Cruel Seduction (Underground Kings 2)

“What?” Jaxon drops the mug in his hand, the ceramic shattering against the ground. The steam from the tea spreads across the floor. “Why didn’t you say anything to me? Quinn?” Jaxon lays his hand on her stomach, and I can see the fear in his eyes. He is scared.

“How long?” Owen bites out.

“I’m sorry, Jaxon. I should have told you. I didn’t want you to worry. And, Owen, I don’t know, a few hours?”

“We need to get her to the hospital. She could be having a miscarriage,” Owen says, and all the men in the room stand, ready to leave. Sebastian grabs my hand, and suddenly everything moves quickly after that.

Julia stares at us with such sadness. “I will keep an eye on the house, Mr. Steele. You don’t need to worry about that. I hope your wife is okay.”

“Thank you, Julia,” Jaxon chokes. He risks his injured arm and picks Quinn up off the couch, cradling her against his chest. She is a small person, but I’ve never seen her look this small. She is crying uncontrollably against his chest, and Jaxon is doing a great job of keeping it together, but he is erratic. He can’t seem to think or find anything. His only focus is Quinn.

“Jaxon, I don’t want to lose them,” Quinn says, peering up at him through devastated lashes. “I didn’t know. I thought a little pain was normal. I thought it was from the morning sickness. Oh God, I did this. What if they are gone, and I could have done something earlier?”

“It’s going to be okay. They are going to be fine,” Jaxon says, kissing her sweaty forehead.

Owen opens the kitchen door to the garage, and we all file out. I am surprised that the guys d

ecided to go to the hospital too. Jaxon could have taken her, but it is obvious the rest of the men don’t want to leave them alone. They are a family. I’ve never experienced anything like that.

I was the only child, and my parents had me in their forties. I was never supposed to be born because my mother was told she couldn’t have kids. They loved me and cared for me until they died around ten years ago. I don’t have anyone else. And then I met Kendrick, so I have lost the sense of what family is supposed to be like.

As I see them all getting into the truck, Heaven hobbling with his broken leg and Owen climbing into the driver’s seat to drive, I know this is what happens when people love one another.

Jaxon slides into the backseat, along with Heaven and Grayson. Sebastian and I sit up front. I am in the middle, squeezed between Owen and Sebastian.

Quinn cries in the back seat, and Jaxon pets her hair, whispering something in her ear that is private, but I know it has to be words full of love. Heaven rubs her back, and Grayson massage her calves.

She is like a sister to them.

Would that happen with me and Sebastian? Would I become part of this family, or does Sebastian want me to leave eventually? We haven’t done much talking. We have too much ‘catching up’ to do, so where does that leave us now?

Owen slams the truck in reverse, and once he is out of the garage, Sebastian clicks the garage door shut. The tires skid against the pavement as he speed away. The Cliff House is nestled in a corner, away from the main road and the driveway is long, venturing into the woods before it breaks out to the highway. Owen jerks the wheel right, and Sebastian flips on the hazard lights.

The night turns into a tunnel as we barrel through it. The tall redwood trees on either side of us are eerie at night. The trees are encroaching, the branches are long arms ready to grab whoever dares enter the forest. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

Not everything in life is a nightmare.

I grip Sebastian’s hand tighter and do my best to tune out the sound of Quinn’s painful sobs. I am scared for her. From what I understand, Jaxon and Quinn have a past too, and they finally got their happily ever after. I don’t want them to have it ripped away from them. It isn’t fair.

How much agony does someone have to go through to finally reach never ending happiness? I don’t understand life sometimes, the cruelty behind it, the reasoning for bad things to happen to good people; it leaves me baffled.

“How far is the hospital?” I ask, hoping that we will get there in time.

“Another five minutes,” Owen says, glancing in the rearview mirror. I don’t like the look on his face. There isn’t much hope. He doesn’t seem like a hopeful guy, though. I don’t blame him. I’m not either. It is better to be prepared for the worst than hope for the best.

It’s the cold, hard truth. Expectations are a bitch, and they aren’t afraid to show their ugly colors when the time presents itself.

“We’re here.” Owen turns into the parking lot, running over the rose bushes by the sign, and the truck crawls over the curb with no problem. He slams on the brakes in front of the emergency room, and Jaxon is out of the truck before it stops moving. He swings Quinn up in his arm and rushes inside the building.

“I’ll go with them. You park the truck,” Grayson says.

Owen pulls away and finds the closest parking spot. He lets the truck idle for a minute, worry thick in the air. I’m not even sure a knife could cut it. “What do you think it is?” I ask, staring at Owen’s profile. He is a handsome man, brooding. He sees darkness in everything. It explains his demeanor. Men like him are dangerous if they aren’t careful.

“It could be a few things,” he says, tilting his head back as he exhales a heavy breath. “I just hope it isn’t any of those things. I’m not sure if they can come back from it. Jaxon and Quinn, they were a long time in the making. Kids were the next logical step.”

“Could it just be pain?”

“Sure. Pain is normal. I’m not sure what it is like with twins.”