“I guess, but it made it a lot easier to solve the case.”
“Congratulations,” Thad replied.
“Right. Okay then. Well, we may have some follow up questions for you later, Miss Carmichael, but we’re done for now.”
“You certainly are,” Thad replied.
“I don’t get your hostility,” Horowitz shot back.
“The guy who questioned both me and Jaycee for a murder someone else committed while the killer walked free and subsequently attacked her doesn’t understand why I’m not giving him a hug? Shocking,” Thad mocked. “We’re done here.”
“Try not to punch anyone else in the face, Mr. Ulrich,” Horowitz shot back, his partner already nudging him to leave.
“Oh, I am trying really hard. Trust me,” Thad growled back at him.
Horowitz shook his head and turned to go, his partner quietly following behind. Whereas Horowitz was mouthy, it was obvious he was aware they had fucked up and wasn’t willing to play any bigger part in the conversation than having to be here for it. They filed out, and he closed the door behind him.
Jaycee stood looking at him. Her eyes were filled with tears.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I guess I’ve pushed everything away the past few days, but they brought it all back again. He meant to kill me, didn’t he? I just realized he didn’t come by to comfort me over getting fired. It was a ruse to get into my apartment and he never intended for either of us to leave.”
“Probably.”
He pulled her to him and held her, letting her cry on his shoulder. She eventually pulled away, waving him off and wiping her hand across her face. He handed her a tissue from a nearby box, and she wiped her face, looking embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to turn into some whiney woman.”
“It’s okay to allow yourself to feel vulnerable. I hate to see you cry, but it’s nice to see you finally allowing yourself to feel something, for a change.”
“You don’t think I feel anything?”
“I think you try not to allow it, yes. You’ve closed yourself off for a long time, determined to get somewhere you think is important to you and maybe it is, in a certain way. What you really want, though, is acceptance. You want to be embraced for the person you are and not pushed into the mold of what you’re expected to be. It’s why you fight your Omega heritage so hard.”
Jaycee pursed her lips, looking at him uncertainly. When she spoke, her words shook him to the core. He stood there looking at her, speechless.CHAPTER TWENTY-THREEJaycee
“Did you hear me, Thad?”
“Yes. I mean, how? Just now? This weekend? How could you know?” he babbled.
She laughed, a somber little chuckle.
“The first time. I was in heat. You were in rut. We didn’t use protection. It’s the natural outcome.”
“That’s why you said we were safe this time when I asked.”
“Yes.”
“When did you find out? How long have you known?”
“I didn’t know. I suspected and apparently, Aaron had picked up on it too. I don’t know how, but he somehow knew. He, in some way, retrieved a sample from me. I don’t know what of. Blood, hair, urine? He’s never been up to my place prior to this final incident, so I’m not sure how he managed it, but he said he’d had my sample tested by one of his shifter friends who worked in a lab and found out I was an Omega. He said it also came back that I was pregnant. He accused me of cheating on him. That’s when things got heated.”
“How can you be sure he wasn’t lying.”
“He had the results in his hand. He showed them to me. I threw them out before the cops arrived.”
Thad stood looking at her, his face falling as he absorbed this information. She thought he’d be happy about it.
“Why did you wait to tell me?”
“I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I needed some time to absorb it.”
“And now that you have?”
“Well, it changes my plans, but those have already gotten a bit of a kick in the teeth anyway. I wasn’t sure if I wanted kids, ever. It’s one of the biggest reasons I resisted you, but now that I’ve thought about it, I’m kind of looking forward to it. I don’t know what I’m going to do if it’s a huge litter, but I’ll manage.”
“It sounds like you don’t plan on us doing this together,” he said.
Jaycee noted how his eyes never left hers as he spoke. His voice never raised or lowered. He was a good man, a bit old-fashioned for what she’d envisioned as her mate, but he was honest and uncomplicated, in many ways.
“I am not shutting you out, Thad. But I don’t want to be with you just because I’m pregnant. I still want to make my own way. I still want my own career. So many Omegas give up everything and become consumed by being a wife and mother. That’s great for them, but I’m not sure it’s what I want, what I will ever want.”