Page 26 of Love At Peace

“No,” Nevaeh said at the same time that I replied, “Yes.”

“You’re making this up,” she accused.

I unlocked my phone and showed her the picture I took of the test that I’d found. “No, I’m not.”

Arguing about whether or not she was pregnant, and if David was the father, wasn’t a critical task that had to be accomplished right now. Eric was my priority. That and making sure that I didn’t encounter David face-to-face.

“That could be anyone’s.”

I shook my head at her. “No. It was yours that you left at the café.”

“What, are you spying on me or something?” she demanded. “Following me and spying on me because you can’t stand that I’ve replaced you?”

Replaced me? Yeah, right.

“Nevaeh, is this true?” Roarke demanded.

She didn’t reply. She didn’t even look at him, locking her livid gaze on me. “How dare you. How dare you. You have to snoop into my life and take a picture of something private that you’ve got no right to even see—”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have left the damn test right there in plain sight,” I retorted. “If you were so damn worried about anyone seeing that test, the least you could’ve done was throw it away.” That was just common sense!

“You bitch! Why couldn’t you just mind your own damn business?”

I slitted my eyes, wondering in what alternative universe she thought she could say that to me. “Let me get this straight,” I said, stepping closer and trying to bottle in all my anger. “You’re pissed that I saw something that you left out, and that’s me not minding my own business?”

Little did she know that I hadn’t betrayed this truth to anyone. I hadn’t shared this news with Roarke, despite wanting to so badly.

“Yeah. Fuck off, Heather.”

“No.” I pointed at her, wishing I could zap her with a barb. “You are the one who doesn’t know how to mind your own business. You are the one who is trespassing. Like when you helped yourself to my laptop. Ring a bell, brat?”

“I didn’t do anything,” she argued, lowering her gaze off to the side and toward the floor.

“Bullshit.” I dared her to tell me otherwise. “That’s bullshit, Nevaeh.”

“Oh, yeah? Prove it.” She held her hands up, as if taunting me to come at her and fight.

Chapter 10

Roarke

“Prove it,” Nevaeh repeated to Heather. “If you want to stand there all high and mighty and try to accuse me of something, I’ll show you—”

“No. No, no, no.” Marty stepped between them, physically intervening and standing in the middle. “We’re not getting into this.”

I shook with rage, needing to roar, to punch a wall, to just let go of some of this tension wracking my body. I felt like I couldn’t take this anymore. First, Nevaeh not giving a shit if someone was hurt. It was like I couldn’t even recognize her, this spiteful, cruel version of her. Yes, she’d always been hotheaded, but not cruel.

Then, this news about her being pregnant? That fact couldn’t sink into my head. It was too damn surreal to accept.

Marty’s tone was full of authority. He was the officer in charge here, and while I felt like I was responsible for my niece, he was ultimately the real one in command of all of us.

“The matter about anything to do with that laptop will be handled accordingly,” Marty said, glancing back at Heather. “We need to focus on the emergency at hand, and that’s whatever happened to Eric.” He firmed his face into a stern expression that even Nevaeh couldn’t miss as a silent sign that she better watch her attitude.

“I’m going to go.” Heather shook her head, turning around quickly. “I need to go see if he’s okay.”

“I’ll—” Gavin looked at me, concerned and jumping into action. “I’ll, uh, give you a ride. I can swing back by after, Roarke.”

I nodded once, acknowledging what he didn’t have the time to say or hash out. He was my ride here, but I wasn’t leaving. Now that I’d found my niece, she and I were going to have a chat, regardless of what she wanted. I was owed answers. And she had to get in the mood because there was no way she was clamming up and pulling this silent treatment or vague nonanswers again.