Page 109 of Tear Me Down
I put my hand up to tell him to shut it.
“You haven’t yet, but the pictures and videos you gather could one day. So, I just ask that you're careful.” I glare at him, making sure he’s listening. “I will pay you, handsomely, and I’ll make sure you receive firsthand information, if you'll allow us to use your platform for an emergency broadcast system when needed. If there’s a car chase just starting, we can tell you to let the people know to stay off the streets. If there’s a warehouse near a neighborhood, you can tell the people to stay in their homes. That’s all, until you get your degree, and then if you wish to pursue another life, we can discuss letting you go.”
He shakes his head, clearly confused.
“I won’t start college for…”
“I’ll handle the costs. It’s a great school. It’ll be good for you.”
“I…I don’t…”
“You don’t have to answer now.” I grab a slip of paper off the corner of the table and write my number down for him. “That’s my cell. Call whenever you decide, just don’t go giving that out to your friends. If someone pranks my phone at two in the morning and wakes up my pregnant wife, I'll track them down.” I eye him as I stand and slide the paper to him, trying my best to conceal my pain and not look like I’m about to lash out at him.
“I’ll do it,” he agrees, the words flying out of his mouth faster than he can breathe. “But can I ask one thing?”
“Sure, kid.”
“My brother, he only became a cop because he thought that’d get him close to you. Can he work for you?”
“Don't know kid, I'll have to make sure he's not dirty first.”
“He wouldn't,” he sternly replies, obviously believing with every fiber of his soul that his brother isn’t a crooked cop.
“I know you believe that, but I have to cover my bases. I'll look into him, I promise you.” After a few seconds, and my words sink in for him, he nods. I’m thankful that he takes what I say so seriously. “Carter?” I call out, knowing he’s in the booth listening to everything. “Get him set up, get him enrolled in school for the fall, and call Matt. We need him to sign an NDA. Go ahead and tell Melanie to wire his first payment, too.”
“You got it, D,” Carter responds over the intercom, and a grin creeps back to my lips.
“See ya around, kid.” I walk out, patting Carter on the shoulder as I walk by. “Get me info on his brother, will ya? Call Tony and ask about him.”
“You got it. You’re a good guy, D.”
“That is debatable at best.” I share a light grin before making my way down the hall, needing to feel her against me before I can keep going. My strength is wavering, but I need to push forward—gather every last ounce of strength that’s in my body to finish this. She can’t go home yet, not with the threat of him still being alive. There’s the possibility that she would never be able to sleep or look at our bedroom the same way again, and that thought is almost unbearable. The home she once saw as her sanctuary has been tainted, and she needs to know that I will rid her paradise of any evidence of the infestation. Proof of my devotion needs to be laid at her feet, and I’ll be sure to do just that.
Stepping into the rec room, my eyes are immediately drawn to my wife, who's sitting on one of the couches, curled up in a blanket. Zeke and Taylor are sitting across from her, and they haveAcceptedplaying on the TV—one of her favorites. She seems to be okay for now, watching the movie and making small talk with them. As I walk over to her, her eyes light up, and her posture immediately perks as I sit next to her. She instantly melts against me and looks up with those beautiful eyes.
“How’d it go?” she asks me.
“Good, actually. Really good.” I kiss the top of her head and rake my fingers through her silky strands. Her warmth settles in around me, giving me the reprieve I was desperate for as I look around the room. “Where’s Serena?”
“She ran out to the car to get our meds.”
“Are you feeling sick?”
“Yeah, starting to.” She nods a little, and I move my other hand to rub her stomach overtop the blanket, hoping to soothe the discomfort. This isn’t one of the blankets I bought her, but it is very soft, and it has small ridges like it was woven together. It’s not loose or poorly put together, and seems to hold steadyunder movement, as if a machine had created it, but with the touch of a human’s hand.
“That’s a nice blanket.”
“I know, right!” she says excitedly, and I can’t contain the smile that grows on my face. She always loves a good blanket, and I can tell by the way she fidgets with this one that she truly enjoys it. “Tay knitted it for me. It feels great.” She shoves the corner in my direction, and I chuckle as I feel it, because even though my hand was just moving against the fabric, apparently the corner is better.
“It is very soft,” I confirm in a playful tone before looking over to them. “Damn, Taylor. I didn’t know you could knit.” She shrugs just a little, obviously not understanding why this blanket means so much to her.
“I like to in my spare time. I finished that one last night.” She points at it as Zeke grabs her hand, clearly appreciative of her. “I already have all sorts of ideas for things to make for your baby.”
That thought breeds a heaviness in my chest, one that’s good and pure, and actually eases some of the tension in my body. I look down at Ashia to see her grin, and that weight only grows. Talking about the baby makes her happy, and while I was afraid at first that mentioning it would only upset her more, I’m happy that it hasn’t. Serena has been trying to keep their conversations on that to keep her distracted—so she doesn’t think about what happened. They’ve talked about a nursery and Serena’s been pulling up baby things online. She's talked about what gender she thinks the baby will be, swears it's going to be a boy ‘from how masculine’ I am.
Bullshit. It's a girl, I just know it. My queen is growing our little princess in her womb, and the thought makes my chest swell. A tiny version of her pattering around the house would be a perfect sight. She’ll have little hints of me that shine through in her attitude sometimes, but she will mostly be like her mother, and I can’t think of anything better. Ashia says she isn’t sure what she thinks yet, but I know better.
I already have a few guys watching over the house while some renovations are being made. I'm converting the room right next to ours to only have an entrance from our room instead of the hallway, so we can use that as an attached nursery. Ashia will feel better if the only access to the baby’s room is getting through us. Even though it might be a little early to be doing things like renovations, I want to show her that I truly have their best interests at heart, and that I’ll do whatever it takes to make her feel safe in our home again.
