Cole steps in front of me protectively. He needn’t bother. My brother would never hurt me. Disown me maybe—but he’d never hurt me.
‘What the fuck are you doing with my sister?’ Rian demands, his dark eyes burning dangerously as they dart between us.
‘We’re together,’ Cole says simply. His voice is cool, calm and totally controlled.
‘What? Since when?’ Rian’s hands ball up into tight fists beside his body. He’s vibrating with anger.
‘Since we reconnected last month, when I accepted the contract to design his casino.’ I step around Cole, placing a reassuring hand on his bicep. ‘Please, Rian, calm down.’
‘Calm down? This fucker bulldozes into our city, swinging his big fucking dick like he owns the place, and now he’s moving in on my kid sister when she’s pregnant and vulnerable.’
‘I might be pregnant, but I’m certainly not vulnerable.’ I eye him levelly. ‘Especially not now that I’m back with the father of my baby.’
‘What the fuck?’ Rian spits. ‘How is that even possible?’ His eyes widen to the point where they look like they might pop out of his head.
‘Let’s go to the waiting room and discuss this like adults.’ Cole suggests cooly. ‘This stress isn’t good for Zara, or our baby.’ He drapes an arm over my shoulders and I lean into him.
Just when I think things can’t possibly get any worse, the front door opens again.
Scarlett, James, Ivy, Caelon, Killian, Avery, Sean, Layla and my fucking parents traipse in.
Oh. My. Fucking. God.
My legs shake, but Cole has a steady, firm grip on me.
The girls are cooing and giggling with excitement. They fall silent as their eyes land on me, then Cole, then back to me again.
Nausea rises up in my chest. I clasp my throat, sucking in air. I can’t breathe. The walls are closing in on me.
‘What is that prick doing here?’ Caelon demands.
Killian stalks silently over, one hand in his pocket—on his gun, no doubt.
‘Killian,’ I warn. My knees buckle. Cole catches me before I slither to the floor.
‘Everybody move,’ he demands, sweeping me up into his arms like I’m weightless. He turns and carries me back into the examination room and gently places me on the bed again.
‘What on earth is going on?’ Dr Kensington appears, scanning the room, before her eyes land on me and widen.
‘That’s precisely what we want to know,’ Killian growls.
Chapter Forty-Two
COLE
‘Wait outside until Zara is well enough for this conversation.’ I eye each of the Beckett brothers in turn, coldly.
They’re vibrating with anger.
James’s jaw is clenched so hard he’s liable to need emergency dental treatment. Caelon’s frown lines have aged him by ten years. Killian’s eyes are narrowed to slits. I can’t see his hand tucked in his suit pocket, but I’d bet everything I own it’s wrapped around some sort of pistol.
Where the fuck are Gabriel and Tate?
Sean and Rian Beckett flank their women, who are exchanging “what the fuck” glances and concerned whispers.
Zara’s mother hangs on to her husband’s arm like she’s about to pass out.
‘We’re not leaving you with her,’ Killian growls, stepping closer.
