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“Mm…” I hum in acknowledgement. “Thank you.” We devour our spread in silence for a few moments before curiosity peaks. “You guys are busy. When do you return home?” From what Jax has said, they’ve been here off and on for months.
The twins’ devilish grins transform their faces from handsome to drop-dead-sexy-bad-boys. But Lennox is the one who replies, while his brother finishes a mouthful of food. “Once we finished the contract for our latest cover series, we agreed to wait to accept another one until things settled.”
“So, no rushing back for us,” Liam chimes in—the excitement clear in the tone. “You’re stuck with us for a while.”
Excitement flutters in my belly. “I like the sound of that. I’ll take all the help I can get when the baby comes.” Jax rests his free hand on my belly, rubbing in circles, while sucking the meat off a rib with the other. The sight locking me down, wishing that bone was my clit.Pregnancy hormones are doing weird things to me.Soon enough, his eyes catch mine knowingly, a lust filled smirk slowly lifting the corner of his lips. “What about you, Cash?” The clear avoidance tactic causes Jaxton to chuckle, tossing his bone on an empty plate.
“My next competition isn’t for months, so I plan on staying around, too.” A forkful of potatoes slips between his lips.
“Kam?” I question, eating another mouthful. “This is good, by the way.” The words are barely recognizable, being muffled by the food.
He laughs. “Thank you. Ma taught us at a young age, but it stuck best with me. As for getting back… I’m in no rush. My chef is watching over my places and checking in. I’d rather be here to meet my niece or nephew when they’re born.”
Excitement thrums through my veins when I imagine my little bean in my arms for the first time. “I’m happy that you’ll all be here.”
They fill the evening with laughter—enjoying the brothers’ constant bantering. As promised, Kam packed the leftovers into containers and placed them in the fridge. A reminder that already has me licking my lips, thinking about digging in again.
After dinner, we snuggled onto the couch to watch a movie, of which I lasted about ten minutes before passing out against Jaxton. My dreams are full of happiness, the baby, a future—instead of a brief life in captivity.
Chapter Fifteen
Jaxton
Adeep sigh of relief puffs from my lips as I plop back onto the couch after carrying Avery to bed. The reality of her being here is foreign. I’m half expecting to wake up and realize it’s all been a dream, and she’s still missing. Not to mention that she’s about to pop withmybaby.I’m going to be a dad!The idea is daunting—a complete joy and blunder in one. The idea of her being chained to a bed and discovering that she’s pregnant, just to have my crazy bitch of an ex-girlfriend attempt to cut it from her once she reached full term, is fucked up. I meanreallyfucked up. Of course, I’d never change or regret our baby, but I sure as hell wish I’d been there. That I wasn’t is going to haunt me forever.
“Hey.” Cash bumps my shoulder. “You get her to bed all right?”
My palm runs down my face, decompressing. “Yeah, she’s as snug as a bug.” The room chuckles when I mimic Ma’s voice and one of her favorite sayings when we were little.
“What’d the detective want when he called earlier?” Kam asks the questions that’s on all their minds.
“They still haven’t found Sarah. No new leads either. It’s like she disappears off the face of the fucking planet.” My heart pounds, thinking about Sarah on the loose, and trying to get to Avery again. “Security’s tight, right?”
“Yes. There are people outside, people inside, and more at the door. She’s not getting in here.” Kam promises, ensuring her safety as much as he would our own.
“Thanks, brother.” Another exhale, as my head rests back on the couch, wanting nothing more than to climb into bed next to my girl and her baby belly.
“Does Avery know everything?” Cash glances toward our room, speaking quieter.
“No.” My voice is stern—no objections allowed. “She’s been through enough, and I don’t want her stressing any more than she already has.”
Lennox and Liam nod and say together, “Got it.”
“Soo… how’re you feeling about being a dad?” Lennox hands me an open beer, while chugging his in the other hand. “With everything going on, we’ve not had time to check in with you like we should.”
“Yeah, bro. What’s going through that head of yours?” Liam joins the questioning.
“Enough that my mind is firing a mile a minute.” The cool liquid pours across my tongue, soothing some of my anxieties. “Of course, I’m excited, but the guilt is suffocating.” My fist rubs my chest, trying to loosen the tightness. “She’s so fucking brave to have gone through that for so long and come out sane.” Another gulp slips coolly down, relaxing my muscles further.
“That she is.” Kam agrees. “You two have a plan yet—where you’re going to live—raise the baby.”
The rest of them perk up with the question, wondering if I’ll be staying here and moving out of our place. “Honestly, we haven’t talked about it. After the details she’s given us about the kidnapping, drugging, and abuse, it didn’t seem important. Either I’ll stay or she’ll come home with us. I’m going to leave it up to her.”
Kam runs his hand through his dark locks, nodding. “Yeah.” Emotion plays heavily in his tone. “We’ve lived together for so long that it’ll be an adjustment without you.”
My heart clenches, listening to his struggle—my brothers are my world—but so now is Avery and the baby. “Before all this happened, we talked about her possibly coming down to live with us if our connection took off, so it’s been a topic of conversation. But her dad’s here, her budding business, and her house. That’s a lot to leave behind.”
A bit of melancholy shines in each of their golden or green eyes, understanding that if she doesn’t come down, I’ll be moving up. No way will I miss my kid growing up. I’ll not miss a word, the first step or birthday, I’ll not miss a goddamn thing if I can help it.
