My eyes watered. I had been impulsive. And I had been operating like it was still just me. But it wasn’t.
Elden clasped the sides of my neck. “Will you promise me that you won’t try and go all vigilante justice on this? At least not without me by your side?”
“I promise,” I whispered.
Unfortunately, Sariah had not made the same promise.
“I’m going to date him,” Sariah declared.
“Date who?” I asked, frowning at the very disturbing image in my baby book. I was lying in our bed, Sariah helping herself to clothes from my closet that no longer fit.
“The sheriff.” She pulled her hair off the nape of her neck.
I put the book down.
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
Sariah did not look like she was joking. “Look, it’s the best way to get some info on what exactly is going on. Plus, he’s hot,” she shrugged.
“Sariah, he is literally looking for ways to bring my family down,” I reminded her.
Her brows furrowed. “Yes, Iknowthat. Which is why I plan on breaking his heart so completely he’ll quit his job and go farm yaks or something.”
“You have not thought this through,” I groaned.
“I have not,” she agreed cheerfully.
“Colby will be pissed,” I added.
She scowled. “I don’t give a fuck what Colby thinks.”
“What is going on with you two, anyway?” I asked, abandoning my book. It only scared the shit out of me anyway.
“Nothing,” she snapped. “Absolutely nothing is going on.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe what you want,” she huffed. “Nothing is going on. And I get that you’re pregnant, and you can’t really go undercover trying to catch a serial killer, but my womb is empty, and my heart is full of fury at men who think they can go around murdering women or men who don’t think they need to do anything about it.” She winked at me. “Don’t wait up.”
I made her text me routinely throughout the night, deciding it was not the best time to tell Elden about Sariah’s plan. Though I didn’t keep secrets from my man, I also didn’t want him to have an aneurysm.
Plus, I’d chosen to have a possessive alpha biker in my life. Sariah hadn’t. And as much as I was worried about my friend, she was a force of nature…Nothing was going to stop her.
Which was why I was relieved when she texted me later that night informing me that she hadn’t had any luck.
I hoped that was the end of it.
TWO WEEKS LATER
We were at the club. Arguing.
Our age difference very rarely became an issue between us except on issues pertaining to my pregnancy. Then again, I was pretty sure that it was not an age difference thing, I was pretty sure it was an over-the-top alpha male thing.
“It’s not happenin’,” Elden spat.
I put my hands on my hips. “It sure as fuck is. Home births provide a calmer atmosphere to bring a baby into.”
His glare was withering. “Calm until something goes wrong and you’re not in a hospital.”