself in front of her brother.

“I’m sorry I had to hide from all of you all these years.”

Kenzie was mad about that, but it didn’t seem like the time to bring it up.

“OK. But why are you here now? Why storm into my apartment today?”

“I saw Gage show up with you the day after you were at the Cage. It made me think something happened that I didn’t see, but I kept an eye out, and it looked like he was just here to check up on you, and I was relieved. But then this morning, I saw you buy those pregnancy tests, and I assumed Gage had done something stupid.”

“You are so fucked up, Reggie. I haven’t done anything stupid, but I am dating Kenzie.”

Kenzie held her breath, praying they didn’t come to blows. But she was proud of Gage for not trying to cover up the fact that they were seeing each other.

Reggie shoved his hands in his pockets. “You know how I feel about that.”

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