I was pretty sure my mouth was hanging open. Matt took his eyes briefly off the road to glance at me. I could have imagined the smug look on his face, but I probably didn’t. Bulldozing Matt was back in full force and my head was spinning.
“I can’t reason with you when you’re like this,” I mumbled, massaging my temples because my head started to ache from his overwhelming declaration. I wouldn’t deny I felt a thrill at being claimed by this man who dripped sex and carnal heat. However, there was a life growing inside me and I couldn’t be hasty in any decisions that would affect our future.
“There are too many unknowns in my life right now,” I offered lamely. Including the identity of my baby’s father, and that was hard to argue with Matt because he’d already made up his mind it was his, but I dared not challenge him on that right then. With the mood he was in, I might end up chained in a basement somewhere. My nipples hardened at the thought. Oh my, was I into bondage?
“Don’t you dare tell me you need space again,” he said roughly.
“Judging from the mood you’re in, that’s not even an option, is it?” I looked out the window.
“Damn straight.”
“If you’re going to be anywhere around this baby, you have to watch your language.”
Silence from his side. I risked a peek in his direction and his jaw was ticking again. Had I figured out a way to shut him up?
It didn’t take us long to reach Misty Grove and the garage. I hopped out of the pickup on my own even as Matt rushed over to help me down. I ignored the frown on his face and walked ahead of him to the external stairs that bypassed his garage and led straight to his loft.
“Do you have surveillance out here?” I asked.
“Yes, Cassie is reviewing it right now,” Matt replied as he followed me up the steps. His loft was brightly lit when we arrived. Cassie and her twin, Lucas, were sitting around a laptop.
Cassie and Lucas, together with Matt and his own twin, Kate, were the last surviving Enhanced Soldier subjects. Lucas, though not as tall as Matt, was built more like a body builder. Lucas had long, chestnut-colored hair streaked with gold that was pulled back in a man bun.
They were both examining grainy footage on the computer screen.
“Do we have any facial recognition on The Reaper?” Matt asked.
The twins turned toward us. Though their coloring was the same, that was where the similarities ended. Cassie had one of the loveliest faces I had ever seen. Her features were almost pixie-like—innocent while hiding a penchant for mischief. Lucas’ face was defined by strong angles and a stubborn jaw. Much like Matt’s.
“Nope,” Lucas answered. “He did come through the outside stairs, but it appeared he was aware where the cameras angles were. Grace, are you okay?”
I felt myself blanch as my musings on the twins led to another thought.
Oh, my God.
“Matt,” I choked as his arms circled around me protectively.
“What is it?” Panicked eyes searched mine. “Is it the baby?”
“She’s pregnant?” Cassie shouted. Her expression was a mixture of disbelief and outrage directed at Matt. “She’s pregnant … and you left on a date with Kyra? How could you?”
“Shut up, Cassie,” Matt growled. His arms tightened, prodding me for an answer on what I was feeling.
“What’s the possibility,” I inhaled deeply and then rushed on, “that I’m going to have twins?”
All three of them looked startled. And then Lucas and Cassie threw back their heads and laughed while Matt lost all color.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Matt
His arms slackened around Grace as her question robbed him of oxygen. She turned in his arms, leaning back to stare up at him.
“I guess that’s a probability?”
“I’m having an agency physician look at you,” Matt announced, recovering from his initial shock and more determined to move forward with the plans that had been forming in his head on the way back from the hospital.
“CIA physician?” Grace verified in alarm. She escaped his hold and backed away from him. “No way am I letting any agency touch my baby.”
“Grace, ordinary doctors don’t have the information we have.” Matt wanted to pull her back into his arms, but noticed the rising hysteria in her eyes. Instead, he raked his fingers through his hair, which was probably not a great gesture to inspire calm, but he was far from feeling calm himself. When Grace’s eyes darted around the room, he gave a short nod to Lucas, who slowly walked to the foyer clearly prepared to block her if she attempted to leave.
“I don’t need another checkup until six weeks,” Grace’s chin lifted in defiance.
“I’m not taking any chances with my kid,” Matt growled.
“We’re not even sure it’s yours!” she yelled and then clapped a hand over her mouth and sank to the couch. She buried her head in her hands as a single sob escaped her.
Frustration gnawed at his gut as he stared at her. “I don’t care if it’s mine or not. Get that through your damned head.”
“Matt!” Cassie exclaimed. “Stop being an asshole.”
His jaw snapped shut as he glared at his sister. Grace looked up and started chuckling. “Oh, my God,” Grace laughed and all of them looked at her as if she’d gone mad. “Even your sister thinks you’re an ass.” She wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. “What makes you think I want a jerk like you as my kid’s father?” She rose from the couch, seemingly calm—too calm—it worried Matt. “I’m tired and I’m going to my room. I’d appreciate it if you all left me alone.”
Three pairs of eyes followed Grace to the bedroom. When her door closed, Matt pivoted furiously on his sister.
“Thanks for nothing, sis,” Matt snapped. “You’ve just set me back to square one.”
“I hardly think you’ve made any progress winning Grace’s heart and mind,” Cassie retorted, putting air quotes around the last three words. “I wasn’t the only one witnessing you leaving with Kyra today.”
