Tainted Forever (Tainted Knights 5)

“Gray was concerned,” Kassa told me, glancing at Gray for a moment.

His sand-colored eyes were trained on me, and I quickly looked away. “You okay? You look… Sick?”

I lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “Just nervous, I guess. The closer we get to the tour starting, the more anxious I get.”

“Don’t be. You’re going to do amazing,” Kassa assured me. She linked her arm through mine. “Guess what?” I lifted my brows as we started out of the building, trying to focus on her excitement. “Because we have to wait so long for the next visit, when we come back, we will probably know what the sex is.”

“That’s awesome!” I gushed, genuinely happy her for her even though my head was a chaotic mess.

“How did your exam go?” she asked as we reached Gray’s car.

“What?” I asked, distracted as I put on my seat belt.

“Your exam,” she repeated. “Was everything okay? You were in there forever.”

“Yeah, it went okay.” I slouched down in the back seat. “Gray, do you mind dropping me off back at my apartment? I just remembered there are a few more things that need my attention.”

“No problem.”

In the front seat, the two were talking nonstop about their first prenatal exam. I barely heard anything they said on the whole ride, too lost in the realization that I’d just had my first one too. Kassa and I were going through the exact same thing, only she was over the moon about her pregnancy, and I was still freaking out. Gray seemed just as happy as she was, but I didn’t know what to expect from Jace when I told him.

What if he got mad?

What if he didn’t want the baby?

What if—

“You want us to wait for you?” Gray’s voice cut through me like a blade, and I jerked in surprise, realizing he’d parked in front of my apartment building in West Hollywood.

I scrambled to unbuckle my belt, my fingers feeling numb as I fumbled for the door handle. “No, no. I’ll be fine. Th-Thanks for the ride.”

“Kin, are you sure everything is okay?” he asked, his hand catching my arm when I would have jumped out of the vehicle.

I nodded. “I’m good. Just a lot on my mind.” Totally not a lie. I patted his hand, touched by his concern, then pulled away and got out. “See you two later,” I called with a wave.

He stay

ed where he was until I was in the building and I waved to them again. But as soon as they drove off, I began to crumble. I tried to hold on until I was upstairs in my room, and as soon as I had my door locked, I slid down to the floor, unable to control the sobs any longer.

Chapter 30

Jace

It was getting late when I finally got home. Since Kin had to take care of her doctor’s appointment, I’d gone over to Kale’s to make sure we had everything we needed. I ended up having dinner with him and Santana before stopping at First Bass to grab a beer with Harris now that he was back at work a few nights a week.

“Kin?” I called out when I heard chatter coming from the direction of the kitchen. Pushing open the door, I looked in, surprised when I saw only Kassa and Gray sitting at the island eating a bowl of fruit. “Oh, hey. How did your prenatal visit go?”

“We heard the baby’s heartbeat!” my sister squealed. “And next time, we get to see if it’s a boy or a girl because we’ll be gone for so long on the tour.”

I walked into the room, pulling a beer out of the fridge. “That’s great. What do you want?”

“I want a girl, but Gray says he doesn’t care.”

“Just want Kassa and the baby to be healthy,” Gray told me, popping a strawberry into Kassa’s mouth. “Son or daughter, I’m okay with either or both.”

I choked on my beer. “Both? Are you having twins?”

My sister’s laugh was precious, but she shook her head. “No. Gray’s just already thinking of more babies.”