Evin's Fight (Southern Charmers 3)

“Scottie, you just gave us the missing clue why Natasha arranged this visit. What do we do with this information?”

“Our opportunities are open. My legal community can go vicious, and even the best political scoundrels won’t be able to spin this.”

“Won’t that expose Poppy?” Ryanne asks, looking at me with wide eyes.

“There’s no way to obliterate their empire and reputation without revealing her identity now.”

“Fuck.” Dad lets go of my arm and I scrub my hands through my hair. “I can’t make that call without talking to her. Pulling her into the limelight would be a circus. She doesn’t need that.”

“The offer isn’t expiring. Anytime you’re ready, let me know.”

“Thanks, anything else?” Dad questions.

“Remember the advisor Marco hired?”

“Yes.”

“When he won the Governor’s race, he moved the man full-time to a security role. My source says he’s Marco’s closest confidant, the only person he truly trusts.”

“Why is that important?”

“I don’t know, but it feels like something is there. He trusts this man more than his wife. That’s saying a lot.”

“We’re hanging up. You find out anything at all, Scottie, call me.” He hangs up and Ryanne is at my side.

“Let’s get you a drink and then back to the hospital. I think you need her more than she needs you right now.”

I nod, the thought of getting back to Poppy easing the fury. “I’ll take care of her, Ryanne.”

“I do not doubt that.”

“Natasha may have thought she was vulnerable, but—”

“This wasn’t your fault,” she cuts me off.

“No, it wasn’t,” Dad agrees. “Let that go.”

“I want to hurt them.”

“So do I. Focus on priorities and lock that away.”

Chapter 26

Poppy

My nurse glances over her shoulder, her eyes loaded with sympathy and regret. I wait for the urge to scream, yell, cry, and throw something to kick in, but it never does.

The numbness chills me to my bones.

A tinge in my leg barely registers, and I welcome the discomfort. It makes this all more real.

I was pregnant.

My baby is gone.

The door slowly opens, Evin slipping in quietly on the assumption I’m asleep. God, what I’d do to be asleep right now and wake up from this nightmare that has become my life. Instead, I’m fully awake, and the horror is real. How do I break the news? What do you tell your husband when you’ve lost your career and your child in the same swoop?

He turns, his eyes locking with mine, and I realize I don’t have to tell him anything. His expression goes to stone, his jaw clenching tight.

“Who told you?”

The numbness flips to fury I can barely contain. “Who told me doesn’t fucking matter, considering my goddamn husband kept it from me.”

His head jerks and his eyes grow soft and apologetic. “Baby, I didn’t keep it from you. I was waiting until—”

“Until what? Until you decided the time was right? Until you felt I could handle it?”

“Yes. You needed to concentrate on getting through the surgery.”

“Newsflash, Evin, I came through surgery with flying fucking colors yesterday morning. It’s been a complete day you could have shared.”

He steps forward, and I throw my hand out. “Stop right there. Don’t come near me.”

There’s a flash of pain in his gaze, but I can’t find it in me to care.

“I was watching out for you. Up through this morning, you were still dazed.”

“Dazed maybe, but not incoherent. You could have talked to me.”

“Fuck, Poppy, there hasn’t exactly been a good time to bring up that you may have been pregnant based on a random blood test.” His tone is barbed and sharp.

“I was pregnant, Evin. There is no ‘may’ about it. My body rejected our baby when I fell!”

“You can’t know. Even the doctors aren’t one-hundred percent sure. It’s all hypothetical based on blood drawn for a different reason.”

My back straightens, my body stringing tight. “Yes, BABY,” I sneer sarcastically. “I can know because the other morning everything was different. I begged for more because I physically needed it more than my next breath. You sucked my tit in your mouth, biting my nipple, and pain shot directly to my toes. It was exquisite and torture at the same time. I felt every inch of your dick swell until it stretched me more than ever. Then you demanded I come and it wouldn’t stop, the pleasure so powerful I blacked out. There was no explanation for what was happening. Now it makes sense.” I’m panting when my rant is over.

A flash of shock crosses his face before the primal beast clicks into place. In less than a second, he’s in my space, lifting me across his lap, and elevating my braced leg. Anger roars in my ears, but the unmistakable intent on his face sets my pulse racing for a different reason.

His hand goes to the back of my head, fingers fisting in my hair, and he slams his lips to mine. The taste of spearmint coats my mouth as his tongue sweeps through. The racing of my heart joins in rhythm to the roaring in my ears. I thread my fingers into the back of his hair, tugging hard and shifting so there’s no space between us.