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I tried to get my breathing under control as I took stock of her, holding my hands out in front of her. Her eyes were puffy, but it was the dried blood on her lip and the darkness on her cheek that had my breathing going in the opposite way. “What happened?” I asked, trying not to scare her with my tone, but it was impossible.
She was hurt.
She was hurt and she’d come tome.
“I…I…” She held her arms around her bump, her eyes closing. “He made me…” She trailed off, not making any sense. But right then, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was she was here, and there was no way I was going to let her leave. I’d bided my time over the last few days. I’d given her space even though I’d kept a close eye on her—not that she knew that. I’d made sure she’d gotten safely to school each day. I’d made sure she slept at night.
I’d done what I could in between making sure I was doing my responsibilities here. But I clearly hadn’t done enough because here she was, standing in front of me, crying and bleeding.
“Come,” I demanded, holding my hand out to her.
She took it, not hesitating at all, and we slowly walked up the driveway, taking our time. Her small hand was completely enveloped by my large one, and I rubbed my thumb back and forth across her smooth skin, trying to comfort her as I cursed myself for not thinking to drive my car down here. She didn’t complain about the long walk up the driveway, but her hand did grip me tighter as she spotted Lorenzo in the doorway. His arms were crossed over his chest, waiting for me. I had no doubt the rest of the guys were near, watching us all.
“Dante,” Lorenzo greeted. “Want to tell me what the fuck is going on?”
I heard Navy’s sharp intake of breath as I positioned myself in front of her. “Not now,” I told him, continuing forward even though he was blocking the way.
“Yes, now,” he ground out, his gaze flicking to Navy who was fully behind me now. “Who the fuck is she and why the hell is she here?”
I opened my mouth, but I wasn’t sure what to say—how to explain it. It wasn’t simple, it wasn’t easy, at least, not to vocalize. I knew what I felt inside—that she was mine, had been since that night eight months ago—but it wasn’t like I could say that in front of her. I’d scare her off and she’d only just gotten here. I needed to wait. I needed to make sure she was okay.I needed to get her inside.
My attention didn’t leave Lorenzo’s face, caught in a stare down. “Move,” I told him. He may have been my boss and my big brother, but this was different. This was…this wasmybusiness, not his.
“No chance in hell, little brother.” He widened his stance, blocking entry even more, meanwhile Navy was shaking as she stepped even closer to me. Her bump pressed against my back, her hand gripping mine so tight that I was starting to lose feeling in it.
“Not now, Lor—” I cut myself off as I felt something pound my back, not too hard, but I could definitely feel it.
“Sorry,” Navy whispered. “The baby is more active at night.”
My pulse thrummed, blood whooshing through my veins and pounding in my ears as I realized what she’d said. Then it happened again. The baby was kicking…me.
I spun around, letting go of her hand in the process. “I felt it,” I told her, in awe as my hands pressed gently on her stomach. I stared at her bump in amazement, feeling it again.
“The baby likes your voice,” Navy whispered softly, then moved her hand to cover mine.
A tingle shot through my body at the contact, and I couldn’t help whipping my attention back to her face where I could see the bruise on her cheek clearly. “What happened?” I asked, my tone rougher now, but I didn’t move my hands off her.
Her gaze batted back and forth between my eyes, her tongue wetting her lips. I could see that she wasn’t sure whether to tell me, but I just waited her out, giving her the time to process what she wanted to say. “My dad.” I could barely hear the two words, but it was enough for me to interpret.
“Dante?” Lorenzo grunted from behind me. “Explain.”
I blinked, staring at Navy, trying to tell her with my eyes that she was going to be okay. “I got you.” I stepped closer to her, bending at the knees. “I got you now, sweetheart.”
Her eyes glossed over, tears threatening to fall, but she didn’t let them, she just kept her focus on me until I turned, ripping my gaze away and hating that I was now staring down my big brother.
“This is Navy.” It was all I was willing to give him right then. I stepped aside, grabbing her hand. “Now move so we can get in.”
Lorenzo didn’t look away from me, his attention laser focused. I could tell by the way his lips spread into a flat line that he didn’t like the tone or words that I was using, but too bad for him because I was done explaining. When it came to business, I’d toe the line, I’d do as he said within reason. But this…this was personal.
“There’s no way I’m letting someone in my house that I don’t know.” His gaze flicked to Navy but quickly came back to me again. “Who is she?”
My pulse thrummed, my heart racing. I couldn’t tell him who she was, not yet, not until I’d gotten her inside and knew what had actually happened to her and why she was here. I needed to be filled in on it first before I could formulate a plan on how to tell my family that I’d gotten an FBI agent’s daughter pregnant. An eighteen-year-old one at that.
“Lorenzo?” a new voice called, one that had my shoulders sagging and relief washing through me. I could just about see Ma’s face over Lorenzo’s shoulder as she frowned at the open door that he was standing inside of. “What’s going on?”
“Dante is trying to bring a girl in the house.” Lorenzo tilted his head, raising a brow, taunting me. He was acting like a little kid, and the longer he stood there, the more frustrated and angry I got.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come,” Navy whispered.
