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This gets his attention. “What, why?” he frowns, and I just blink at him.
“I’m pregnant. I have no way of knowing who the father is. My ex is probably stalking me, and I just learned how to enjoy my freedom a few months ago! My own mother practically hates me, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, and when the others find out that…that any of you could be…they…they’re going to hate me!” And the tears start falling. I’m sobbing. The mix of hormones and pure fucking terror in my gut is too much to hold in, so I just sob.
Isaiah tries to comfort me, but I wave his hand away. “Everything will be okay, Sapphire. I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk. The others will, too.”
He says that now, but I’ll be lucky if any of them can even stand the sight of me by the time this baby is born.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX
I locked myself in my house for three days, hiding, crying, and puking. I’m a mess.
So when my doorbell rings for the thousandth time, I ignore it again. I’m going back to work today. I have to. I have to tell them, though I suspect they already know. I don’t think Isaiah could keep the secret even if I had asked him to.
I’m on my bike when a truck pulls up beside me, startling me. I can’t see through the tinted windows, so I just move further onto the sidewalk. When I stop outside the bookstore, the driver jumps out and rushes over. When I see who he is, I freeze.
I’m pulling the door to the bookstore open, when Thad snaps his hand out, stopping me.
“Sapphire! I’m so glad you finally left your house. Can we talk?” I just stare. I don’t want to say yes, but what will he do if I say no? I drop my hand over my stomach in a subconscious protective way, and he doesn’t notice.
“How…” is all I can say as my entire body shakes from fear. He found me. How…
“Oh, I’ve been in town for a while now. It’s been harder than expected to get you alone.” The look in his eyes darkens significantly. “You seem to have made friends out here.”
I swallow, my head nodding robotically.
“Come on.” He grips my wrist tightly and starts dragging me across the street to the bakery. “We need to discuss our plan to move you home,” he says it as if it’s a done deal. Like I agreed to it already. I look back over my shoulder to see Eli standing there, watching me. My heart leaps into my throat, hope filling my chest until I see the look in his eyes.
He looks between Thad and me, frowning. I have enough time to shake my head once before Thad is yanking me through the front door of the bakery.
He picks a booth in the back, and I follow wordlessly. I’m about to beg the waitress with my eyes to please see my fear. Please save me…but she smiles like a freaking loon when she sees Thad.
“Oh, Thad! Welcome back! I see you’ve brought Sapphire as well. I’ll grab you some coffee.” Mrs. Mildred grips my shoulder firmly as she passes me, and at first, I think there’s hope. Does she sense my fear? But Thad turns on his charm.
No one sees what's under his fake facade. Am I delusional? Is he a good man, and I’m just ungrateful? No…no. I’m not. I know the truth. He hurt me. He can smile at little old ladies all he wants. I know the real him.
Mrs. Mildred returns with coffee and water, I'm not paying a lick of attention. She spills the water all over Thad, who turns red. He shouts but quickly schools his reaction.
“Oh, dear, here, let me get this cleaned up! Oh, dear.”
“It’s fine, just bring me a rag,” he hisses, trying to refuse the old lady. Mrs. Mildred isn't having it, though. She yanks Thad’s arm, tugging him with her to the back.
“Sapphire, can you–”
But Mrs. Mildred cuts off his words. “Yes, Sapphire, can you grab me some more rags please, that bucket there behind the counter!” The old woman is stronger than she looks as she shoves Thad into the back room. With one last wide-eyed look at me, she follows after him.
I’m frozen in place for a moment. She did see through him. And she bought me precious seconds. I can’t let Thad get his hands on me or this baby. I jump to my feet and race to the front door, only to slam into a brick wall of man muscle with my first step outside.
“Sapphire!” It’s Jer. I cling to him, but he’s not alone. They’re all here. Eli tugs me away from Jer and holds me to his chest.
“I’m sorry. I wanted backup,” Eli explains, and I frown. He’s bigger than Thad… “I was worried I’d kill him,” he says, making the others grunt in agreement.
“Just get me out of here,” I murmur as I’m pulled into Isaiah’s arms. He bends low, whispering in my ear.
“They don’t know you're pregnant. I didn’t say anything. But if you tell my brothers right now, they might be in jail for that baby's first birthday. Let’s take care of this first, before you say anything,” Isaiah whispers, and I nod.
“The lawyer knew he’d do this. Come on, let's get her to my place, and we can call him,” Anton says, sounding angry.
Zach swoops me off my feet and starts walking away, just as the bakery door swings open once more. When I see his face, my entire body stiffens. I can’t take my eyes off the look of pure hatred I see there. The moment he realizes I’m with Zach, he loses his shit. I’m wiggling out of my big tattooed protector's arms before he even realizes it.
