Fallen Love (Sinful Truths Book 5)

by Ella Miles

  “Well, are you going to announce the news or am I?” Kai asks, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Ugh, like you haven’t already told everyone, woman,” Zeke grumbles with a smile.

  Kai rolls her eyes. “I have not told anyone.”

  “You marry,” Ellie says.

  The room erupts in laughter, revealing Kai to be the liar that she is. Kai scoops up her little one from the high chair and snuggles her, rubbing Ellie’s leftover breakfast all over her white shirt and not caring one bit.

  “That was supposed to be our secret, little one,” Kai says, kissing her chubby cheeks. She looks at Enzo, who must be able to read his wife better than I can. Suddenly, there are champagne flutes in all of our hands.

  “I want to toast the happy, married couple,” Kai says. “To Siren and Zeke. We are so happy you found each other, and we look forward to being able to celebrate your love today and forever. We can’t wait until you have lots of babies for us all to raise together.” Kai winks at me like she knows I’m pregnant. She can’t know when I don’t even know for sure.

  “To Siren and Zeke,” the group rejoices.

  We all clink our glasses, and I take a minuscule sip to not raise suspicions.

  “I can’t believe you got married without me there! I was supposed to be your maid of honor, you bitch,” Nora says, pulling me into an obnoxious hug.

  “Well, it was sudden, and you know, not legal or whatever, so I’m sure if we ever decide to make it legal, we’ll invite you to be our witness at the courthouse,” I say.

  Nora pulls back, looking at me like I’m crazy. “Kai and I will not allow our best friends, who have survived death and murdering devils, to have their love celebrated in a courthouse. When you get married legally, we will be doing it in a big way! Kai and Enzo didn’t get to be married in front of those they loved, either. So it can be a joint wedding or a doubleheader or something! I’m so excited!”

  I laugh. “Slow down.” I squeeze Zeke’s hand who looks at Nora like she’s insane. “We haven’t agreed to a big wedding. We already had everything we wanted. And we can celebrate today.”

  “Fine, fine. Let me see the rings, though!” Nora grabs my hand around my champagne glass. “Love it! It’s so you. You’re not a diamonds kind of girl.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Zeke, let’s see it,” Nora says.

  “It?” Zeke asks, obviously oblivious to my friend’s conversation.

  “Your ring.” Nora grabs his left hand and studies it closely. “It’s perfect!”

  “It is,” Zeke says, bringing my hand to his lips to kiss me, which only eggs Nora on.

  “We should have a dance tonight! Everyone could get dressed up, and we could have a wedding reception! Oh my god! I’m so excited,” Nora says.

  “Are you going to dance with Beckett? He hasn’t stopped looking at you,” I whisper, wondering how they are doing together.

  She sighs. “No, I’ll be a single lady going home alone, but it could still be fun. Beckett doesn’t seem interested in dating, fucking, or anything fun.”

  I kiss her on the cheek. “Your happily ever after is coming.”

  “I know.”

  Kai comes over, holding Ellie.

  “Ooh, give her to me,” Nora says, grabbing the toddler and turning from us.

  “Congrats, you guys!” Kai hugs us both, and then she whispers in my ear. “It’s just grape juice, just in case…” She winks again.

  I’m blinking rapidly, shocked she’s figured out I might be pregnant.

  “I’m right, aren’t I?” Kai asks, studying me closely.

  Zeke narrows his eyes. “Right about what?”

  “Right about everything,” Enzo says from behind her. “Congrats, you two.”

  “Yes, congrats. I know we haven’t spoken about how you tried to kill me a while back, but you two make a good fit. I’m really happy for you. And I’m sorry I couldn’t rescue Siren, I—” Beckett says awkwardly.

  “It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. No need to apologize,” Zeke says, forgiving Beckett for not being to rescue me just like he couldn’t.

  “Thank you,” I say to everyone trying to move away from the depressing turn Beckett and Zeke started down. “But we don’t really have to celebrate.”

