22
Ileaned my head on Miles’s shoulder, both of us watching the random action movie we had put on after getting out of the shower.
“I know you have questions,” Miles softly spoke up as he ran his fingers through my mostly dry hair.
I grabbed his hand that was laying on my thigh, lacing my fingers through his. “I didn’t think I was going to get any answers if I asked,” I admitted.
Miles pulled his hand from mine and gently gripped my chin, pulling my face up to look at him. “I’m not Damien,” he reminded me. I swallowed thickly, my heart twisting painfully. It always would when I thought of him. “I will answer whatever you ask me with the absolute truth.”
I ran my eyes over his face, reaching up to run my fingers along his beard. “Tell me what went down at the strip club.”
He reached up and scratched his beard as he wrapped his other arm back around me. “It was simple,” he told me. “They never expected us to show up there. We managed to eliminate everyone we went up there to get rid of, and we were also able to get the FBI to shut down the sex trafficking ring. When we left, they were working on getting all those girls back home to their families.”
“The FBI?” I incredulously asked him as I leaned back a little to look at him. “Miles, you and everyone else could have been arrested,” I scolded. God, what if he hadn’t come home to me because he got fucking arrested? Been through that once; I didn’t want to go through it again.
He shook his head as he ran his fingers through my hair again. “No, baby. We have connections on the inside—deep connections. We won’t ever go down for what we did,” he assured me. “Trust me on that.”
“Excuse me if I can’t,” I snapped. “You guys committed murder.”
Miles gently gripped my chin in a silent warning to tone down my temper. “Quinn is an FBI agent, Hayley,” he told me quietly. My eyes widened in shock. “He’s pretty high up in the rankings. These government agencies that were built to protect US citizens are not as . . . straight forward and clean-cut as they lead Americans to think.”
“Quinn is FBI?” I asked incredulously. “How long has he been an FBI agent?”
“Since he was twenty-three,” Miles informed me. “It’s why Damien only served four years for mass murder.” I cringed at that reminder. I’d never known the details of what happened; I just knew it was bad. “Quinn was able to pull some strings.”
“So, if Damien had to go to prison back then . . .” I shook my head. “Sorry, I’m still a bit confused.”
“Quinn wasn’t so deep into the agency back then. We have a sort of . . . deal with the FBI, ATF, etc. now,” he said, waving his hand. “We keep our hands as clean as possible, and we only do shit like we did yesterday if it’s for a greater good. So, when we went in yesterday, we had the agency’s backing.”
“This is so crazy,” I breathed. And it was a lot to wrap my head around.
Miles shrugged and kissed the top of my head. Before he could say anything else, William began crying. Miles tapped my leg for me to get up. He then set me back on the couch, leaning in to kiss me softly. “I’ve got him.”
I rolledover in the bed with a quiet groan. Miles smiled softly at me as he reached up and pushed some of my hair behind my ear before he rested his hand back on my hip.
“Sleep good?” he asked me quietly.
I nodded, giving him a small smile. “Stomach is a bit queasy,” I confessed.
It had been almost an entire year since Miles had taken care of the sex trafficking ring and given both me and William safety and security in our lives. Miles and I had gotten married three months ago, and he had adopted William not long after, though he had made sure William kept Damien’s last name.
Miles arched an eyebrow at me. “You haven’t been feeling good for a couple of days now, baby,” he noted. “You sure you aren’t pregnant?”
I pursed my lips as I shrugged. “Got one more day before my period is due,” I told him.
He mimicked my shrug, making me laugh. “You need to go ahead and take a pregnancy test, Hayley,” he told me as he ran his thumb across the skin of my hip.
William chose that moment to dash into the room, jumping onto the bed between us with a loud war cry. Miles leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss before he sat up and quickly snatched William onto his lap to tickle him.
I slid out of bed, laughing at them as William screamed, begging me to save him. This was a daily thing for him and Miles. Not a day went by that William didn’t come running in here only for Miles to tickle him half to death.
Miles stopped tickling him and squeezed William into a bear hug as he looked over at me. Pregnancy test, he mouthed.
I rolled my eyes as I walked into the bathroom and grabbed a test from under the sink.
A few minutes later, after washing my face and brushing my hair out, I looked down at the test.
Miles was about to freak the fuck out.
“Miles!” I called. He came into the bathroom with William on his hip. His eyes moved to the pregnancy test on the counter for a quick second before locking back on my face.
I smiled at him as I rested my hand on my belly. He grinned and set William down, only to lift me into his arms and spin me around in a circle as he kissed me.