Page 64 of Open Secrets
Ever.
I glance up, the sound of water rushing in the upstairs pipes. Maria’s in the shower.
Quietly, I grab my coat and slip out.
The car isn’t hard to spot—sleek, black, parked under the streetlamp like it’s been waiting. I cross the road and slide into the passenger seat.
In the driver’s seat sits CeCe. Very obviously—and very heavily—pregnant.
I force myself not to look at her belly. My jaw locks. “Why are you here? I told you to leave me alone.”
She smiles, that cunning little tilt of her lips I once mistook for mischief. “Did you really think you could just retire without telling me, Captain Connelly?”
I grit my teeth. “Why the fuck would I tell you?”
Her smile widens, slow and deliberate. One hand drifts to her stomach.
“Well, dear,” she purrs, “what do you expect me to do withour son?”
My mouth drops. “You and I both know that cannot be mine.”
She tilts her head, smiling like a cat with a cornered mouse. “There almost was once.”
I glare at her. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I want what I’m owed,” she says easily. “I stayed on my back for you a lot over the last few years. Consider it my retirement too.”
My stomach twists, but I hold her gaze. “I’m not paying you.”
“Really?” Her smile sharpens. “What will happen if I go to your commander and tell him this baby is yours?”
“It’s not. A simple paternity test will prove it.”
Her eyes glitter. “The first question they’ll ask is if you’ve fucked me. And we both know the answer to that. Do you really want the whole world to know that you and precious Maria had an open marriage?”
I shake my head slowly. “People already know.”
She leans in, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Are you really willing to admit it on paper—for a few thousand dollars?”
I press my palms to my knees, forcing myself not to explode. “I don’t have any money.”
“Then find it,” she says smoothly, nails drumming against the steering wheel. “Don’t make me the bad guy here.”
I let out a sharp laugh, humourless. “You already are the bad guy, CeCe.”
Her smile doesn’t falter. “No, darling. I’m just a woman protecting herself. If you don’t want trouble, you’ll make sure I’m taken care of.”
My jaw clenches so hard it aches. “You’re blackmailing me with a kid that isn’t even mine.”
She leans back, stroking her stomach like she knows it’s making me sweat. “All anyone will care about is the story. The captain who abandoned his mistress and her baby. Not whether it’s true.”
Heat crawls up my neck. I want to slam the door and walk away, but her voice hooks me in place.
“You don’t want Maria finding out this way, do you?” she adds, almost sweet. “Because she will. One way or another.”
My fist slams against the dashboard, rattling the air vents. “You think you can ruin my family with your lies? Go ahead and try.”
For a second her confidence wavers, just a hair.
