Terry.
He flashed a smile. “Going somewhere, Mo?”
I took a step back and lifted my chin defiantly. “Yeah, I am, actually. Home.”
Terry’s deep, booming laugh rang out loud in the early morning quiet. He actually laughed at me, shaking his head as he shoved his hands in his pockets, a clear indication I was no threat to him.
“You’re not going anywhere, sweetheart.”
“I am,” I growled. “Home.” I took a step forward, determined to get out of the Manor, but Terry just blocked my path. He never removed his hands from his jeans, just stepped in front of me, matching me step for step.
“Terry,” I sighed.
“Mo, this is on Jasper’s orders. Kat and Maisie are staying home today, too, so it’s not just you. It’s all the women.”
All the women. Another phrase that should have made me feel better but didn’t.
“The difference is that I’m not one of the women. I’m an employee.”
He laughed. “And a potential baby mama, from what I hear.”
“That has yet to be determined,” I told him and attempted to sidestep his big body once again.
“And until it is,” he said with a jovial smile that I wanted to smack off his friendly but stubborn face, “here is where you will stay.”
I wanted to argue, to push past him, and make a run for it, but I couldn’t. It had nothing to do with my baby or my concern for my safety; it was the words and the laughter echoing in my mind. From guys I thought were my friends, not just those who thought of me as some hooker.
“Whatever.” Just because I couldn’t leave now didn’t mean I wouldn’t look for another chance to get away.
“Sorry.” Terry’s apology didn’t mean shit to me, and I closed the door in his laughing face and went back inside Ashby Manor.
“Maureen, right?”
I turned at the sound of the soft-spoken voice and blinked.
“Molly, right? Madison’s sister. What are you doing here? I didn’t even hear you come in.” She held Ava Rose in her arms, a gentle smile on her face that made me wonder if she was Cal’s woman or Jasper’s.
“Madison just had her baby, and she and Jamie are home with him. So I’m keeping an eye on this little stinker until Calvin finds a nanny he can trust.”
“You seem pretty good to me. She seems to like you. Why don’t you take the job?”
Molly shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, she’s an angel, but there’s a lot of chaos in this house, and I’m not sure I’d be up for it full-time.”
The wistful gaze she wore as she looked at Ava Rose made me wonder if it was something else keeping her from taking the job.
“I agree. Lots of chaos here. How’s Maddie and the baby?”
Molly’s face lit up. “Jameson Bailey Ellison is the most adorable baby boy who ever lived. He has his mom’s blonde hair and his dad’s gray eyes. Definitely going to be a heartbreaker one day.”
“Just what the women of the world need, another heartbreaker.” I shook my head, and Molly laughed, a soft melodic sound.
“Hopefully, he’ll be like his father in that regard too.”
Ava was sound asleep, and Molly took a seat on the sofa, blinking against the sunlight that filtered inside the room. She looked so at peace, despite the hell she’d been through, and I wondered how she managed to keep her demons away.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m a hostage,” I answered in a flat, sincere tone. “Jasper says he’s keeping me here for my safety, but the truth is he just wants to keep an eye on me until he has confirmation the baby isn’t his.”
“Baby? You’re having a baby?” She sighed with a tinge of envy. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Molly. I don’t know anything about being a parent, but I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
“No one ever knows,” she offered with a shy smile. “Maddie was terrified, but she seems to be doing okay.”
“Yeah, well, Maddie is the motherly type. Me? Not so much.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s what all the best mothers think. You’ll be all right, Maureen.” Molly let out a sigh. “And I’m sure Jasper is trying to keep you safe.”
At my quizzical look, she pointed to my face.
“These bruises? Some jackoff attacked me outside my place, and Jasper used it as a pretext to get me here.”
I shrugged off the words like they were meaningless. If I did a good enough job convincing others, maybe I could convince myself too.
“It sounds to me like he cares about you, I mean if you’re having his baby and all.”
“That’s still to be decided.” I said. “Jasper doesn’t believe me. Even though I know it’s his.”
Molly smiled. “I bet he does believe you and that’s why you’re here.”
“I’d like to think that about him. But I overheard him talking with his brothers. They were all having a big laugh about Mo the ho being pregnant and trying to trap him with a baby. He didn’t disagree.”