Page 30 of Secret Baby for a Damaged Billionaire

“Lucas! Thank goodness,” she exclaims, strutting over to me. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“You do realize I have a gym full of fighters waiting for me right now, right?” I say, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

“Of course, no problem, but this is important too. I mean, I can’t drive around with a squeaky tire. It could be dangerous.” She grins innocently.

I shake my head at her dramatics. “Alright, let’s take a look.”

I crouch down to examine the tire, feeling the annoyance brew inside me. I have fighters waiting for me, but here I am, playing mechanic for Chloe.

“Anyway,” she starts, brushing off my obvious irritation. “I have something much more interesting to tell you.”

“Really?” I ask, half listening as I inspect the brake pads. “What could be more interesting than this?”

“Carlo,” she says, her voice becoming serious. “He cornered Emily in the restaurant parking lot last night when we were trying to leave. He had his thugs with him too. It was actually kind of scary.”

My hands freeze, and I feel my blood start to boil. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Oh, I figured Emily would have told you,” she murmurs.

“Told me what, Chloe?” My patience is wearing thin. “Why didn’t’ Emily tell me this?”

She shrugs, watching me closely. “I don’t know. She handled it like a badass, though. Told him where to go, for sure.”

“Damn it,” I mutter under my breath, my protective instincts for Emily kicking into overdrive. “I swear if that bastard laid a hand on her—”

“Lucas,” she interrupts, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Calm down. Emily’s fine. I just thought you should know. Carlo is out for you.”

My anger boils over, and I slam the wrench onto the pavement with a loud clang. “That son of a bitch!” I curse. “What did he say to her? That asshole clearly has a death wish.”

Chloe’s eyes widen at my reaction as if she didn’t expect me to lose it like this. She hesitates for a moment before she starts to describe the confrontation. “Well, he basically tried to tell her that you were crazy, and she should go with him instead. He was pretty creepy about it, though.”

Fury rises inside me as I think about what might have happened.

“I shouldn’t have left her alone like that,” I mutter to myself. “She’s a target now. I have to remember that and keep her safe.”

“Actually,” Chloe says, a bit of arrogance in her tone, “Emily handled it like a boss. She didn’t need any rescuing.” She hesitated in thought. “If anything, it was me who needed saving.” She let out a small laugh. “But seriously, Emily stood up to that guy as if she were just as strong as him. Basically, told him to fuck off in no uncertain terms.”

I can see the envy in Chloe’s eyes as she recounts the story, and I have to admit, I’m impressed too. Emily’s always been strong-willed and independent but taking on someone as dangerous and sleazy as Carlo… takes a special kind of courage.

“Damn,” I whisper under my breath, my anger momentarily subdued by my admiration for Emily. But then the fury comes roaring back, and I can’t help but think about what could’ve happened if things had gone differently. “What if he’d hurt you two? What if he’d done something worse?” My fists clench involuntarily at the thought, my knuckles whitening, and I have to force myself to take a deep breath to regain some semblance of control.

“Well, I’m pretty sure Emily can handle herself,” she says, trying to reassure me.

“I just can’t figure out why she didn’t tell me.” I shake my head.

Chloe pulls her eyes away from mine, looking anywhere but at me. And as if I wasn’t already anxious enough, she says, “Maybe she’s hiding something.”

My heart rate accelerates to near exploding as Chloe infers that Emily might be holding secrets from me.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I blast at her.

Chloe watches my temper escalate, concern etched on her face. “I just mean, maybe there’s a reason she didn’t tell you about it, Lucas,” she says cautiously.

“What reason could she possibly have?” I demand.

“Well….” She hesitates for a moment before continuing, “Maybe Emily has some secrets she’s not ready to share. She has her own life too, you know.”

My eyes widen from her callous approach. “Secrets? What are you talking about?” My heart races as I try to understand what Chloe is hinting at.

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