  “We do,” Kai and Nora say at the same time.

  Zeke and I sigh at the same time.

  “So am I right?” Kai leans in so only I can hear her.

  “I don’t know. But I’d find out a lot sooner if we weren’t having to have a weird wedding party breakfast and could meet with a doctor or get a pregnancy test,” I hiss back, careful not to raise my voice.

  “I can help with that!” She turns to the room. “Alright, enough fussing. Zeke needs to get checked out by a doctor, and we need time to discuss a redo wedding for all of us.”

  Enzo frowns. “We haven’t even eaten the breakfast you cooked yet. Shouldn’t we all eat together? Zeke can see a doctor—”

  But Kai throws him a look, and he shuts up.

  “I’ll bring the breakfast to you two later,” Kai says.

  “I’m sure you will.” Zeke fires a warning look at her. If she comes into our room unannounced or looks at the security camera again, he’s going to throw her overboard.

  “The code is 5523,” Kai says.

  “Wait, you are giving them our bedroom? What’s wrong with theirs?” Enzo asks.

  Kai gives him another look, and he shuts up again. She leans into me. “Under the sink on the left. I’ll have the doctor come up for Zeke in twenty minutes.”

  I nod and pull Zeke away from everyone toward Kai and Enzo’s bedroom.

  “Why did Kai give you access to her bedroom?”

  “She has a pregnancy test under the sink.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yea, oh.” A million little butterflies flutter in my belly, quickly turning into rabbit-sized butterflies hopping around, causing me to jump nervously as we walk.

  “Are you feeling okay?” Zeke asks.

  “Yep.”

  “Me too,” he says, just as nervous as I am.

  We get to the door, and I have to enter the code three times to gain access, but finally, the door opens.

  We walk straight to the bathroom. I lean under the sink and pull out the pink box that has one pregnancy test left in it.

  I let go of Zeke’s hand reluctantly, and then go pee on the stick.

  “How long do we have to wait?” I ask, laying the test on the counter.

  “Three minutes,” Zeke answers, staring at the pregnancy test like it holds our entire future.

  It does, which makes this moment so terrifying. This might be our only chance to have a baby that is biologically both ours. Any other kids we have might be adopted, or only me and some sperm guy. This could be our only shot at having something that is part of both of us.

  Zeke never asked me if I thought the baby was his or was a result of Julian raping me, but the timing doesn’t work for the baby to be Julian’s. I know it’s Zeke’s, but I’m glad I don’t have to confirm it to Zeke in that way.

  Staring at the test makes me just as nervous to learn I am pregnant as scared to learn I’m not. I’m not sure I would make a good mom. I’m not sure bringing a baby into my world is a good idea, not when I’m constantly being shot at. I’m not the kind of person our kid could look up to. I’ve done horrible things, things I can’t explain to a kid.

  Zeke puts his hand in mine, and suddenly it doesn’t matter that I don’t have all the skills it takes to be a good mom. Zeke is going to make a great dad—he will fill in the holes I’m lacking and vice versa. Together, we will make great parents, and this baby will be loved. That’s what matters.

  18

  Zeke

  We’ve turned into a crying, sobbing mess. I don’t think we are ever going to stop crying or smiling. Nothing can ruin this moment. This moment has stretched into twenty minutes of just holding and laughing and crying and smiling—pure joy.
I’ve never felt anything like it, but I can only imagine holding my baby in my arms for the first time will be the only thing able to top finding out that my wife is pregnant.

  “I can’t believe I got a wife and baby in the same day,” I say.

  She laughs. “You don’t have the baby yet. He or she still has another seven or eight months until you meet him or her.”

  I grab her stomach and kiss it again for the hundredth time. “Nope, mine, now.”

  There is a knock on the door, and we both quickly grow solemn. Kai said she’d send a doctor in to examine me after we had a few minutes alone, but right now, I want this moment to last forever.

  “We can celebrate more after, but we need to know the good and the bad,” Siren says.

