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Sig’s jaw got tight.
The elevator doors opened and Trip stepped out. But it was the pig’s words that drew his attention. “What the fuck are you talking about, Carly? You said she was just a single mother who couldn’t handle having a baby right now.”
“And that’s true.”
“The fuck it is. Sounds like there’s a lot more to this than you’ve told me. I’m a fucking cop. If shit happened to her that I need to know about, someone better start talking. If we’re taking this kid, I need to know the circumstances around this pregnancy. I need to know everything.”
“The fuck you need to know everything,” Sig growled. “All you gotta know is she’s givin’ you this kid out of the kindness of her fuckin’ heart. That’s all you gotta know.”
“Not good enough.”
Carly chewed on her bottom lip as she glanced from her husband to Sig. “He needs to know.”
“The fuck he does!” Sig yelled, feeling his temper begin to rise dangerously.
She placed a hand on Bryson’s stomach and told him, “I don’t know all the details either, Matt. I only know some of them. And the little I know is bad... But...” She looked at Sig. “I should at least tell him who’s involved. Just in case.”
Bryson’s eyes narrowed and his body tensed. “Who?” When no one answered, he spun toward Sig. “Who the fuck is she to you anyway? She isn’t your wife. She probably isn’t even your girlfriend. Who gave you the right to make decisions for her?”
Sig’s jaw got so tight, it popped.
Trip was at his side in a second. “If he’s adoptin’ this baby, he’s got a right to know, Sig. He needs to know this baby might need protection.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Bryson bellowed. “Protection from who?”
“The Shirleys,” Trip answered.
Bryson’s head snapped back. “Holy fuck. That kid’s fathered by a Shirley?”
“Honey...” Carly started. “It’s an ugly tale we’re not discussing here. Not now.”
“Willingly or unwillingly?”
“Think about it,” Trip said.
“Fuck,” Bryson muttered after a second. “Fuck! Our kid’s going to be a product of rape. You okay with that?” he asked his wife.
“Yes. He’ll never know and it’s the reason she’s putting him up for adoption. Our names will be on the birth certificate and no one will know but us.”
“Carly.”
“Matt, no. It’ll be fine. I promise. This baby will grow up healthy and whole, and very loved by us and your whole family. This baby’s an innocent in all of this. So was Autumn.”
Bryson’s nostrils flared and he stared at his wife for a few seconds, then nodded. Then he spun again toward Sig. “Want to know names. Every single Shirley involved so we can go up there and charge them, get them to pay for the shit they did.”
“No,” Sig said.
“Yes,” Bryson insisted. “It wasn’t a request. It was a lawful order.”
“They were handled. No names left to give,” Sig said.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Was he fucking dense? “Means what the fuck I said. We handled it.”
“Christ,” Bryson muttered. He shook his head. “How was it handled?”
“Want that fuckin’ baby? Your woman want that baby?” Sig growled. “Then all you gotta know is it’s been handled.”
“That’s not your decision. I’ve got a legal oblig—”
Trip interrupted him. “Heard you’re a fellow jarhead. All your brothers are, too.”
Frowning, Matt’s narrowed gaze swung to Trip. “Yeah.”
“You see combat?”
Something flashed behind the pig’s eyes and his brow dropped low. “Yeah.”
“See some ugly fuckin’ things like I did?”
Bryson’s chest rose and fell sharply, but he didn’t say anything.
Trip kept at him. “Do things you never thought you’d fuckin’ do?”
Matt’s nostrils flared and his eyes became unfocused.
“Thinkin’ you did. That shit scar you?”
Again, no answer.
“Scarred a lot of us. We did shit we had to do. We did shit we needed to do to survive. Sometimes to survive you can’t play by the fuckin’ rules. If you done time over there, you know that. Especially durin’ combat.”
“Last I checked we’re on American soil and this isn’t a war.”
Trip’s eyebrows rose. “Ain’t it?”
“We had to fight to get Red and that baby back. Seemed like a fuckin’ war to me.” Sig then added, “One I was determined to fuckin’ win. Because of it, you’ll get the baby your wife wants so badly and we get Red.”
“Shirleys lost this battle and there were some casualties.” Trip shrugged. “None of those losses should come to light ‘cause I doubt they’re gonna be callin’ anyone to report ‘em. If they do, then you can deal with whatever legal obligation you gotta. But doubt you’re gonna hear a peep from any of those clan members.”
The Bryson pig still wasn’t looking any kind of satisfied with what Trip said. But before anything else could be addressed, a nurse came hurrying out of what Sig assumed was Red’s room.
“Dr. Bryson! Contractions are now about a minute long. She’s fully dilated and feels the need to push.”
