Page 47 of A Knotty Bond: The Claiming of Cadence

I leaned down to pull out my purse when his expression changed and he straightened. Pulling his phone from his pocket, the skin around his mouth tightened as he typed something before looking back up at me.

“I’m sorry, looks like I can’t take you out after all. You’ll come over tomorrow night?”

He was already turning to go, half of his attention on his phone.

“Tomorrow is still a work night. Will you be home early enough for me to get to bed on time?”

I couldn’t keep the hope from fluttering in my chest, though I kept my voice neutral. He glanced up, his brows drawn together as he hesitated, and my heart stuttered.

“I can’t promise. There’s a lot going on right now.”

My stomach dropped again, bile churning as anger flooded through me to fight the disappointment. He’d neglected me for days, was running off after asking me to lunch, and he couldn’t be bothered to be home when he asked me to come over.

“I’m pretty tired these days, and I have to be up early to get ready for work. Why don’t you call me if you’re free at a decent time?”

He turned back to me and his mouth opened, but his phone drew his attention again. His face immediately closed off, tension tightening his body.

“Okay,” he said as he moved away again, heading for the door.

I was left staring after him, not knowing how to feel. I knew the things he was involved in, and whatever was going on seemed serious. I’d been there when he was shot at outside the club, yet I couldn’t suppress the feelings of being ignored and cast aside. How was I to know this wasn’t going to be the way the rest of our life would be if we went through with getting married?

Would a bond make it better, or give him another way to shut me out?

Sighing, my hand dropped to cradle my belly. It may not be obvious to the world yet, but the little bump and the baby growing inside were becoming the center of my world. I had to start thinking about what would be best for my child.

And a part-time father was worse than none at all.

My stomach rolled, the emotions making me feel like I was going to be sick. If things had stayed as they were before, I never would have rethought my decision to marry Leo. I had accepted who he was, and I’d trusted we could figure out the issues facing us.

I’d even considered letting him claim me.

But with the way the past few weeks had been, I knew I couldn’t live like this. When I wasn’t angry at him for not contacting me, I was worrying that the reason was because he couldn’t.

That something had happened.

Would I even know? It wasn’t like I had connections in his world. Short of going to his father or the club and asking one of his men, would anyone think to tell me if Leo was injured?

If he died?

The thought made me hiccup, my breath catching in my throat as tears filled my eyes. I’d met his family, and the club employees knew me, but I didn’t even know if Leo had told anyone about our engagement. I doubted his family would reach out to me if Leo was gone, except perhaps because of the baby.

Would they try to take it from me if something happened to Leo?

My blood ran cold as I held my belly tighter. There was no way I would let anyone take my baby.

The phone on my desk ringing brought me back from the brink of panic. I tried to bury the thoughts, but they continued to plague me throughout the day, and by the time I got home I was too tense to think of anything else.

Walking upstairs to my room, I almost missed seeing my brother heading down, except the stairs were too narrow for us to pass. Finally looking up, I stared at him as he paused to let me by.

My face must have shown my inner turmoil, because Michael’s brows lowered, and he reached out to place a hand on my shoulder. Things were still rough between us, but spending more time at home had given him a bit of a break, and we were improving.

“Are you okay?”

His quiet words were filled with worry, but I couldn’t burden him with my thoughts. He still didn’t know who Leo was since I’d never told him Leo’s last name.

“Yeah, just thinking.”

He watched me a moment longer before giving a slow nod. Releasing my shoulder, he went to move past me, but I reached out and grabbed his wrist.

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