  I nod. Siren takes my hand, and we exit the bathroom and open the door together.

  “I’m Dr. Rancor,” the gentleman in his fifties says.

  “Zeke,” I say, shaking his hand. “This is my wife, Siren.”

  He shakes her hand as well. “Pleasure to meet you both. Mrs. Black has given me a general overview of your condition, but I’d love to do a full examination and hear from you so I can best help you.”

  I nod as he enters the room with his bag of equipment. He sits in a chair, while Siren and I sit on the edge of the bed. And then I tell my story, while Siren and the doctor listen intently to every word. I didn’t think I could talk about it so easily, but finding out I’m going to be a father soon seems to make me brave and push any other emotions away.

  “So what do you think? Am I going to be able to fuck again? Have more kids?” I don’t mince my words. I want to know the truth.

  “Well, we won’t know until I examine you. If you could remove your clothes,” the doc says.

  I do as he says, but my mind isn’t on me. It’s on Siren. “What do we need to know about the first trimester? I know Siren has been having some morning sickness. What else?”

  The doctor chuckles. “First-time parents?”

  “Yes,” we both say anxiously.

  He laughs. “Well, I’m not an obstetrician, so my experience is limited, but for now, unless you are feeling really sick, eat healthily, take it easy, get plenty of rest, and let your body do the rest.”

  I frown, not liking his answer. I spend the next ten minutes drilling him about everything. Every symptom Siren could have. Every sign of danger we should look for and what to do about it. What we should know about giving birth, especially if we happen to be out at sea on a yacht. When do we really need to get to a hospital? I’ve picked the doctor’s brain of everything I can think of by the time he’s finished examining me.

  “Well?” Siren asks as I get dressed.

  “I wish I could give you all the answers as easily as explaining what to expect while you’re expecting,” he smiles briefly. “But we just don’t know how he will heal or what damage has been done. I would say the initial swelling has gone down. The wounds have more or less healed. You are welcome to try having sex when you feel up to it, but there are no guarantees in medicine or in life. The doctors did a good job stitching you up, but that’s all they did. It’s hard to know what’s going on beneath the surface. Only time will tell.”

  I frown, and Siren takes my hand, not liking that we got no answers.

  “I’ll give you the number of the best plastic surgeon and urologist I know in case you need it. But you won’t get answers until you try.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” Siren says, leading him out while I sit back down, frustrated.

  “You okay?” she asks.

  I nod.

  “Well, at least he didn’t say there was no hope. We have hope and permission to try, so when the time is right, we’ll try.”

  She takes my hand again. “Come on, let’s go celebrate with everyone and share the good news.”

  An hour later, after celebrating, Enzo and I go up to the security room like we used to to get away from everyone. I feel bad about leaving Beckett with the women, but as much as Nora says Beckett isn’t interested, he sure does look at her a lot, so I don’t feel too badly.

  “First things first, block security camera access to my room. And change the code so Kai can’t get in,” I say.

  Enzo laughs but does as I say.

  “We need to talk about Julian and Bishop. We have to take them out. We have to destroy them,” I say.

  Enzo nods. “We do. But Kai and Siren will both want in on the conversation. And we will need Langston and the whole team to take them down.”

  “Siren stays out of this. She can be involved in the planning, but that’s it.”

  “She won’t like that, or agree to it,” Enzo says.

  “She will.”

  Enzo studies me closely. “Siren’s pregnant.”

  He doesn’t ask it like a question. “Kai told you?”

  He shrugs. “Just a guess. That’s the only reason I can think of that Siren wouldn’t get involved in a fight and you would be that confident she would sit out of a fight.”

  “Yea, she’s pregnant. We were going to wait and tell everyone, but Kai already guessed, and I’m sure she’s down there spilling the beans to everyone else.”

  “That’s my wife and your bestie. She can’t keep a secret as good as this one. Although, I’m still pissed she didn’t tell me you were alive.”

  I sigh. “I guess it’s good everyone knows. Then we can keep Siren safe.”

