She searched my stare for long moments before admitting, “That isn’t easily done.”
Releasing her waist, I cradled her cheeks in both hands, nodding subtly before lowering my forehead to hers. “Then focus on replacing his words with mine,” I softly begged before repeating a simplified version of my earlier words to her. “You’re stronger than you realize. Even if an enemy snuck up on you, I have full confidence you’d come out on top of that fight. And shedding that diamond-tough exterior isn’t a weakness—there’s so much strength in showing people you’re human.”
Her hands slowly slid up my stomach until she was gripping at my chest with one hand and clinging to my forearm with another. But the accepting sigh that tumbled from her didn’t match the words that left her next.
“But I don’t think you believe that.”
Before I could react, she gently pushed me back until I was staring into her tear-filled eyes. “You’re saying all this, but you’ve already proven it either isn’t true, or you just don’t think it is.”
“Mallory—”
“You pushed me out of the way of enemy fire,” she reminded me. “You always step close to me whenever you’re worried something might happen, like you’re prepared to push me out of the way again—or like you think I can’t handle the situation myself. You tried to get me taken off this club job before youdidget me taken off it, because you think I can’t handle it.”
“Because you’re pregnant,” I reminded her.
“Because you think I’m not strong enough,” she argued, but that fierceness in which she always used during her arguments was notably absent. In its place was dejection and worry.
A smile tugged at my mouth as frustration bled from me on a laugh. “Okay, Peach, let’s do this. Throw all those misplaced accusations and insecurities at me,” I ground out as I once again pulled her close. “Question me and doubt yourself every day—I’m ready. Because you’re wrong, and because I know this isn’t you.Thisis the pregnancy messing with your emotions.”
Her eyes flared with anger and panic, but I just turned us until her back was to the wall, giving the false sense that I could keep her there during this conversation she wanted to avoid, when I knew I couldn’t.
“I’m so aware that you can fight your own battles. I’m so aware that you can take onanythingthat comes at you. But I’d rather fight by your side than let you take on the world alone. And, even though I know you don’t need me to, I will always put myself between you and whatever’s coming at you because I love you. It’s instinctive to protect you—now more than ever.” The last was said on a breath as I released one side of her face and lowered my hand to brush my knuckles across her stomach.
Making her tremble. Making that earlier panic and anger explode, even as tears slipped down her cheeks as she whispered, “Don’t.”
“This isn’t something we can run from.”
“I told you to give me a day,” she said through clenched teeth.
“You also told me you were gonnatake care of ittomorrow,” I reminded her.
“That’s—”
“Monroe, Gray,” Briggs snapped, cutting off whatever she’d been about to claim. “Office.”
“Yep,” I called back, but stared at Mallory’s watery blue eyes for a few seconds longer before repeating, “You’re stronger than you know,” on a breath. “I see it. I need you to see it too.”
Releasing her, I turned and headed toward where Briggs was glaring at the two of us, barely slowing when he growled, “This won’t become a habit.”
“Working on that diamond-tough exterior,” I muttered meaningfully.
His only reply was a grunt as he led the way to the main office, already talking before we were fully in there. “Seems ARCK was aware...of everything.”
Evans bit out a dark laugh and tossed the pen he’d been playing with onto his desk.
“Everything, everything,” Thatch stated dully, but there was an underlying edge there that hinted at his anger.
When Briggs just looked at him in confirmation, I asked, “More than the new family and club? All the Davises and their locations?”
“What’d I say?” Briggs snapped, glancing over his shoulder at me.
“I think we’re all hoping, given our history with them, they wouldn’t have left us in the dark with something like this.”
Briggs roughed a hand over his face at my harsh explanation, but just looked to where Rush sat hunched over in his chair, elbows on his thighs and hands hanging loosely between his knees, staring blankly ahead. “Anything?”
As if sensing his best friend’s stare, Rush briefly met it before giving a small shake of his head as his attention fell to where he was tightly gripping his phone.
“Keep calling her,” Briggs ordered, then drew in a deep breath. “I called Maverick’s wife, since she’s the one who sent me everything. She’s...kind of hard to talk to. But from what I gathered, Thatch was right. They were waiting to see what we could do with the information we had and were disappointed we’d even needed their information in the first place.”
