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I didn’t operate that way. I might like to fuck, but I wrapped my dick up and took zero chances. Even if I had sex with Hope, that baby wouldn’t have been mine. “You don’t know me. Look, I get it, I’m Destiny’s father. I’ll take responsibility of her. Whatever it takes. But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t come in here and act like I razed the fucking world and destroyed Hope, too. That’s not me.”
“Did you know she was married to Mr. Garcia?” Posey quirked a brow.
“Nope.” If Hope got married to him, she’d done so when I hadn’t been around. The operation only lasted a couple of weeks. Pedro and Hope were at the auction every day. Most of the time, Hope was in my office talking about life, staying out of the way. She was a good kid in a messed-up situation. Could she have been telling me the whole time she was pregnant and looking for a way out?
Shit.
Guess none of it mattered now. Hope was dead, and so was Pedro. The others were in prison awaiting trial if they hadn’t pleaded out already. Cobi had texted the other day and reminded me pre-trial was coming up and the DA would contact me about trial prep. Seemed like a lifetime ago, now.
“The condition we found Destiny in, Mr. Banks,” Posey began, “was unsanitary. We’ve had her screened for drugs in her system along with anything else you might need to know. She is about two pounds underweight, which fits because there’d only been dust left in her formula can. I have a week’s worth of supplies for you, but she is now your responsibility. I also need to assess your home. Mr. Banks, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on when it comes to Hope’s pregnancy and the birth of your daughter, but I expect you to step up and be her father.”
Couldn’t she slow down? She was already on point twenty of her list, and I was still stuck on Destiny having my last name. The fact Hope chose me spoke volumes. It meant perhaps all those talks we’d had sunk in. She realized she could turn to me, and I’d help her. This, however, wasn’t what I meant. People don’t just spring babies on them. Right?
“Sure. I can do that.” I glanced around the house, completely out of my element. The Maverick still needed work. Landon was gone to work. Which meant I had to wait for him to return to make a run for the shit I’d need.What the fuck do I need?My mind was going a million miles an hour. Trying to formulate a plan while also not sure if I should tell anyone about Destiny left me drawing a blank. “Who is working her case? Hope’s I mean?”
“Cobi Mayson. He’s over the entire investigation. He wasn’t there when Destiny was found, but he’s been kept abreast of the situation,” she replied. “I’d like to do my walkthrough now. If that’s okay with you? Also, I need a list of people who live here and a time I can schedule to meet with them along with any family you might have.”
I ran my hand over my hair and sucked air between my teeth. Fuck. Of course, she’d need to talk to everyone. “Landon is at the shop. Our shop, Banks Automotive, and our younger brother is atFlameor school. Ireland is with her husband, hence why Mack Jr. is with me.”
“I’ll need their phone numbers so we can speak.” Posey pulled out her notebook once more and grabbed her phone. The idea of her walking through our place set me on edge. The itch between my shoulders to yell at her to leave everything alone grated on my nerves. More than half of the stuff in this place belonged to our dead parents. Sure, we changed out some furniture, but this was their home, just a different location.
As much as my dick was on board with fucking Posey, I needed her to leave.
Now.
I stared at Destiny, who continued to look at me with those wide eyes. This kid had been through the ringer, and she wasn’t even a year old yet. The day of the raid, I’d had an uneasy feeling all morning. Something bad was going to happen. I couldn’t shake it. It wasn’t anything like when Mack and Ireland worked together to take down Edgar. This was more of an irritant. Like I couldn’t quite grasp what the problem was. The plan was simple. All the pieces were on the board and in place.
Until they weren’t.
When the raid happened, Pedro and Hope were already driving off, and a cop car was chasing after them. Cobi hadn’t told us they’d gotten away until a couple of days later. The raid was a success. They shut down the remaining arms of the organization and once they had Hope and Pedro in custody, they could close the case.
For months, they’d been on the run. I suspected they got “lost” on purposed, but finding out Hope and Pedro had been in Nashville the whole time? My mind was reeling and the only person who could fit all the scattered pieces together was dead. I still had time to tell Posey the truth. I could explain the situation to her and what? Put the kid into foster care? Perhaps, with the resources from the state, she could find Hope’s family.
Damn it.
I couldn’t do that to this baby. She deserved some normalcy. Explaining how Destiny came to be, to my family, would be a whole other kettle of fish. Ireland wouldn’t want to leave well enough alone. She’d also ride my ass about having a kid with someone, after preaching to Landon and Jackson about using protection, but also about not knowing Hope had been pregnant. The worst part? I wouldn’t be able to tell Ireland the whole truth because of the ongoing investigation and the coming court case.
Talk about completely fucked up.
When Posey came back to the living room, she had a list of things that needed to be fixed in the house. Destiny was crawling now. I needed baby gates and all kinds of bullshit that added to my list of things to do. Just listening to her gave me a headache, not to mention made my balls blue.
“Until everything is settled, I will check in with you periodically. Answer your phone, Mr. Banks.” She gave me a pointed look.
Yep, it was inevitable. I was going to fuck that sass out of her and make her beg for more, even if I couldn’t stand her. “Not a problem.” I forced a smile. “If you’ll tell me where her stuff is, I’ll grab it.”
“No, I’ll bring it in, Mr. Banks. You have two children under the age of one in your home. Your attention should be on them.” She turned and went to the door. “I know this isn’t how you expected your day or your life to go, but those who play fast and loose always end up getting caught.”
I stared after her.Bitch.
Chapter 2
Posey
“Well, that went lovely,” I grumbled under my breath before yanking open the door to my trusty and slightly rusty sedan. As I got into my car, I glared up at the house where Hunter lived and where I’d just left Destiny. They had money. Had to have to own the little hacienda in a quiet Murfreesboro neighborhood.
The reaction I had to Hunter was... Odd. The smug bastard behind that door irritated the fuck out of me and caused my stomach to do a funny little flip when he opened the door.Get it together, girl. He’s the enemy.Plus, there was the fact he pretended like he didn’t know where babies came from.
My reaction to him, both physically and mentally, gave me pause. I liked to give each parent or guardian the benefit of the doubt when it came to their children. However, with Hunter Banks, I felt openly hostile toward him and did something I’d never done in my life.