  Enzo nods. “We have a timeline now. We need this mess dealt with before the baby comes. Then we can get back to our usual work.”

  I shake my head, realizing in this moment exactly what my future holds.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “I mean, yes, we need to kill Julian and Bishop, the sooner, the better. But I won’t keep working for you after. After they are dead, I want out. I want a life where my kids can grow up without being afraid.”

  “My kids are growing up without fear. You can have this life. This life with your friends, your family, and still have kids.”

  “No, I can’t.”

  Enzo frowns. “Think about it. You aren’t going to be happy becoming a security guard at some mall and coaching your kids’ soccer games on the weekend. Siren isn’t going to be happy as a stay at home mom or waitressing at some local cafe.”

  “You think those are the best jobs we can get?” I smirk, knowing he’s joking.

  “You both need a job that involves doing what you love. Wielding a gun, throwing punches, kicking ass, and protecting others. You need this life more than Kai and I do.”

  I shake my head. “You’re wrong. Siren and I don’t need this life. And we won’t be able to do a good job once we have kids. Once we do, everything changes. We will put our family first—over you, over whoever we’re working for, and over anyone else we’re supposed to protect.”

  “I’d never ask you to protect me over your own family.”

  “I know, but that’s the only way I’d work for you. If I’m going to continue to be one of your guards, I need to be able to take a bullet for you. Having a family means I won’t.”

  Enzo nods, understanding spreading on his facial features. “Well, think about it. Kai isn’t going to let you go easily. And I’m guessing, neither is Siren.”

  I turn back to the screen that holds all the information we have on Julian, which is a lot. We have very little on Bishop, which scares me.

  “Let’s figure out how to kill these guys and protect our families. One last time—together.”

  19

  Siren

  “Time is up, Siren,” Bishop whispers sin into my ear. He knows I don’t have a choice but to do what he wants. I can’t live like this forever. I can’t be controlled forever. I can’t.

  “No, I need more—more time. I can’t do this yet.”

  “You have to. The time is now.”

  “No, you never gave me a deadline. You just said to do it, but never when. It’s too soon.”

  “Siren,” his voice is a warn
ing. A threat that he will keep getting into my head every night, every morning, every hour until I do what he wants. Until I can’t push him out of my head anymore. Until, even when I’m kissing Zeke, I’m thinking about Bishop.

  “I need more time. Just a little longer. Please.”

  He shakes his head in the dark, or maybe those are shadows. I can’t tell if he’s really here or he’s just tricks on my mind. Either way, I need him gone; I’ll do anything to rid myself of him.

  “Are you dreaming about him?” he asks.

  “Who?”

  “Julian.”

  I pause. “No, Julian’s not in my head.”

  “Good, don’t give him another thought.”

  “I have to. You know what I owe him. It’s as bad as what I owe you.”

  He shakes his head. “Let me worry about Julian. You just focus on my task. Do as I say, complete your task, and you’ll be free of more than one man.”

  “I don’t trust you. If I do this, you’ll fix me?”

  He smirks. “Do this and I’ll more than fix you. I’ll set you free; your heart will be yours again.”

  “But I don’t want—“

  “Enough. Of course, you want to own your own heart. Don’t give it away. Don’t let Zeke or any other man take it. It’s not theirs. It’s yours.”

  My lips thin into a frown. I don’t understand why Bishop always tries to give me relationship advice.

  “I’m married,” I say.

  He pauses, and I can tell what I said shakes him. Not because he wants me, like Julian does, but because he has something against committed relationships.

  “All the more reason to do this now.”

  No.

  I don’t speak the word. It’s in my head. I don’t say the word, because I know it isn’t true. I’ll do the task Bishop gave me; I need him out of my head. I need him gone forever. If doing this one task will get him out, then so be it.

  My eyes fly open, and I gasp into the darkness of the room. Bishop’s gone. I’m in bed with Zeke, who is snoring adorably next to me.