I always lose the people I love.

Chapter 29

Kit

Hot tears burn rivers down my face by the time I make it to the building housing the Blackbridge Security office. Going home isn’t an option because I wouldn’t put it past her to show up there begging me to change my mind. I’m safe from her here, and it’s Sunday, meaning all the guys will be home with the loves of their lives.

I pull up to the valet stand rather than parking in the subterranean garage. There’s a full bottle of whiskey in my desk calling my name, and I know the guys at the valet wouldn’t let me drive if they smell whiskey on my breath.

It wouldn’t stop me from taking an Uber to Jules’s house, drunk with a list of more things I feel like I need to get off my chest, but it will ensure I arrive there in one piece. My mother’s going to have enough heartbreak as it is in less than two days. No sense in adding to it by getting in an accident.

I hand my keys over to Daniel, giving him a tight smile before entering the building. The ride up in the elevator is silent, but my head is not. I know I’m doing the right thing, but I still feel a little guilty for forcing her hand.

I could barely stomach the one lie, the one I knew about. Being tricked into getting a woman pregnant isn’t something I think I’ll ever be okay with.

The incredibly fucked-up part of all of this is that if Jules came up to me out of the blue and said she wanted to have my baby, I would’ve unzipped my jeans and said let’s get to work.

I squeeze my eyes closed as the elevator door opens on the Blackbridge Security floor, feeling the vibration of more texts from her in my pocket. I pull the stupid fucker out and power it down.

“What?” When I look up, I see every single one of the guys in various locations around the breakroom.

“Need a drink?” Jude asks, holding up a bottle of whiskey.

“We could watch a game,” Quinten offers.

“We can talk about what’s bothering you,” Deacon, my boss, says. The man used to be the surliest asshole in the world, but since reconnecting with his wife Anna and being loved by such an amazing woman for the first time in his life, it’s made him a softie.

“I propose we just get drunk.” Brooks walks up to me, handing me a glass of golden liquid.

My eyes sting all over again, and all I can do is nod at him.

These men are my brothers, and every fucking one of them left their cozy, happy homes to come and support me at my lowest. My heart is broken from Jules’s betrayal, but at the same time, it’s full because I have so many people in my corner.

“What about a little of everything?” I suggest.

Wren pulls out his phone, a baseball game popping up on the massive television on the wall. He keeps the volume down, and I know it’s so the sound doesn’t interfere with the conversation.

I take a long slow sip of my drink as I cross the room and take the empty seat on the couch. It puts me between Ignacio, our in-house translator and languages expert, and Jude, our medic. I huff, thinking that this is strategic. Jude is here to make sure I don’t kill myself by alcohol poisoning, and Ignacio will be translating when I get too drunk to make sense.

“Brooks isn’t the father of Jules’s baby,” I say.

“No shit,” Quinten mutters. “Do you really think that we actually thought that for very long after Brooks’s announcement?”

“Lackluster fucking announcement at that,” Deacon adds. “Men finding out they’re going to be a dad is either the best or worst news in the world.”

“Brooks is a good man. He may not have expected it, but he wouldn’t have acted the way he did if it were true,” Finnegan says, his Irish accent making it feel as true as his words. “Babies are a gift, meant to be celebrated. Brooks would’ve been happy.”

Brooks raises an eyebrow as if he’s going to object, but he doesn’t say anything.

“I’ve been spending time with her,” I confess. “I’ve been over at her house a lot recently.”

“So you guys were together?” Flynn asks.

I shake my head. “We were… intimate, but I don’t know if any of it was real for her or if she was just keeping me distracted so I wouldn’t bring up the fact that she needed to tell my family the truth.”

“That you’re the father and that she got pregnant on purpose?” Gaige asks. Leave it to the attorney to figure it all out once he was given a couple of clues.

“Exactly,” I answer, draining my glass.

Tags: Marie James Blackbridge Security Erotic
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