Page 99 of Roots of the Wicked

“Jax, baby. Please take a moment to think about this,” I suggested, my tone calm.

She blinked and glared into my eyes, appearing to finally notice my closeness.

“Why would you receive a random voice mail, of a private conversation I had with my friend months ago? Someone, likely the same person who pulled off the drone incident, has been invading my privacy, screening my calls, probably has my house bugged.”

She remained silent.

“I didn’t tamper with your pills. I wouldn’t. I want a lasting meaningful relationship with you. Why would I mess up my chances by doing something that deceitful?”

Her beautiful eyes darted left and right before returning to mine.

“Baby, someone is determined to break us up. When you decided to see me despite the latest threat they lobbed at you, they added this to the mix. They want to split us up by any means necessary,” I urged, attempting to get her to hear reason.

In an attempt to help her lose the tension, I rubbed her shoulders, light and gentle.

“You’re pregnant. Are you sure?” I glanced at her stomach again.

She pinched her lips tight and nodded as a tear slid down her cheek and joined the others that had gathered above her lip.

Smiling at this moment was going to upset her, but I couldn’t help myself. “Don’t cry. We’ll be fine. I want this baby as much as I want you, but I didn’t mess with your pills, just like I didn’t send those pictures to the media.”

She studied my face.

“You want the baby?”

“Of course I want our baby. This news makes me happy. Excited. I want to announce it to the world, that I’m going to be a father.” My excitement was hammered away by my plaguing thoughts. We had to address the recurring problem we had.

“We have a serious problem to confront. The pills could have just not worked, but if someone tampered with them, you could be in danger. They are also threatening you with an illegal video which is more proof of their ruthlessness. And the intruder was the most dangerous awakening yet. I can’t let anything happen to you and our baby. We need to find out what happened. We still don’t know who set me up. I believe it’s the same person who sent you the recording.”

My grip on her hand tightened. I now had two people to protect. The realization of the news remained, nailing its way into my brain and bringing to light our child could already be in jeopardy by the person attempting to rip, his or her, parents apart.

“Do you have the last package of pills you started so we can have them checked for tampering? Or did you throw them out already?”

She bit her bottom lip, the action lifting her lip piercing. “About that. . .”

Her eyes didn’t dare meet mine, as she sucked in a deep breath and released it with a noticeable uneasiness.

“Jax? How long have you been pregnant?”

She mumbled her words. I cupped my ear in my hand.

“You’re going to have to repeat the statement a bit louder, because it sounded like you said two and a half months.”

She nodded like a child on the receiving end of a serious scolding. It meant she had likely gotten pregnant on the yacht.

“Jax! How could you keep something this important from me, for so long? What if something had happened to you? What if something had happened to me? I would have never known about one of the best gifts I could ever receive.”

Her eyes widened, surprised by my words. “It’s not like I’ve known the whole time. We were at odds, because I thought you were the drone stalker. Then, I was threatened with the one thing I thought would keep me away from you. Also, I was afraid to say anything because I thought you would be upset, and...”

With a shush, and a finger to her lips, I cut her off. I don’t believe I had ever shushed anyone this way before. I could feel a deep crease, denting my forehead as I shook my head.

“Why on earth would I be upset?” I caressed her shoulders and rubbed her back, attempting to relax away the tension she clung to.

Uncertainty glimmered in her tight expression. Now, I understood the visible changes I had noticed in her. Her skin that I had always found beautiful was even more luminescent as it glowed under the lights. Although her posture was a little hunched and unsure, she kept her hands to either side of her midsection, unconsciously protecting what was there. I glanced at her flat stomach, covered by her blue fitted top. Her words came out with slow indecision.

“I know one of the reasons you had women sign NDAs was because they had made attempts to trap you. This pregnancy didn’t happen that way. I’m not one of those women. I don’t want to be labeled as one of them. I was upset with Blake at dinner yesterday because I was sitting there with your baby in my belly, and his words hit closer to home than I liked.”

My head rocked side-to-side, disappointed she still didn’t get it.

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