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There she was, my contrary girl. “Fine. Have it your way. Name the child whatever you want. It doesn’t matter anyway.”
She tipped her chin up. “Elizabeth will be so happy to know one of her fathers cared so deeply.”
“Stuck on the letter E, are you?”
“It feels right.”
I stood, unable to continue sitting still. My eyelids were drooping, exhaustion taking over. If I didn’t move, I’d drop like a stone. It was nearly impossible to keep my gaze off her as I began pacing the floor in an attempt to stay awake.
“And what is your little E’s surname going to be?” I didn’t know why I was asking. Morbid curiosity? A fantasy of some domestic life I’d never have?
“Fallon, obviously.”
“You’d really name her after the pack that treated you so abominably?”
“Well, I’m not going to call her Gallagher. There’s no way I’d give her the name of anyone who wanted to see her dead. And that’s all of you at this point.”
The blow landed straight in my heart, but I nodded. “Fair enough. So Elise Fallon, was it?”
Her lips twitched. “Elizabeth, but Elise has potential.”
“And her middle name? Will you be naming her after anyone?”
“Mozart.”
I blinked, certain my sun-addled brain misunderstood her. “Pardon?”
“Elizabeth Amadeus Fallon.”
The laugh escaped before I could stop myself. “I didn’t realize you were such a fan.”
“I’m not. It’s a Moira thing.”
I shook my head. “Regardless, that is the most God-awful name I’ve ever heard.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you won’t be around to hear it, then.”
I stopped my pacing and leveled my focus on her. She’d gotten to her feet, her body clad in nothing but a thin tank and a pair of leggings, my sweater discarded carelessly on the floor. I hadn’t let myself look at her—not in the way I wanted to—since spiriting her away from Blackthorne Manor. But now? It was impossible not to.
“And why won’t I be around, Miss Fallon?” My words were carefully measured. Controlled. Dominant. She needed me to take charge and put her in her place. I could tell by the challenge in her blue eyes. My darling girl wanted a fight.
“I already told you why. I’m going to kill you.”
I snorted. “No, you’re not.”
“You told me you brought me here to destroy my daughter. If I have to choose between her or you, I choose her. Every fucking time. So yes, Caleb. I’m going to murderyouto saveher.”
Why was I so fecking hard from that threat? I should be livid. Instead, I wanted to push her against the wall, tear apart the sad excuse for pants she wore, and remind her why she called me Daddy.
“I’m your mate. You can’t do it.”
“You’re a sad excuse for a mate. I deserve so much better.”
I wasn’t going to disagree with her. I was the first to admit she could do far better than the likes of me. If circumstances were different, ifIwere different, I’d be exactly the kind of man she deserved. But we’d already established that I wasn’t a man and hadn’t been for nearly a century.
“God has a way of giving us exactly what we deserve.”
“I don’t believe in your god.”
