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“Heard Laric’s dog got hit by a car yesterday,” Hayes said. “Maybe she’s visiting the dog.”
Hayes looked at me with a shit-eating grin.
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered darkly, rubbing my face. “She’s going to be the death of me.”
“Just think of it this way,” Dax supplied. “The dog just got hit by a car. Maybe he won’t be in the best of shape to rip her face off.”
I flipped him off.
“I hear you don’t have much longer until the baby is born,” I drawled, leaning back in my chair. “Tell me, how are you with shit?”
Dax narrowed his eyes.
“There was this one time when Asa was young. I don’t know, about five months? I was off for a long week of leave, and I got to keep him all by myself for the first time. I thought I was going to be the best dad ever and take him everywhere. Took him to his first movie and sat him in my lap. I don’t know when it happened, or started should I say, but there was one point during the show that I realized that my shirt was wet. Thinking it was just sweat at first, I allowed it to keep happening. Only, when I finally started to smell it, I realized that it wasn’t sweat at all. It was liquid shit. He’d liquid shit all the way up his back. It was on me from my groin to my neck,” I recounted.
Dax looked positively green. “I can do everything, I think, but the poop. Jesus, I hate poop.”
I grinned. “Then there was the one time that he started projectile vomiting everywhere. That time it actually got into my mouth. And that was when I realized that I’m a reactionary vomiter. If he throws up, and I have to touch it, I’m going to throw up.”
“In your mouth?” Hayes looked grossed out as well. “That sounds awful.”
“It was awful. And, let me tell you, vomit doesn’t taste good. Especially when it’s not yours.” I looked down at my paperwork.
“I hate you,” Dax said.
“Just wait until you see my baby gift to you.” I grinned. “It comes with a video of me using it.”
“When is that, by the way?” Hayes asked.
I looked at my watch for the date. “Next Wednesday. We’re doing that instead of our usual team bonding exercise.”
“Yay,” Dax said.
I grinned. “No ladies allowed at this one, remember?”
Dax rolled his eyes.
“I don’t know why,” he muttered. “I don’t like her being that far away from me these days. It’d make my blood pressure better if I had her in sight.”
Amen to that.
This morning when I’d woken up, the light beside the bed had been on, and at first I’d been confused.
Then I’d remembered why I’d had to leave it on.
Dillan had been scared.
Not that she would ever admit it or anything, but the moment that the room had been plunged into darkness, I’d felt her stiffen.
At first, I’d given it some time to see if she’d loosen up, to see if my touch would calm her down enough that she could sleep.
Though it’d helped, and I’d tried to talk her through it, in the end I’d decided that maybe the first few nights we should take it slow.
So I’d turned the light back on.
The moment that she could see, her entire body had gone from a tightwire to a relaxed noodle in the blink of an eye.
This morning, when I’d woken up, the light had illuminated everything.
The stark features on Dillan’s sleep-slackened face. The dark circles underneath her eyes. The bruises in the shape of two hands that were wrapped around her throat.
She had bruises all up and down the length of her arm, too.
Needless to say, this morning had been eye-opening.
I was scared.
For her.
Kerrie may be in jail now—on attempted murder charges at that—but something still didn’t feel right.
Her out of my sight? That wasn’t sitting well with me, either.
And it was the day.
Meaning when the time came to go to Dax’s baby shower at our usual meeting spot, I wasn’t going to want to leave her at home alone when I didn’t have to.
Maybe I could call my mom and dad and have them go over to keep her company…
“When’s your brother coming back?” That had come not from the original two men in the room with me, but Malachi, the quiet, stoic man that rarely ever talked.
I looked up at him in surprise.
“He’s due home tonight,” I admitted. “But…”
Malachi’s eyebrows raised at me.
“But what?” Malachi wondered, getting a good look at the mirth on my face.
“But, Malachi…” I grinned. “Bourne is finally with Delanie. I don’t see him rushing home.”
“They should just fuck and get it over with.” I blinked at Saint, who I hadn’t realized was even in the room.
When I glanced in the direction that I’d heard his voice, I saw him in the dark shadows of the room.
