Page 108 of Twisted Embrace

“Hmmm… Maybe not.”

“Such a bad girl.” As soon as I removed the blindfold, I took a step away.

When there was no reaction for a full minute, I was dumbfounded. Then she squealed, spinning in a complete circle before slapping her arms around my neck. “This is absolutely incredible.”

“I thought you would like it.”

She pressed a single kiss on my lips, then like the ball of fire that she was, backed away then spun around, heading to other parts of the house. Shaking my head, I walked toward the kitchen, tugging the cork from the already open bottle of wine. After pouring two glasses, I went to look for her, finding her standing on the balcony outside our bedroom suite.

I moved beside her and it was obvious she had something on her mind. “You don’t like it.”

“No, I love it. I’ll need to make a few changes but I’m looking forward to that.”

“You can make whatever changes you want.” As I tried to hand her a glass, she took a deep breath.

“I need to give you something first.”

I narrowed my eyes as she held out her hand, something fisted inside.

“What is it?”

“Now you need to trust me, goofy.”

“You know, if anyone else ever dared call me goofy…” I didn’t finish the sentence.

“Yeah, I know. Big tough guy gotta keep your rough image. I got it. Humor me.” She took a glass from my hand, placing whatever she had grasped in her fingers in my palm. Then she folded mine over it before grabbing the second glass of wine.

When she took a step back, I became concerned. “The locket. Is something wrong with it?”

“Nope. Just open it.”

“What are you up to?”

She shrugged as an answer.

I opened it, not noticing anything different. “I’m confused.”

“The picture on the other side. You are goofy.”

When I growled she laughed, but her eyes were misted over. What the fuck was going on? “Who is the other kid?”

“I don’t know. Just some random picture I found on the internet.”

“What are you doing, baby?”

She cocked her head. “For a bright man, you’re entirely too dense. It’s a placeholder.”

“For?”

When she rolled her eyes, placing the glasses down on the table, my concern deepened.

Then she placed her hand on her stomach. “For our little girl or boy. I don’t know what happened, but the doctors were wrong.”

“You don’t know what happened?” I heard myself say. Shock tore through me but only briefly, another wave of happiness that I didn’t deserve taking its place. “Then I think I need to sit you down and have a long chat with you.” I gathered her into my arms, glancing up at the sky. “Oh, baby. I love you.”

“We are a family.”

“Family.”

For all the years I’d longed to have the kind of family that I’d seen on television, one I never understood, now I realized everything I’d missed out on.

Maybe there was some salvation for a man like me, a second chance at becoming a decent human being.

Only time would tell, but one thing was certain. No one would ever lay harm to the people I loved.

Or they would face the monster.

The End

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