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“So did I. Look, I didn’t see how else to avoid the truth,” Hammer returned. “You’re my fucking best friend.”
He sighed. “You’re mine, too.”
“Then get it through your thick skull that I’m trying to share a girl with you, not stab you in the back. I have absolutely no intention of taking Raine away. If you thought that earlier…” He sighed, rubbed at the back of his neck. “I-I’m sorry.”
Surprised flickered across his face. “Say that again.”
Apologies didn’t come easy to him, and everyone knew it. “Fuck you.”
Liam cracked a smile, then sobered. “I’m sorry, too, mate.”
Before the moment could turn totally awkward and bromancy, a surprisingly frazzled Pike rushed out the door. “What took you so long? Holy shit…”
Macen extended his hand. “Thanks for holding down the fort and handling our little problem.”
“Little?” The Dungeon Monitor scoffed.
“I appreciate all you’ve done,” Liam offered. “If I’d known Gwyneth had plans to show up, I never would have left. Thank you for keeping this situation under wraps.”
“Don’t ask me to deal with her again unless I get to shove a ball gag in her mouth.” Pike smiled grimly, then turned to Hammer. “Before I forget, you had a visitor last night, too.”
Hammer frowned. He hadn’t been expecting anyone. “Who?”
“Some old wino-looking guy. Said his name was Bill and that you owed him money.”
Hammer’s heart stuttered, and he clenched his fists. “Big guy? Beer belly? White hair?”
“Yeah, that’s him.” Pike nodded.
Raine’s father. He and Liam shared a seething glance. For years, Bill had known where to find her, and Hammer had paid the asshole to stay away. The moment he’d stopped paying, Bill had darkened his door.
“Fucking hell.” His friend looked ready to punch his fist in the door. “Bill knows he’s not welcome here. We don’t need this shit, too.”
Pike looked confused. “I told him you’d be back soon. Sorry, man. I didn’t know he was trouble.”
“He is, but nothing we can’t handle,” Hammer assured. “Go home and get some sleep.”
With a nod, Pike dug his keys from his pocket before sauntering to his motorcycle. They watched in silence until he rode away.
“Why would Bill think you’d give him more money?” Liam asked. Hammer noticed a new line of worry creasing his friend’s face. “You told him you were done.”
“I’ll remind him of that shortly. But the way Raine retreated into herself in the car is exactly what I feared would happen if we told her about Gwyneth.”
“Don’t be daft. She was upset because she thought I’d rejected her.”
“That’s part of it, but she also knows we’re keeping something from her. It’s crushing her, and I can’t stand to see it anymore. So I’ve changed my mind. We need to tell her what’s going on. You were right.”
“I think you’d better repeat that.” Liam arched a brow. “I’m not quite sure I heard you.”
“Get your ears checked, prick,” Hammer grumbled. “You were right. There. I said it. Gloat all you want. But it doesn’t matter if we have all the facts, we owe her the truth about Gwyneth, the baby, her dad sniffing around…everything.”
“We do,” Liam agreed, then glanced at his watch. “I’d love to tell her now, but I don’t dare keep Gwyneth waiting anymore. She might go back to my room and find Raine in the shower.”
“Then I’d have to bury the bitch,” Hammer agreed. “And I promised to feed Raine. I could explain the situation to her at breakfast, but it’s something I think we should do together.”
Liam nodded. “Yes. Gwyneth is my ex-wife.”
“And the lie about your business woes is mine, so I need to apologize for that.”
Liam frowned. “When you take Raine out, she’ll ask more questions. Try to be honest.”
“I’ll do my best.” But Hammer didn’t expect that to be easy. “Before we go, I need to deal with Bill. That’s something we can’t afford to put off.”
“You’re right. My first priority needs to be keeping Gwyneth away from Raine long enough to get that baby swabbed and the sample dropped off at the hospital.”
“Fuck yes. Do you think that baby is yours? Really?”
Liam grimaced. “I’m afraid to find out.”
Hammer was, too. “You also need to get Gwyneth out of Shadows and moved…somewhere. A hotel, the local Y, a freeway underpass—I don’t care. As long as she isn’t under my roof and near Raine.”
“I can’t just dump her off anywhere. The kid might be my son.” Liam sighed.
“I know.”
“We’ll keep in touch via text. When we get everything squared away, we’ll explain this mess to our lass.”
“Maybe we’ll take her to a nice, romantic dinner. Make sure she knows she’s important.”
“I think she’d like that,” Liam agreed. “Once we come home, we sit her down and explain, let her ask questions.”
“Then we’ll make sure she knows she’s loved,” Hammer vowed.
Liam smiled. “That we will.”
They’d made a plan. The time to execute had come. Now Hammer just hoped everything fell in line.
