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“Sorry,” I laugh. “I didn’t realize you were so engrossed. Thanks for watching Brynlee for me. Everything go alright tonight? Did she give you a hard time?”
Imogen closes her MacBook and pushes it aside, then puts her pencil inside her notebook and lays it on top of her laptop before sitting back in her chair. “Let’s see... that’s a two-part question with a really fucking strange answer. Brynlee was fine. She wanted to stay up later and watch Tangled again, so she wasn’t thrilled when I put her to bed. But she went.”
I wait for her to elaborate on the fucked up part, but she doesn’t. “Okay. Well, that’s normal for Brynn. So, what went wrong?”
“Well, let’s see... When Brynnie and I got home from the gym, there was a car parked across the street from the house. It drove away as we pulled into the driveway, but I’m pretty sure it was Daria.”
Fuck. I cross the room to the security screen. “Did you check the cameras?”
Gen nods. “I did. It looks like her. You’ve got to deal with this, Cade. Ignoring her isn’t working.”
My address isn’t listed.
She shouldn’t know where we live.
“The only good thing she’s ever done is give me Brynlee. I don’t want to invite her back into our lives.”
“I hate to tell you this, big brother. But she’s Brynlee’s mother. It’s time to call the bitch back.”
If I do this, will I be opening Pandora’s box?
Turns out, I’m not actually opening anything.
“You still haven’t heard from her?” Jax asks as we stand next to the cage, watching Hudson spar with Dave.
“Watch your leg,” I holler, trying to get Hudson to concentrate. He’s sloppy today. “No, man. Not a word, and it’s been over a week.” I left Daria a message the day after my security feed confirmed she’d sat in front of my house for over an hour, waiting for something... For what, we’re not sure.
Jax’s fingers wrap tighter around the cage. “You think maybe she just wanted to lay eyes on Brynlee?”
I shrug, not sure what the hell my ex is thinking.
“That bitch doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as your kid.” Jax is family. He knows exactly what went down when Daria decided she didn’t want to be a mother. He’s been here for all of it. “You call your lawyers yet?”
“Yeah.” I look back to the front desk where Brynlee’s laughing while she helps Imogen fold the new t-shirt stock that just came in. Not so much folding as making a mess. “I called them the next day. She’s not getting near my baby girl.”
When Hudson finally gets Dave to submit, I tell them both to go again.
“So, how are things going with your new baby mama?” At least Jax lowers his voice this time.
I glare back at him. “I don’t fucking know, man. Scarlet runs hot and cold. She’s supposed to be taking it easy, but I don’t think she is. We’ve talked a few times this week, and I know work’s kicking her ass.” I don’t think she even realizes how stressed she’s sounded when we’ve talked. It’s just her normal frequency. “We have another checkup to go to Saturday morning. We’ll see what they say then.”
“What do you mean, she’s supposed to be taking it easy?” Hudson leaves Dave lying on his back in the center of the mat as he looks down at me from the cage. “Is she alright?”
“Her blood pressure was up at her last appointment. They wanted her to try to eliminate stress.” I give Hud a hard stare. “Do not share that with your whole family, Hud. That’s up to her. Not you.”
“Does Max know?” he pushes.
Max Kingston was only a year ahead of Becks, Sam, and me in school. He’s been groomed his entire life to run his family and their empire. And while I know that there’s more to Max than meets the eye, I also know that that empire and his family come before absolutely everything else. I wouldn’t call him a friend, but he’s always had my respect.
I know him enough to know that if he was aware Scarlet was supposed to be eliminating stress from her life, he’d have her locked in a gilded cage. That might not sound like such a bad thing to me at the moment, but Scarlet would hate it. Instead of voicing that, I tell Hudson, “No clue. But either way, you do not tell him. If the doc says we need to be concerned this week, I’ll talk to Scarlet.”
When Hudson moves to speak, I cut him off. “No, Hud. Don’t do it. Your sister will destroy you before you ever get the chance to defend your title. Got it?” I wish I were kidding. Scarlet would eviscerate him.
And she might very well flay me alive for letting it slip to Hudson.
“Then man the fuck up and take care of my sister, Saint.” He throws the door open on the octagon and walks down the steps. “Someone has to.”
Fuck if he’s not right.
