Cease Fire (Blackbridge Security 9)

Jude fills it right back up, and I nod at him in appreciation.

I don’t feel terrible for letting all this spill out after telling Jules I’d give her two days to explain it to people, because it seems they already know. The text thread was enough for these intelligent guys to understand what was going on.

“She called me and begged me to talk some sense into you.”

I look over at my best friend. “And?”

“I told her that she needed to put the lies to rest.”

“I’m fucking sorry for even agreeing to go along with all of this shit to begin with,” I tell him before looking around to all the other guys in the room. “And for lying to all of you.”

“It’s a pretty fucked-up situation,” Gaige says. “Legally speaking—”

I hold my hand up. “We aren’t to that point yet.”

“You don’t think she’ll try to keep the baby from you?” Wren asks. “I mean, I’m tracking her location anyway just in case.”

“Wren,” Deacon mutters, the bottle of water in his fist crinkling under the pressure of his irritated grip.

Wren looks up at our boss. “We’re talking about his baby, boss man. I don’t know her enough to trust that she won’t pack her shit and skip town.”

“This town is everything to her,” I mutter. I know she already thinks she’s going to lose everyone who’s supposed to love her, so maybe there is a chance.

“She’ll do the right thing,” Brooks says.

“I fucking hope so,” I say, lifting my glass to my lips once more. I need the calm that alcohol provides. I need the warmth of it to wrap around me because I’m starting to feel cold and indifferent to her, and that’s worse than the anger.

The fucked-up thing about feeling for someone is that they don’t just disappear when you want them to. I don’t think I could hate her if I tried, but I’m still utterly disgusted by what she’s done.

“I know the lies,” Ignacio says. “I’ve dealt with my fair share.”

Ignacio went thirteen years without knowing he had a son. A trip back home to Texas not long ago to handle his deceased uncle’s estate had him running into an ex, a woman who he never stopped loving. He discovered that they had a son together she never told him about. He was devastated, pissed, and rightfully so, but he didn’t let it destroy him. He was man enough to fight for her, and now they’re a real family. I wish I had his strength. I wish I had a look into the future that could tell me if I’ll ever be able to look at Jules and not feel like she’s torn me right down the middle.

“But why lie about this?” Ignacio continues.

“She thinks Beth will hate her when she finds out,” Brooks answers when it’s clear that I just can’t.

“What?” Quinten asks, sitting up straighter on the sofa and leaning closer to my friend. “That’s it?”

Brooks shrugs.

“Beth made Jules promise to never hook up with her brothers,” I explain.

“Okay?” Deacon says, sounding confused. “I mean that’s weird to make an adult promise.”

“As teens,” I clarify. “Jules made that promise to my sister in fucking high school.”

A grumble of irritation on my behalf filters through all of them.

“I don’t know Beth very well, but I don’t see her losing her shit because two adults hooked up,” Gaige says. “But what the fuck do I know?”

I want to correct him, to explain that we weren’t just hooking up, but my mind keeps going back to wondering if Jules was keeping me in her bed to keep me compliant. I would say she’s not the type, but I didn’t figure her for the type to trick me into getting her pregnant.

“I could’ve been anyone,” I say out loud when the thought hits me.

“I don’t think this situation is actually very common,” Jude says.

“No,” I say, understanding his confusion. “Not the getting pregnant on purpose part. I mean, if she had this plan, then she could’ve done this to anyone.”

“Exactly,” Brooks says, and my brow creases in confusion.

“What?”

“She picked you,” he says.

“No, I mean, I’m just the one who ended up in her hotel room that night.”

“You stupid fuck,” Wren mutters, his mouth forming a straight line when he realizes he said it out loud. “She picked you, man. Can’t you see that? She didn’t want a baby with just anyone. She wanted your baby.”

“There were so many single guys at the wedding,” Brooks says.

Wren points to him as if Brooks just proved his point.

“That’s not—”

“Think about it,” Brooks interrupts. “How easy would it have been for her to hook up with Randy? That dude lives in Seattle. She never would’ve seen him again.”

I growl at just the idea of anyone else touching her.

Several of the guys chuckle, but I don’t find it humorous at all.