“She wanted help with her car.” Matt was getting tired of defending his actions. “It’s not as if Grace is showing that she needs me anyway.”
“See!” Cassie chortled. “That last statement right there is why you’re stuck in a cesspool concerning Grace.”
“Oh, so now that you’re married you’ve become a relationship expert?”
Cassie let out a breath of irritation, looking at Lucas. “It’s times like this I’m glad you’re my twin and not him.”
Lucas chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest, and leaned against the door.
“Is there a point to all this?” Matt asked.
Cassie sobered, walking up to him to punch him lightly on the shoulder. “I’m the last one to give you advice,” she said softly. “But it’s more than you and Grace now. There’s going to be a baby in the near future. Grace has enough on her plate without you adding to her complications. You have to think really hard what you want, brother mine.” In a rare show of affection, Cassie gave Matt a peck on the cheek before returning to the seat in front of the laptop to resume work on the surveillance video.
Matt stood there, digesting Cassie’s words. He glanced at Lucas. “I’m going out for a bit. Can you stay for another hour?”
“Where are you going?” Cassie rose from her chair.
“Figuring out what I really want.”
“By leaving?”
“Trust me, sister mine.” Matt smiled faintly as he pulled the door open and left.
Exactly ten minutes later, he was being led inside the biker compound’s club house.
Troy sat at the bar with a bottle of Jameson beside him. The biker boss tracked his approach with unfriendly eyes, the bruise Matt gave him forming on his jaw.
“You have lot of balls showing up here alone,” Troy said, taking a sip from a high ball glass. “What’s stopping me from killing you and burying you in some dump somewhere?”
Matt shrugged. “I’d like to see you try.�
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Troy shook his head in disbelief. “Knowing you, you didn’t tell anyone you’d be here.”
Matt didn’t say anything, but took the stool beside Troy instead.
“I don’t know whether to admire you for your nerve showing up here or be offended that you think you can walk out of here unscathed,” Troy griped. “I have a rep to protect, you know.”
“Not my problem.”
“I can’t tell you anything about my business with Grace.”
“I’m not here for that and I wouldn’t ask you for that information without Grace beside me.”
“Then we both have a problem if Millie decides to keep her sequestered away from us,” Troy replied. “I’m sure you’re aware by now this whole mess is causing me problems. Cartel on my back and the sheriff on the other side …”
“Maybe you should drop the cartel.”
“Easy for you to say.” Troy tossed back his drink and slammed the glass on the counter. “The Reaper has already killed two of my men.”
This was news to Matt. “When?”
“Two days after the airport bombing.”
“You’ve been gone these past three weeks. Where were you?”
Troy’s eyes dropped to the bottle of whiskey. “Can’t tell you.”
“If this has anything to do with why The Reaper is after her…”
“I thought you didn’t want info—”
“The hell, Troy,” Matt growled. “If it concerns Grace’s safety, I need to know.”
“That’s Millie’s problem at the moment,” Troy reminded him. “Although I’m letting you know I’m coming up with a strong suit for having Grace stay with me at the compound.” The biker’s gaze challenged Matt, sending his temper flaring. “Just saying.”
“Good luck with that,” Matt said tightly, getting off the bar stool before he gave in and clocked Troy another one.
“Leaving?” the biker asked, clearly baffled.
“Grace is not with Millie,” Matt told the other man. “I took her home with me this evening.”
Troy rose slowly from his seat. “I should have known better than to trust a bunch of ex-assassins,” the biker grated harshly. “I have as much right to her as you, Foster, and you know it.”
“Do I?” Matt scoffed. “I’m going with my gut, and my gut tells me Grace is not the type of woman to hop beds. I was stone-cold sober when I left her in the motel room. I didn’t hallucinate being with her, so that only means you’re lying.”
“Watch it, Foster,” Troy warned, eyes narrowing. “You’re walking a very thin line right now.”
Unconcerned about the gathering biker crew behind him, Matt stepped into the other man’s personal space.
“Back off,” Troy bit out.
“I think you should direct that order to your men behind me,” Matt advised softly, but with a hint of menace. He knew he was inviting physical confrontation with every single biker in this room.
Troy shoved him against the bar and used his massive forearm to subdue Matt right below the neck. The biker boss brought his furious face close to his, while he returned Troy’s glare with lazy amusement. “You’ve got a death wish, Foster?” the biker snarled, baring his teeth. “What the hell are you trying to prove?”
They locked eyes in a stare down for long tense seconds. Finally, Troy backed away and muttered, “Crazy fuck.”
Straightening from the bar, Matt addressed the entire biker crew. “Grace is mine. I’m fucking serious about keeping her as mine, and I don’t give a shit if I have to fight every single one of you to prove it.”
“This is not over, Foster,” Troy said coldly.
Matt shrugged. “I didn’t think it was. Thought I’d be honest with my intentions so we could cut through all this shit.”
The biker grinned, his eyes gleaming. “You know, if you weren’t such a pain in the ass, I might actually like you.”
“Same here, Troy,” Matt muttered as he turned to leave. “Same here.”
