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For Kerry it was made worse by the fact that she hadn’t even known who her mother was until it was too late to help her. Instead she’d been grudgingly looked after by her grandmother—the very person who had taken her away from her real mother. And for Kerry’s entire childhood she’d made her feel unwanted and unloved.
‘I know you are concerned about Hallie and Nicco.’ Theo’s clipped tones showed signs of tension. ‘My brother and I are in your debt for raising the alarm—if you hadn’t come to us so quickly things could have been much worse. But my conversation with Corban was private. How we choose to take care of our family is none of your concern.’
Kerry stared up at him. A muscle pulsed on his shadowed jawline. His eyes were dark and troubled. She had to tell him what she had done—but she was apprehensive about how he would react.
‘Hallie is my friend,’ she said. ‘Of course I care about her. And Nicco.’
‘You must trust me to do what is right for my family,’ Theo said, studying her intently. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and the set of his expression hardened.
‘You told her. Didn’t you?’ he demanded.
Kerry’s heart jolted and her eyes widened with alarm.
‘Yes.’ Her voice was hardly more than a whisper—but she held her head up and met his gaze steadily.
‘You had no business doing that.’ Theo’s expression was dark. ‘It did not concern you.’
‘Of course it concerned me!’ Kerry responded, suddenly filled with anger on her friend’s behalf—and on her own mother’s behalf.
‘No wonder you were so desperately worried—your actions put many people in danger tonight,’ he said. ‘Someone could have died. My nephew could have died!’
‘I didn’t realise she’d been drinking,’ Kerry said. ‘Not until—’
‘Don’t try to explain what you did.’ Theo’s voice cut through hers coldly. ‘I’m not interested.’
‘But—’
‘I’m not interested in your excuses,’ he said flatly. ‘You put my nephew in danger.’
‘I never meant to,’ she said. ‘That was the last thing I wanted.’
‘You listened to a private conversation that did not concern you,’ he said. ‘Then you went behind my back and took the situation into your own hands.’
‘Hallie is my friend,’ she said.
‘And what am I to you?’ he demanded. ‘You should have come to me first.’
‘You…I…’ She stumbled hesitantly, suddenly unsure of herself.
It was true that if she’d spoken to Theo about what she’d overheard then Hallie wouldn’t have taken Nicco in the car. But that didn’t change what she had heard. And Theo had made it clear that he saw nothing wrong with what he and his brother had been planning. They probably still intended to take Nicco away from his mother.
‘I no longer want you here.’ Theo spoke suddenly, his voice hard and controlled, his expression set in stone. ‘Pack your bags and get out.’
‘What? I don’t understand…’ Kerry’s voice trailed away and she stared at him in shock. But she did understand. Theo no longer wanted her.
He’d already turned his back on her and was walking away, as if from that moment she was dead to him. She was already out of his life.
‘Wait,’ she called. ‘There is something I have to tell you. It’s the reason I came to talk to you in your study in the first place.’
Theo spun on his heel and looked at her dispassionately. He was giving her a moment more of his time, and she knew she had to use it wisely.
‘This evening I found out—’
Kerry stopped speaking abruptly and covered her mouth with her hand. Suddenly she was afraid to tell him that she was pregnant.
After the events of the evening, it was almost as if Theo was a different man. She would never have thought him capable of taking a child from his mother—but he had defended his intentions even when Kerry had challenged him.
And if they planned to do that to Hallie—who’d been married to Corban for several years—what would happen to her if they found out she was carrying a Diakos baby? Theo had made it plain he didn’t want her. But would he want to take the baby?
