“I’m waiting for Drew to call me back. Why are you smiling?” he inquires, slipping out of the car.
I follow him around to the trunk. “This will mean fuck all to you, but I registered us as Cole Reynolds and Austin Lowes.”
He shoots me some serious side eye while retrieving our bags from the trunk.
“They are characters from a book calledI Dare You,” I explain. “It’s one of my all-time favorite books. Cole is the ultimate super-hot asshole bad boy, and Austin is this fierce leading lady who takes no shit from anyone, especially her boyfriend.”
“Huh.” He locks the car, slinging both bags over one shoulder, before taking my hand, and pinning me with a sarcastic grin. “Sounds like us. Good call, babe.”
The room is basic, but it’s clean and fresh smelling, and that ticks the main boxes. I flop down on the bed as Kai dumps our bags on the floor, stifling a yawn. I wonder if the reason I’m tired way more than usual is the aftermath of the procedures my bastard father forced on me. Pain penetrates my heart, and I close my eyes to ward off an incoming bout of emotion.
The bed dips beside me. “Talk to me.”
My eyes flash open, and I’m not fast enough to hide my pain. He lies down beside me, pulling me into the comforting embrace of his arms. “I’m so sorry, Abby,” he whispers, smoothing a hand up and down my back.
“For what?” I ask, surprised, because Kai isn’t one to apologize usually.
“For the things you’ve had to endure. For saying I wanted to fuck you up. For letting my anger get the best of me. For not being there to protect you and our babies.”
I rest my head on his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. “It shocked me when I first discovered I was pregnant, but the love I felt was instant,” I admit with a lump in my throat. I rub my hand across his chest. “I wanted to have your babies. And I hate that bastard for taking that from us.”
“I do too. I know we’re young, and we live in a shitty world, but I wasn’t unhappy about it. And I already loved them too.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head, and my heart melts at his words. “I’m sorry I failed you,” he adds, his voice choking. I look up into his beautiful brown eyes, spotting the pain there. “If I’d told you everything the night of the safe heist, you wouldn’t have left the house, and I could’ve kept you safe.”
I cup his face. “You didn’t do this, Kai. It’snotyour fault.”
He opens his mouth to speak, but the vibration of his phone ringing ends whatever he was about to say. He removes his cell from his pocket, and I thrust my palm out, sending him a look that dares him to deny me.
He hands it over without protest, and I hit the accept button.
“Anderson.” My brother’s deep voice oozes down the line.
“It’s me,” I say in a level tone of voice. “We need to talk.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Are you okay? Is he keeping you safe?” Drew asks with worry threading through his words.
“I’m fine, and yes.” I glance at Kai. “What’s going on, Drew?”
“We’re working together to keep you safe and to take Dad down.”
I’m glad he didn’t lie or attempt to fudge his answer because I would’ve gone postal on his ass. On both their asses. Because Kai’s back on my shit list for concealing this.
“How long?”
“It happened after the shootout.” Air exhales down the line. “Look, I know you have tons of questions. Anderson should be able to answer them, but I need to talk to him now. Although this line is secure, I don’t like taking chances. I need to appraise him of the plan.”
“You know I hate being kept in the dark like I’m some feeble princess who can’t look after herself.”
“No one thinks that of you. There is a much bigger picture here, Abby. You’ve seen Parkhurst. Maybe now you have a sense of how completely fucked everything is.”
“This is about Parkhurst?”
“Parkhurst and Dad. I’ll fill you in when I see you. I promise. I need to talk to Kaiden.”
“When will I see you?”
“I don’t know, but hopefully soon.”
