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“I don’t like it.”
“I’m determined to keep Raine safe, just as you are, but Juliet’s suicide rattled you. It makes you a mite overprotective at times.”
“Don’t psychoanalyze me,” Macen grumbled. “You used to be easy to deal with. When we shared in the past, you let me make the decisions.”
For eight years, Hammer alone had carried the burden of failing Juliet. Now that Liam knew the circumstances, he realized he’d failed the woman just as much.
“I was barely more than a kid then, and I let you decide with Juliet because she was your wife.” And Liam hadn’t loved her the way he loved Raine. “But her death taught me that if we’re both involved, we should both be responsible.”
Hammer nodded. “You’re right. And that was the hardest fucking lesson to learn.”
Liam stood and stuck out his hand. “I know. I almost lost my best friend because of it.”
Hammer brought him in for a shoulder bump and a manly hug. “Like you could get rid of me that easily.”
With a little smile, he sat back in his chair. “How do we prepare Raine so she isn’t blindsided?”
“I can’t believe you two are finished with that pretty girl already.” Seth Cooper sauntered down the stairs and entered the kitchen. “Pussies. I have more staying power than you both combined.”
“They look like they left Raine alone to start in on each other,” Beck, aka Dr. Kenneth Beckman, said with a smirk, waltzing in behind Seth, surprisingly showered and dressed.
“Piss off, you wanker,” Liam grumbled as he sat once more. “Go back to bed.”
“But before you do, make some coffee,” Macen groused.
With a shake of his head, Beck crossed the room and began brewing a pot of liquid caffeine. “Still haven’t figured out how to work complicated machinery, huh?”
Hammer eyed the coffeemaker gratefully. “We’re a little preoccupied at the moment, trying to sort out a clusterfuck.”
“What mess did you two make this time?” Beck asked.
“Did Raine pack her bags and leave you again?” Seth looked at them as if they were idiots.
“No,” Liam shot back. “She’s upstairs sleeping. My ex-wife is the problem.”
“Newsflash: She’s always been a problem.”
Hammer agreed, then filled the men in on Gwyneth’s unexpected visit and the extra bundle of joy she’d brought with her.
“Holy shit! Is it yours? Did you have ex sex with Gwyneth?” Seth looked as if he might puke at the thought.
“I don’t know.” Liam sounded every bit as miserable as he felt.
“Or maybe you nailed your ex because your palm had a date with some other cock.” Beck chuckled.
Liam flipped him off.
“Is she hot at least?” Beck wagged his brows.
Hammer rolled his eyes. “Oh, she’s hot, all right. A hot mess of toxic waste.”
“I can do toxic.” Beck shrugged. “Does she like pain?”
Liam shook his head. “She’s much better at dishing it out than taking it.”
Seth just laughed. “It’s always a goddamn soap opera with you two.”
“If you’re not going to help, get the fuck out,” Hammer growled.
“Hey! I dropped my life in New York and braved the San Andreas Fault to help,” Seth defended with a scowl, then turned a concerned gaze on Liam. “Do you remember anything?”
“I do. Waking up next to Gwyneth in horror. I leapt out of bed, hit the loo, then got the hell out.”
“Crap.” Seth looked stunned. “How old is this kid?”
“We need to find out.” Hammer scowled and plucked his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed Pike, then engaged the speakerphone.
“That was a little bit longer than ‘right back.’ Just saying,” Pike grumbled.
“What’s happening there?”
“Nothing. Mom and baby are in your office,” Pike answered.
“Who else besides you has seen them?” Liam asked anxiously.
“No one. Since a kid at a BDSM club is bad for business, I stashed them out of sight quickly. Most folks were gone by then, anyway.”
Liam let out a breath of relief. The less anyone knew about Gwyneth, the better chance gossip wouldn’t reach Raine before he’d had a chance to tell her himself.
“Good,” Hammer replied. “But I don’t want her in my office. When we hang up, stash them in one of the rooms we’ve just remodeled. The farther back, the better.”
“You got it.”
“Thanks. Now, how old is this baby?” Hammer demanded.
“Um…” Pike went silent. “I don’t know.”
“Take a wild guess.”
“It’s small.”
“How small?” Hammer exhaled heavily.
“It’s a baby-sized baby. It’s… I don’t know, wearing little clothes and shit.”
“All babies wear little clothes.” Hammer gnashed his teeth. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
“I haven’t volunteered to change its diaper, but I’m guessing it’s a boy because she calls it Kyle and swears he looks like his daddy.”
Liam’s heart froze. “Does it fucking look like me?”
“How the hell would I know? All babies look the same—drooling, squalling, smelly little monsters,” Pike grumbled.
Hammer muted his phone. “Why did Master Donald and his wife, Vivian, have to be out of town right now?”
