Page 51 of Brood
Will asks gruffly, “Can we go now?”
“Yes. We’re going.” I wave at Bella as we start walking again.
Will is as silent as I am on the walk to our quarters, but once we’ve entered and the door has slid shut, he turns me to face him. “Tell me what the fuck is going on. Are you pregnant?”
“I don’t know yet. He doesn’t have the blood test results yet.”
“Then what’s wrong? What happened?”
It’s taking every ounce of control I possess to maintain a mostly calm demeanor. Will’s urgency isn’t helping at all. “Nothing happened. What do you mean?”
“I mean something is wrong. You think I can’t see it?” He runs a hand through his messy hair. His skin is slightly damp from perspiration. “Did that man hurt you?”
“No! Of course not.” I’m relieved—amazed—that I get the words said with only a small break on the final word.
He hears it.
“Cadence,” he mutters, a clear warning in his tone. He takes a step closer to me.
“Stop acting like this! I told you nothing is wrong, and I told you nothing happened. We don’t know if I’m pregnant or not yet. There’s nothing more to discuss.” I whirl around and head for the bedroom, mostly to get away from him.
“Cadence!” His voice still isn’t loud, but it’s commanding.
Despite my desperate need to get away, I stop walking. Don’t turn around.
“I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there today. I tried. But Brody—” There’s a beeping from his belt. His radio.
“Brody what?” I turn around, suddenly irrationally hopeful.
Maybe there’s a real explanation for his failure to follow through on his promise.
Maybe it’s not because something else was more important than me.
“Brody—” He breaks off again with a frustrated groan when the radio on his belt beeps again with a different sequence of chimes. “Hold on. I’ve got to take this.”
He barks out, “Will here,” as he takes several long strides away from me. He’s holding the radio right to his ear, so all I can hear is a garbled mumble.
After a minute, he turns his back toward me. Whatever his reply is to the other speaker, it’s too soft for me to make out. But the vibes are tense. Because I’m watching, I can see Will’s shoulders slowly stiffening.
“Okay.” He sounds both subdued and angry, if such a combination is possible. “I saidokay.”
When he reattaches his radio to his belt and turns around, he’s changed. The bristling intensity from before has chilled into a stone-cold composure.
“What happened?” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest. “What was that?”
“Just a work thing.” He blinks like he’s coming out of sleep. “What were we saying?”
“You were saying something about Brody? Why you couldn’t make it to the appointment?”
With a guttural sound, he wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand, ruffling the hairs of his beard. “Oh. Yeah.”
“What was it? Why couldn’t you make it?” I’m scared. Deeply upset. And still have no idea why.
“Oh. Yeah. It was…” He shakes his head hard. “I got busy and decided it was better not to make waves. You did fine without me. I figured you would.”
I don’t believe him. My first instinct is not to believe a single word he’s just said or the overly casual tone. “What?”
“You know how they are about spouses being clingy.”
