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“What makes you think she won’t reach out?”
“It can happen. I don’t know what happens. Fear or they love them. I’ve seen this before.”
“You have?”
“Yeah, a long time ago.” Pa’s jaw clenched. “I don’t talk about my fucked-up past but my mom, she was that woman. The one who took every kind of beating, covered up the bruises. Put on fake smiles for everyone.” Pa shook his head. “I hated it. She tried to protect me, but he kept on coming. One day, he hit her too hard, and she never got back up. I was ten years old. By that time, I’d learned to hide. He was easy to read when he had a temper. There were times when I couldn’t hide.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t tell you this to make you feel sorry or for us to talk about our emotions and shit. I told you because … you need to be prepared for her not making that phone call. For her going back to him even if we do pull them out. The kid too.” Pa shook his head. “It’s fucked. That’s what it is. I get some women are nagging bitches, but they don’t deserve to be hit.”
“I never realized how much you talk.” He checked his cell phone again.
“She’ll call.”
“I want to be ready,” Simon said. “I missed the first one. I’m not going to miss this.”
“You know, I heard a bunch of guys saying there was always a chance Nathan might not have been yours.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Don’t just say. You hear shit like that again, you shoot it down. Nathan’s mine and even if he wasn’t, he’s mine. You get me? I love Tabby and I love that little boy. Even if he wasn’t mine, he deserves to have a good father and I love him.”
He wasn’t lying either. At first, he wasn’t sure what he felt for Nathan. He was worried he’d be a little jealous of the younger boy stealing Tabby’s attention. It wasn’t like that. He wanted to protect him. To save him from the world. There would come a time when he wouldn’t be able to do that, and he needed to prepare him, but he intended to allow Nathan to enjoy his childhood for a long time.
“Okay. I’ll stop talking.”
“Yes, stop talking.”
They both went silent as the man in question came out of the hotel room. He looked happy and a few seconds later, the prostitute he’d entered with left as well, without seeming to be affected.
“We follow him,” Simon said.
“Do you want me to go and ask about the guy?”
“Nah, we’re not supposed to get involved.” He turned the ignition over, started up the car, and followed behind the guy. He missed his bike but on stakeouts, only a car would do.
The man went straight home. Parking across the street, Simon looked toward the house.
“Do you think he’s hurting her right now?”
“I don’t know,” Pa said. “I hate this.”
“You think the wife could be accident-prone?”
“Yeah, and the black eyes are because she hits the doors at a perfect angle.”
“No need to be pissy.”
“I’m not. Sorry. This is personal for me, remember?”
“I do.” Simon leaned back. Staring across the street, he suddenly felt his phone vibrate. He grabbed it out of his pocket but his hands suddenly went slippery. As he went to open it, the phone slid right on out of his grip, falling to the floor. “Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Shit.” He ended up banging heads with Pa as he reached for it. “Shit, one at a time.”
“Go for it,” Pa said.
Grabbing the phone, Simon clicked to see it was a message from Lexie. Another one quickly appeared from Devil.
“Shit, holy shit. She’s having the baby. She’s at the hospital. Her water broke. Crap. What do I do?”
Pa took the phone from him. “Devil texted to get there.”
Starting up the car once again, he shot out away from the curb, missing a car that had started to pass him.
“In one fucking piece, Simon,” Pa said. “Fuck. She’s going to want you to actually be a father in the flesh, not in the spirit.”
“Shut up. I’m having a baby.”
“You’re having a baby.”
He pressed his foot to the ground, speeding up. There was no way he was going to miss this one. Why did he have to be on a stakeout tonight of all nights when his woman was back at home with the chance of dropping any day now? It wasn’t fucking fair.
He was pissed off.
“You might want to slow down.”
“Not happening.”
“Dude, you don’t want to die before we get there.”
“I’m not going to die.” He knew how this car drove and even if it seemed he was acting a little crazy, and he probably was, he didn’t intend to. Only, he wasn’t going to allow his woman to do this without him. He had every intention of being there for her. Of seeing this birth.
