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I sigh. “She isn’t, Demi, she’s just so fucking lost right now. If she breaks, she won’t make it out alive; she needs to process and, knowing Ray, that will happen behind closed doors on her own, and she will either get over it or she will implode, and then we will have to wade through the aftermath and try and piece it back together. She is far from fine. All we can do is watch for the cracks and try and hold them together as well and for as long as we can until she heals… or explodes.”
“And what do we do if she explodes?” Demi sighs.
“Run.” I shrug. And we all take a drink and contemplate the very outcome that if it happens, we will all go up in smoke for real this time.
Ares
I’m in the office, and the door swings open, and in she walks, almost like she hasn't got a care in the world, and to most people, that's exactly what it looks like, but now I really take the time to look at her, I can see it in the tightness of her jaw, the pinch of her brow and the tension in her shoulders.
She stalks in, followed by them. She throws herself down on the sofa like she normally does, but with less grace now she’s pregnant, closes her eyes, and throws her arm over her stomach. The guys close the door and line up across it like statues, legs apart, hands behind their backs.
“Make yourself at home, Ray.”
“Thanks,” she mutters and sighs. “So, Ares…”
I clench my jaw at my name on her lips. I hate it when she calls me that. It means business, and I want the easy banter back. “What's the catch?”
“Catch?” I ask.
She lets out a big breath. “Yeah, Ares. Catch, you want something from me, you know it, and I know it, so what is it? That's a mighty fine set-up you're willing to give, and I know it's gonna cost me dearly, so what will it be?”
“You!” is all I say.
“Me?” She laughs. “Nah, what do you really want, Brother?” She spits the word ‘brother,’ and I internally wince.
“Do they need to be here for this?” I snarl.
One of the big fuckers takes a step forward. “Too fucking right we do!”
“Now, boys, let's save the pissing contest till later, shall we?” She swings her legs off the couch and sits leaning back on it, taking a deep breath, rubbing her stomach, taking a massive inhale, and then wincing.”
“You okay?”
“We don't have the time, and I don’t have the energy for that question. Just tell me what you want, and we will head back to The Tower for a meeting.”
“No!” I shove up from the desk. “No more fucking leaving, you stay, we sort this out, you go back to being my Enforcer. Second chance, do over, restart, whatever the fuck you wanna call it, but no more leaving.”
“In case you haven't noticed, I'm heavily pregnant and due to give birth in a couple of months, so I can't see myself being of any use as an Enforcer, can you?”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? Even knocked up and ready to drop, you’re deadlier than most of the men I have here. So, my terms: one, you stay put. Two, you become my Enforcer again. Three, you can have whatever the fuck you want, I don’t care, but you don’t leave, and you don’t take those babies away from me.”
“That's it?” She never takes her eyes off me, and I'm starting to sweat. I berate myself internally for how she makes me feel and how I allow her to make me feel.
“We sort it out, everything and move on.”
“Easy as that huh?”
“Well, no, but yeah.”
“And we can have the compound?”
“Yes, I will have Pops draw up the contract separating the land and the external roads from the club and put it into your name.”
“Our names.” She nods to the guys.
“All your names, got it.”
“And to make it up to me, the whole club will help with the work I need, whatever I need.” She phrases it so I know it's not a question. I nod.
