by Lynn Hagen
“It was all Lara’s idea!” Cliff shouted. “She hatched the plan when she found out how much the O’Brien men inherited from their aunt. It was all her.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Quinn looked back down the hallway to see Lara storming their way, another one of Mr. Bodega’s men right behind her.
“It was your idea, Clifford Tucker. “Neal was your friend. The two of you came up with your plan one night when you two were completely wasted.”
Mr. Bodega turned and looked Quinn square in his eyes. “They won’t be your problem any longer. I normally charge for house cleaning, but I’ll give you this one for free.”
Quinn knew he wasn’t referring to cleaning Cliff’s house. Quinn wasn’t sure what Mr. Bodega would do with the couple, and he didn’t want to know.
That way he wouldn’t have to lie to Stevie.
Hayward tapped Quinn on his shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”
Quinn wasn’t going to argue. He had a feeling that if he stuck around any longer that he and Hayward would become Mr. Bodega’s employees, too.
And that was a pocket he wanted to stay out of.
As soon as they made it to the Jeep, shots rang out. Quinn jumped into the passenger side as Hayward pulled away. He didn’t bother to look back. The only thing Quinn wanted to look at was his future with Stevie.
* * * *
Stevie knew something terrible had happened to his parents. Quinn hadn’t said anything when he and Nomad had returned. He’d just said the problem had been taken care of.
For the past twenty-four hours, Stevie had struggled, telling himself that he wanted to know and that he didn’t want to know. In the end, Stevie decided to remain ignorant of the matter. Cliff and Lara Tucker had been thorns in many sides. They were a noxious couple who spewed poison wherever they went, and Stevie no longer wanted that in his life.
The sound of someone knocking on his bedroom door had Stevie looking up. Keller stood there, his phone in his hand. Right behind him was Quinn.
His mate walked into the room and pulled Stevie from the bed. Yesterday, when Keller had arrived, he’d drawn blood from Stevie, refusing to tell him why. Since Keller was Quinn’s brother, Stevie had trusted the guy but was worried.
“First, I want to apologize,” Keller said as he looked directly at Stevie. “I was very vague yesterday about why I wanted your blood.”
“You’re secretly a vampire,” Stevie teased, his nerves on edge. “Happy to feed you.”
Keller gave a hearty chuckle. The guy was just as big and broad as Quinn, and his laugh sounded deep and genuine. “Thanks, but that’s not the reason. I have a friend who works at the lab at the hospital. He ran the blood work for me, off the record, of course.”
Stevie grabbed Quinn’s hand. Why would Keller run blood work on him? Had he been concerned about something? “Am I dying?”
Quinn pulled Stevie into his arms and kissed the top of his head. “Don’t even think like that.”
“What else am I supposed to think?” Stevie argued. “Your brother is being cryptic as hell, and I’m seconds away from passing out.”
“Since Quinn bought a cheap-ass pregnancy test, I wanted to be certain about the results,” Keller said. “That’s why I took your blood.”
Stevie’s heart froze. His breathing stopped. He couldn’t move a muscle as he waited for what Keller had to say. “Spit it out!”
Keller smiled. “He’s a bossy little thing, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea,” Quinn said. “But I’m dying to know, too. Get on with it, Keller.”
Keller smile widened. “Congrats. You’re pregnant.”
Stevie’s knees gave out. If Quinn hadn’t caught him, he would’ve hit the floor. His head spun, and Stevie couldn’t fully grasp what Keller had just said.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Keller said. “Next time don’t be so damn cheap.”
Stevie looked up at Quinn and narrowed his eyes. “You bought a cheap pregnancy test?”
“It was on sale!” Quinn groaned. “Trust me. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Stevie threw his arms around his mate and peppered him with kisses. Tears sprang to his eyes. They were going to have a baby.
A baby!
Stevie needed to sit down, the news overwhelming. There was a child growing inside of him. Holy crap!
“Either you’re happy or you’re not,” Quinn said. “I’m getting confused as hell on which you want to be.”
Stevie laid a hand on his stomach. “Happy. Yes, I’m definitely happy.”
And scared out of his mind. But Stevie knew he would be okay. After all, Quinn O’Brien was his mate. The two could face any challenge together. Stevie wasn’t his father, and he would make damn sure his child knew how much he or she was loved and wanted.
Quinn gave him a toe-curling kiss, teasing Stevie with growling sounds. Stevie hugged Quinn close to him and laughed, undeniably sure that everything was gonna be just fine.
THE END
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