After Lucas and Cassie had left, Matt sat at his kitchen table, contemplating his whisky. Actually, he was thinking about his next move with Grace. To say that these past three weeks had been an exercise in frustration was an understatement. He tried his best to get through to her after Holden left, but there was only so much rejection a man could take. A twinge of guilt tweaked his chest. It had been his pride. He’d already been kicked out of his bedroom and she’d been finding excuses not to be alone with him, refusing his lunch invitations, and preferring to hang out at Millie’s under the guise of research. In the evenings, she’d find an excuse to stay at the diner. Matt would sometimes join her, but Kyra’s sudden neediness limited his venture into Millie’s restaurant. He didn’t know what gave Kyra the idea that he’d like to hook up again. Like he told Grace, he hadn’t been with another woman since she arrived in Misty Grove.
And now Grace was pregnant.
A flutter of joy started in the pit of his stomach, and Matt could feel the corners of his mouth kicking up. Sure, he’d panicked at first, but it was because he was worried about Grace, and second, he had no idea how to be a father. Even if there was a possibility that the baby was Troy’s, Matt was prepared to face the consequences if it meant Grace would be his. It was his own damned fault she turned to the biker anyway. He swallowed the rest of the whisky, enjoying the burn of the alcohol down his throat. His gaze drifted to his closed bedroom door. Tomorrow night Matt would be in that bed with Grace. He had no idea how to accomplish this yet, but it was going to happen.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Grace
It was infantile—poking my head out my bedroom door to check if the coast was clear. The loft was dimly lit from the morning sunshine poking through the slits of the closed blinds. Normally, Matt got up at six in the morning and would stay gone until eight, when he’d return from the gym or a run to take a shower. At seven that morning, I had not heard signs of life in the apartment. I texted Millie earlier to ask if she was already at the diner, and if I could come hang out as usual. She texted me back to come right over.
I settled my backpack containing my laptop behind me. Elliot had started giving me low-level access to DEA databases. As far as I was concerned, it was total bullshit because the information was easy to search for on the internet. I had a nagging feeling that it was simply a ploy to humor me. An even worst feeling plagued me that something big was being kept from me. As the days turned into weeks, and with my memories far from my reach, I still didn’t trust many people except the citizens of Misty Grove. I quietly made my way across the living room. Before my hand could wrap around the entrance doorknob, I heard a soft creak behind me.
“Going somewhere?”
Nearly jumping out of my skin, I whirled around at the owner of the voice. “Don’t you know it’s bad to startle pregnant women?”
Matt swung his long-muscled legs from the couch and lounged back in a sit. He was wearing boxer briefs, and thankfully, had on a shirt. I didn’t know if I could take seeing his naked chest. I surely couldn’t blame my hormones this early in pregnancy, but good Lord, this man was fine. More than fine. And he had been inside me.
His gaze tracked me from head to toe, deliberately taking in my appearance. I felt self-conscious and wished I had taken more care with how I looked that morning. I had dressed in a bulky sweater and worn-out jeans, my feet encased in sneakers. Even as I berated myself about caring whether Matt thought I was beautiful, I couldn’t help myself. After our argument the day before, I wasn’t sure where we stood with each other. I tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep, which was the reason for the bruises under my eyes. As if the discoloration on my cheekbone from my encounter with the stairwell pole wasn’t enough to add to my insecurity.
“Millie’s,” I replied, twisting the knob quickly and yanking the door open.
“Don’t even think about it.” Came the quiet command.
A pulse throbbed between my thighs at the same time the devil in me craved to defy every wor
d coming out from this man’s mouth. I turned to look at him, my breath quickening as he got up and stalked toward me. My eyes widened as I spied the bulge at his crotch.
“Morning wood.” His mouth twitched. “Ignore it.” He dragged me away from the entrance and shut the door. “Let me throw something on and we can catch breakfast together. Are you too hungry? Can you wait?”
“I …”
“Please?” He flashed me the most charming smile I’d ever seen grace his face yet, and he knew it. But the sincerity in his voice was what got me.
“Okay.” I found myself responding.
He kissed the top of my head and led me to the couch. “Five minutes.”
Exactly five minutes later, Matt and I left the garage and crossed the street to the diner. He had slung my backpack on his right shoulder and, with his left hand, linked our fingers together tugging me along beside him. It was … sweet. What I thought should feel awkward, felt so right, which led me to question if I’d been fighting my attraction to Matt too much. As we entered the diner, he led me to a corner booth—the same one I had always used whenever I came in early enough. There were regulars already eating breakfast. One of them was John Crowder who owned the Crowder General Store located adjacent to the diner. From what I’d heard, after almost eight years of pursuing Millie, John finally convinced her to give him a chance. His eyes widened when he saw me and Matt slide into our booth, then he smiled knowingly.
I felt another pair of eyes on me that made me feel uneasy. The source wasn’t hard to find. Over at the drink refill station stood Kyra. She was looking at us with so much enmity, it was rolling off her in waves. I tried to scoot closer to the wall taking me further from Matt. He swore under his breath and squeezed my hand.
“Don’t you dare,” he whispered harshly. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”
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