Page 89 of Truck Stop Titan

I excused myself. Sat at my desk. Lifted my chin. Put Dane, Mim, the baby, and all my worries to rest.

And vowed to be the best damn administrative assistant the world had ever seen.

Dane

“SHE’S THE BEST FIGHTERI’ve ever seen.” Tito rubbed the hem of his shirt over one of the many weapons he had hidden on his person. Have you seen the way she handles a blade?”

“No.”

“Just sayin’. Don’t piss off that woman.”

Jesus. Fuck. I got it. Aida was a badass. Didn’t understand why Tito felt the need to keep drilling that fact into my head.

“Remind me why I’m here.” I shifted my ass, hoping to encourage blood flow and ease the pinch in my hip. Not easy to accomplish inside the cramped sedan that measured two sizes too small for a guy of my stature.

“Tucker likes to keep his hands clean.” Tito turned his shiny blade over for one last inspection, the dim light catching the carvings on the black handle. “I work better in the mud.” He tucked the knife back into his boot. “Need some backup for this job. And I know from experience, you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.”

The smug bastard leaned back, arms crossed, and settled into his seat, like he hadn’t a care in the world. “Besides, thought you might want to blow off some steam, have some fun before the baby comes.”

The tin can shrank around me, heating a thousand degrees. “The fuck you know about a baby?”

“Mim told Rocky. Rockster told everybody. That kid can’t keep a secret for shit.”

“Jesus. Fuck.” Had I room to move, I would’ve knocked the smirk off his face. Instead, I closed my eyes, shook my head, and tried to forget how I’d walked out on Moriah after she’d said those three foreign words that had never been aimed my direction.I love you.

“Don’t know whether to congratulate you or beat your ass for being so fuckin’ careless.”

“Was an accident.” Why the fuck was I explaining myself?

“An accident?” Tito huffed. “What, your bare cock accidentally slipped between her legs?”

I had no comeback. Truth was, I’d been so drunk on whiskey and Moriah, I’d let my guard down, and we’d fucked countless times those first two nights. Maybe I’d forgotten to wrap my dick, or maybe the damn condom had slipped, or broke. Thehowdidn’t fucking matter. We’d made a baby. Thewhatnextwas what had me in a mood.

Tito quirked a brow, scratching the scar on his face. “You plan on making an honest woman of her?”

His question struck me like a head-on between a two-speed and a Mac truck, pulverizing my weak frame, leaving nothing but twisted metal.

Rings and wedding bells? Fuck no.

But damn, the woman was crazy enough to think she loved me. Jackass or not, I was smart enough to realize she’d given a rare and precious gift. One I would treasure whether we shared a last name or not.

But that was nobody’s business but mine. “You gonna be like this all night, Freddie Kruger? ’Cause I got no problem hitching a ride back to Whisper Springs.”

Tucker’s voice came over our earpieces. “You twats about done? Blue Lincoln. On your five.”

A Navigator rolled into the dark lot, lights off, windows black.

“Flashy fucker,” Tito growled. “I’m gonna enjoy taking this guy out.”

Tucker lit his phone and flashed three quick beams, luring the target to his vehicle.

Tito and I waited in our car parked at the opposite end of the lot. The clock read 1:17 AM. My stomach knotted, pulse raced, and when a young girl, who couldn’t have been older than eleven or twelve, stumbled out of the SUV wearing a dress that barely covered her ass, and heels too unstable for her skinny legs, that damn organ in my chest pummeled my ribcage something fierce. The kid was an older version of what Mim might’ve been. A younger version of what Addy had become.

The girl swayed, struggling to stay upright, her head lolling to the side.

“Fuck. They drugged her. Fuck!” Tito pounded the steering wheel.

Tucker’s jagged breaths crackled through the earpiece.

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