“What the hell does that mean?”
“Remember that guy you saved me from the night we met?” I nodded, how could I forget that neck tattooed freak with bad hair and worse fucking manners. “He’s a henchman for my ex. Ex employer and ex-lover. Genesis.”
I snorted. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Anyway they’ve upped their bullshit since we last saw each other but at first it was just dumb but inconvenient shit. Slashed tires and a vandalized apartment. I can handle that. I know they thought I’d get scared and go running back to Genesis, but I didn’t. But now, they’ve attacked Kody.”
“Your boyfriend?” She’d said nothing about a boyfriend during our night together, but they could have gotten together in the two months since. The thought fucking rankled. It shouldn’t have, but it damn well did.
She laughed. “No, Kody is my friend. The first real friend I’ve ever had, actually, which is why seeing him with that black eye really messed with my head. But Kody is …great. He’s a sensitive guy. A chef with a boyfriend he plans on marrying soon, but it doesn’t m
atter. They’ve ruined that friendship, so I had to leave.”
An ex who couldn’t take rejection wasn’t that big of a deal, even if he was a gangster, so none of this told me why it was my door she’d knocked on. “So why did you have to leave?”
“Because, Dallas.”
I winced at her use of my given name. No one ever called me Dallas. Hell, I didn’t even know why I introduced myself to her like that. The name was a reminder of everything I’d left behind, everything I hated about home. Family. “Lasso. Call me Lasso.”
Red brows rose dramatically. “Considering what that says about me, I’ll pass. Anyway I had to leave because who knows what they’ll do now and my situation changed about the same time Kody showed up with his black eye.” She sighed, wringing her hands in the fabric of her orangish-pink skirt. “I’m pregnant, Dallas. It’s yours but that’s not why I’m here. I just need…just…a few days to make a plan.”
Pregnant? Pregnant. Pregnant? The word sounded in my head until it had absolutely no meaning, other than what it meant for my life. My future. She was still talking but I’d stopped listening, just watching her lips move but the sound didn’t register. Lush pink lips moved, occasionally her fingers ran through thick red hair but otherwise she just talked.
“I know this is a lot to take in, Dallas and I am damn sorry for that, but I was acting on instinct. I don’t need money. I just need to lie low for a few days. No one knows you and could connect us. Please.” Her brows dipped low and her shoulders fell. Resignation.
“You’re pregnant?” Words finally came and they were…idiotic.
“I am. You’re the only man I’ve been with in two years, but like I said, I’m not asking for anything else. Not cash, not your belief, or your protection other than a few days’ safety of this unknown place.”
“How long?” The words came out harsher than I meant them to, but it was the first thought that came to mind.
She sighed, disappointed but again, resigned. “Right. Maybe a week or two, but let’s just say three days? Can you give me three days?”
Shit. What the hell kind of shit was she involved in that she wasn’t cursing me out for not offering more help? She said she was carrying my baby, shouldn’t she be demanding my protection and my financial assistance? “Is this a scam or some kind of game?”
“No,” she laughed bitterly. “It’s neither of those things but you don’t know me to know that. I get it,” she said with a casual shrug that told me she did get it. Her green eyes were sad but determined as she finished her water and stood. “See you around, Dallas.”
No. Hell no. There was no way I’d fall for this trick. This little game meant to tug on my emotions. Good thing I didn’t have any emotions because I didn’t trust anyone but my brothers. A few of the old timers were married, some had permanent old ladies and even some of my friends had gotten loved up, but I didn’t trust them. I liked them, but when the time came that they dicked over my brothers, I’d be the first in line to make sure they paid the price.
Still, I felt like an asshole. She was pregnant and had an angry ex after her, and I was turning her way. But what if she isn’t pregnant? That was the question my conscience kept poking and prodding my brain with. The practical side of me wanted to know what if she was, and that thought had me on my feet at the front door just in time to see her pull the door open on an old black Chevy Blazer with matted paint. “What kind of trouble are you in, exactly?”
She didn’t turn around, didn’t look up at me to try and plead her case one final time. If this was a game, giving up wouldn’t get her anything, would it?
“Do you need my help?”
She did look up then and what I saw was fatigue. And fear. Her gaze slammed right into me, blank and bright green even from fifty feet away. “Nah, I’ll figure something out.”
“Where are you staying?”
Her smile was sad, wistful even. “Wherever I stop next.” She hopped in the Blazer, started the ignition, and pulled away. Exiting my life just as quickly as she’d entered it.
Except this time she was carrying my kid.
Probably.
Maybe.
Shit. I had to go after her.