ChapterOne
Harlow
Ifollow Thomas to the master bedroom, hoping that I might be able to convince him to have a nap with me, maybe make out a little bit, as we wing our way toward Connecticut. But there’s no way in hell that’s happening right now.
My mouth drops open at the words I just heard coming out of that annoying woman’s mouth. Nothing kills the mood like hearing that your boyfriend might have fathered someone else’s child.
“But we used condoms,” Thomas argues, “and I checked it out before I threw it in the trash. I know it didn’t split or tear.” His distress is already changing his words, letting that accent of his peek through, so I push the door open a little more to see what’s going on. Not to mention leaving enough space to angle my phone’s camera to record their conversation. Veronica is sitting on the bed, a smirk on her face. A smirk that makes me seethe as I imagine punching it off of her face.
“Yes, but you both passed out as soon as you disposed of them, so you have no idea what happened after that. It was all too easy to grab the condoms out of the trash, cut the knots off, suck everything out with a turkey baster, and inject it into myself. Who knew watching all of those daytime soap operas would come in handy?”Holy fuck! Is everyone around these guys unhinged?“I don’t know for sure who the father is, but it’s most definitely one of you. Feel free to challenge me on it, give me any test you want. All that will do is give me the concrete proof I need to milk your asses dry. If you play your cards right, at least we can have a good relationship and raise this baby together.”
“Did you just admit to stealing their sperm!?” I can’t keep quiet any longer, nor can I stop myself from pushing the door open and stepping in. From the look on Thomas’ face, he’s about to have a meltdown. I press stop on the recording and tap out a quick SOS message to Declan, hoping he still has his phone in his hand like he did when I left them.
She shrugs, not looking one bit concerned, and I’m more than willing to take advantage of her overconfidence. It’s easy enough to turn the camera back on and hit that little red button, especially since she’s staring Thomas down, an expectant eyebrow raised. Well, this bitch is about to get a lot more than she bargained for.
“I sure did, and no court in the country is going to rule against me when I give them a sob story about being harassed at work and coerced into sex to keep my job. You’ve even done half my work for me, thanks for that! Your relationship with them is the cherry on top of the situation. No one will believe them when they try to claim they’re not the deviants I say they are. Neighpalm Airlines is going to be fifty percent mine before you know it.”
I stare her down in the ensuing silence, only looking away to end the recording and make sure the video is stored in the cloud, nice and safe.
“Thanks for that confession. I’m sure our lawyers will be absolutelythrilledto see it.” I wave my phone at her, and her face falls right before she leaps up. Thankfully, despite his shock, Thomas is quick to react, and he restrains her before she can tackle me. The pounding of feet running down the corridor tells me the cavalry is on its way, and the entire contingent of Summers brothers bursts into the room.
“Oh my god, the baby!” Veronica screams, and Thomas instantly lets go of her, holding his hands up to show that he’s no longer touching her. Making a severely ill-advised play for sympathy, she claps a hand over her stomach and looks at the other five. I’m not sure if she’s going for fear or sadness, but honestly, the woman looks constipated.
“What the fuck is going on in here?” Declan asks, pulling me out of the way and shifting us so that his body is shielding mine. And hey, I am a firm advocate that women can fight their own battles, and I am 100% willing to smack a bitch down, but there’s something a little swoonworthy about the way he’s trying to protect me. I’m not a damsel in distress, but I’ll still ogle the fuck out of a white knight if he tries to fight the dragon for me.
“Turns out that Veronica here isn’t opposed to a little garbage diving and sperm stealing in her spare time, and I caught her admission on my phone.” Leaning around Declan, I wave the thing in the air, and she lunges for it again, which is a little ridiculous considering there’s now a wall of Summers men between her and me.
“Whose sperm and what baby?” Jaxon sounds bewildered, and I don’t blame him at all. This is the kind of shit that only happens on tv. I’m just waiting for someone’s look-a-like to show up, complete with a sketchy beard, claiming to be a long-lost evil twin.
“Mine and Kai’s.” There’s nothing but defeat in Thomas’ voice, so I edge around the musclebound wall in front of me and find him tugging at his red hair, doing nothing to hide his agitation.
“Fucking what?!” Kai bellows, sounding more disturbed than I’ve ever heard him.
“That time a couple of months ago when we were drunk... After we fell asleep, she dug the condoms out of the garbage, sucked out the sperm with a turkey baster, and fucking inseminated herself!” The room explodes into noises of disbelief, giving me the full surround-sound effect. It’s impressive how many different ways the wordfuckcan be exclaimed.
Thomas, I can tell, has started to retreat into himself, damn it. Just when he’s starting to trust me, she reinforces his fear that all women can be sly as fuck. I push through Declan and go over to Thomas, grabbing his hand and tugging it into mine. I’m not going to let him lump me in with her; she’s obviously off her fucking rocker.
Declan finally gets his shit together, which really doesn't surprise me. His ability to pivot has been quite clear since I’ve known him. He’s Mr. Cool Under Pressure, but I guess he has to be given he’s the CEO of a multi-million dollar business. One doesn’t make it in an industry as capricious as movie production unless they can steel their spine and stand their ground when it comes to stressful situations. “I think it would be best if you returned to the staff quarters and stayed there for the remainder of the flight, Veronica. You may want to look at getting yourself a lawyer because you’re going to need one.”
Her smug smirk turns confused. “Why would I need a lawyer?”
Oliver scoffs, that haughty curl to his lip telegraphing just how far below them she really is. “You can’t possibly think we’re just going to believe you. No, bitch, there will most definitely be a paternity test before anything goes any further.”
“Yeah, you think nobody has ever accused us of being the baby daddy before? Please, I think every one of us has been there. And each time, it’s been proven not to be ours because we always wrap it before we tap it.” Holden looks at her with disgust. “Though no one has been low enough to do what you did. Fuck I didn’t even know it was possible for sperm to be viable after that period of time.”
She bites her lip in concern but quickly shakes it off, which doesn’t exactly bode well for us. Even if it’s not theirs, we need to be careful with how we handle her. God knows we don’t want any stories out there about the guys mistreating a pregnant woman. My eyes zero in on her torso, trying to determine if there’s anything to see. If what she says is true, she’s three to four months along, so she should be showing something by now, but her fitted skirt is tight across her flat stomach. Maybe there’s a slight bump there, but I very much doubt she’s as pregnant as she says she is.
“Hey, what’s going on in here?” A few of us turn to the door where Jilly’s waiting, a concerned frown on her face. I’m sure she can feel the tension in the room. Fuck, I have no idea how Jacinta’s not in here yet, ready to claw Veronica’s eyes out with her bare hands.
“Veronica isn't feeling very well. She’s going to spend the rest of the flight resting in the staff quarters,” Declan tells Jilly, and some of the stiffness leaves her body with that simple answer.
“Oh, okay. It’s not like you guys are hard work,” she says with a smile. “Come on then, Veronica. Let’s leave them alone in case what you’ve got is contagious. We don't want you giving it to the bosses.”
Oliver snorts as Jilly hustles Veronica out of the room.
Kai shakes his head. “What a crazy bitch.”
“Fuck, how is it that we always end up with the crazy ones?” Declan moans, pulling me away from Thomas and into his side before kissing the top of my head. “You are the best decision we ever fucking made. Please don’t turn out to be crazy. Princess and I wouldn’t be able to stand the loss.”
