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“Maybe,” I muttered, looking back down at my hands.
“Cadence, I’m sorry. I know you’ve already given up so much, and…”
Michael trailed off, running a hand down his face. It hurt to see him so lost and struggling to shoulder responsibilities he shouldn’t have.
“You deserve happiness. Having the house paid off is great, and you’re having a baby.”
He sucked in a deep breath, pulling away to turn and face me. He stared into my eyes before nodding like he’d made a decision, and he had the stubborn expression on his face that heralded trouble.
“Get married. Let him claim you. Have your baby together. I’m going to stay here with Momma.”
I was shaking my head before he finished speaking. He tried to keep talking but I held up my hand and spoke over him.
“No. You’re going to college.”
“There are online—”
“No! They aren’t as good, and the whole point is for you to get out and have a life before it’s too late!”
Michael jumped to his feet, expression dropping into a scowl again as his hands fisted at his sides.
“Well, I guess you should have thought about that before you went and got knocked up! You can’t take care of Momma, and a baby,andwork, and I won’t let Momma be abandoned so you can run off and play happy family with some alpha you hid from us. You can’t make me put in the applications, and you can’t make me go.”
My mouth hung open, eyes wide as my stunned mind scrambled for something to say, but nothing came out before Michael turned and stormed from my room. Blinking back tears, I flinched when my door slammed shut, pain filling my chest as my heart broke in two.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Leo
Ipaced the length of my father’s office, the soft scratch of pen on paper almost drowned out by my footsteps. I had lost count of how many times I made it from one wall to the other, but apparently I’d reached the end of my father’s patience.
Pen slapping down beneath his heavy hand, he glared up at him.
“Sit.”
I wanted to argue, needed an outlet for the useless energy boiling inside me, but my father wasn’t one to indulge my temper. Dropping into a chair, I crossed my ankle over the opposite knee, foot jiggling as I tapped my fingers on the arm.
My father stared expectantly, no need to ask what was wrong since he knew I wouldn’t be able to keep from spilling for long.
“Cadence was there!”
A bushy brow arched, the irritation in his gaze softening with the reason why I was so agitated.
“I’m assuming she’s okay, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“She’s fine. She drove up as they were running away, but if she’d been any earlier it could have been worse.”
My father nodded, leaning back in his seat and pulling a cigar from the drawer in front of him.
“There’s always a risk when associating with us. That’s why your mother stays away from the club and the warehouses. Even this building. Your sister, too. Anyone we’re close to is a target and has to be protected.”
I ran a hand through my hair, fisting the back of it in frustration.
“I promised I’d keep her safe. Herandher family. I almost failed before I even got the chance.”
I watched a puff of smoke rise from his lips, my chest clenching at the thought of what could have happened.
“I could have lost herandour baby.”
