Page 75 of Hateful Union

Her lips thin as her eyes narrow in on me. “I said it was a stupid move. Not only could you have gotten yourself killed, you could have had Malcolm killed,” she replies, her tone’s taken a harder bite to it. “He deserves better.”

I hold up a hand. “Whoa,” I sneer, and her brows snap together. I point out a finger, my temper rising. “First, Malcolm and I weren’t together when I went to the cops. Your nephew is a fucking big boy, Makenna, and no one told him to stay with me. That was his decision. You have a problem with that, that’s your problem not mine.” I hold up two fingers. “Second, my father is a piece of shit. He needed to be stopped, and I’d have preferred it without bloodshed.” I give her a pointed look as I hold up three fingers. “And finally, my father didn’t deserve to have a quick and easy death. Going to the cops meant that he’d be sent to prison. A place where there would be family members of the women he hurt and killed. Do you know what they do to rapists in prison, Makenna?” I ask, my tone still not letting up. I’m pissed. I mean, how dare she?

She stares at me, unblinking.

“They would have done to him what he did to the women. But more importantly, they wouldn’t have killed him. They’d have prolonged his agony, his torture. By the time they were finished with him, he’d have been begging for death, he’d be a shell of the man he was and he’d realise that he wasn’t the great prick he believed himself to be. So, while my way didn’t have bloodshed, it would have been a hell of a lot better than slitting his throat.”

“Finished?” she questions, raising a brow, a haughty look to her.

“No, what happens between Malcolm and I, is our business. I don’t care if you don’t like it. Again, that’s your problem. As for him deserving better, you're right. He deserves better than having his family questioning his choices as though he’s a fucking child.” I let my words settle in. “Now, are we finished?”

Melissa giggles beside me and I turn to look at her, she’s not hiding her amusement in the slightest. Movement catches my eye and I turn to face Holly, who’s standing in the kitchen, rocking Annalise in her arms, a wide smile on her face. I move my gaze to Denis, he’s grinning widely at me, a proud look on his face. Danny winks at me, he too is smiling at me. But my breath catches when I see the possessive look on Malcolm’s face. His eyes filled with promise, and it takes everything in me not to squirm.

“You’re right,” Makenna says and I turn back to face her. She’s not looking at me, her gaze on Melissa. “She’s going to fit into this family perfectly.”

Lis leans in closer to me. “Well done, you passed the test.”

I roll my eyes. God, Malcolm warned me about this. I thought he was joking, but obviously not.

“When are you due?” I ask Makenna to change the subject.

She smiles at me. This time it’s warm and inviting. I guess passing the test means she’s no longer on guard around me.

“In about four months.” She glances down at my stomach, “What about you?”

“I’m only thirteen weeks,” I reply, my hand resting on my stomach. I hadn’t realised that Malcolm had told anyone other than his father.

“I kind of blurted it out,” Lis explains, almost as if she senses my unasked question. I watch as Holly joins Makenna on the opposite sofa. “When the fucker came up behind you, you made the same move you just did. You placed your hand on your stomach. I’m sorry, I didn’t realise that you weren’t telling people.”

“It’s not that we weren’t telling you. I just wanted to wait. There was just so much stress and I wanted to wait.” I try to explain, not wanting them to be hurt by our decision to not say anything.

Melissa bumps her shoulder against mine. “Hey, don’t worry, it’s fine. Hell, I didn’t tell Danny I was pregnant until I was five months.”

“You didn’t tell me,” Danny fires back, and I realise that the men have joined us in the living area. “I saw the bump.”

She waves her hand in the air, “Eh, semantics.”

Malcolm sits on the edge of the sofa, his arm curling around my shoulders, his lips at my ear. “They love you,mo stór,” he whispers and I shiver as goosebumps cover my body.

I nod against him. I’m glad they do. I really like them and I’m happy that we get along. I was worried. I didn’t want to dislike them or have them hate me. That would make things awkward for Mal.

“I’m hungry,” Danny pipes up and Melissa groans. He stares at her, his eyes narrowed. “What?”

She shakes her head. “You’re always hungry.”

“We’ll order a pizza,” Mal interrupts, before an argument breaks out.

My phone rings and I realise I left it in my bedroom. I rise to my feet, Mal’s hands on my waist to steady me. “I’m okay,” I assure him, and press a chaste kiss to his lips.

“Want me to wait, or shall I order the pizza?” he questions as I walk towards the bedroom.

“Order, I shouldn’t be too long,” I reply, hoping that whoever’s calling doesn’t have bad news. I’m not sure I can deal with anything bad right now.

Looking at the screen I see Bentley’s name. Frowning, I answer it. “Hey, Bent, everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine. I’ve just had an hour long phone call with those agents that were with Mum,” he tells me. “She’s fine, she’s gone back to Gran Canaria, she’s gone to see her parents and sister.”

My gut clenches. “So what, she’s forgetting about us?”

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