“Cameron, don’t get mad at me. I have a feeling you’ll be happier here tonight.”
What did that even mean? I glanced at her over my shoulder, noticing the wiggly dance she did when she was excited and the smile she was trying to conceal.
“What are you hiding from me, Ash?”
She did an invisible zip over her mouth. “Sorry. You’ll know in a few minutes.” She sprinted to the door but then twisted back. “What do you mean you shouldn’t drink?”
My breath accelerated in my chest. I opened my mouth, but the words refused to come out. I pressed my lips shut and shrugged, tears pricking my eyes.
She gaped at me endlessly, and then she slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my GOD!”
“I was too distraught after the breakup I forgot to take the pill. I don’t know for sure, though. For now, I’m just late,” I mumbled.
“Just late?! The fuck? Do you want me to bring you a test?”
“I…I…uh…I don’t think I’m ready to know yet.”
“Why the fuck not? Cam, this is big. Knowing early is better if, you know, you decide not to keep it.”
My arms circled around my abdomen protectively as my brows hooked. A tightness in my heart labored my breath.
“You want to keep it, don’t you?”
“Would it be so bad if I did?”
A tender smile stretched her lips before she ran toward me and gave me a hug. “No, babe. It’s not so bad. It’s not bad at all.”
“Dusty is a dangerous man. An outlaw. I don’t want his life for our baby…but I won’t be able to do this without him.”
“Just ask yourself one question. If you’re pregnant, will that make you happy?”
I nodded through the tears. “But I feel so guilty about it.”
“Don’t be. You’re allowed to be happy about having a baby even when the father is questionable, and infuriatingly sexy. Fuck, who wouldn’t want to have that fire, assholish sex god’s baby? I’d kill for his genes alone. Fuck me, I’d ride his huge, badass pierced dick until I die not just until he puts a baby in my belly.”
I held her tight, laughing and crying at the same time. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Ash.”
“You’ll do just fine.” She pecked my cheek and drew back. “You really need that test, though. I wanna know if I’m gonna be an auntie. But don’t do it now. Save it till the end of the night.”
“What? Why?”
“Trust me. I have a feeling tonight is gonna turn into a much better night than you think, and if you save that test till the end, it’s gonna be epic.” She did her excited dance as she bolted to the door.
I stood there for a few seconds. What the hell just happened?What are you up to, you crazy little thing?I laughed under my breath and sat on the couch, something lumpy under my butt. I grabbed it and saw it was Ashley’s purse. She forgot it while she literally ran to God-knew where.
She probably forgot to lock the door, too. I didn’t hear the keys, which were most likely in her purse.
I rose to my feet and ambled to check. Before my hand reached the knob, the door banged my forehead violently, knocking me down on the floor.
“What the fuck?” I gasped. As I looked up, a huge man in a black ski mask towered over me.
His gloved hands grabbed me from my shirt and lifted me in the air. My eyes bulged in panic, my mind racing blank. I was too confused and stunned to understand what the hell was going on.
He pinned me to the wall with one hand around my neck and kicked the door shut. Then he slapped me.
Each blow from the back of his hand whipped my head so fast my vision was compromised. But the pain and the taste of blood in my mouth snapped me out of shock.
I began to register little pieces of information about the assailant. He was covered in black leather and denim from head to toe. His eyes were the only things I could see. Green. Oddly familiar.