“Whatever. Fucking bastard’s in the wind again. He’ll never get what’s coming to him if we don’t find him.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say. “These things have a way of working out the way they’re supposed to.” I reach for Raoul’s cigarette, and he lets me take it without question.
Goddammit, my hand’s shaking too.
Chapter 17
Andy Carter
A month later
“Stop it! Don’t say anymore! I’m literally holding my hands over my ears,” Nikki’s voice shrieks down the line. She holds the phone away, and I see that she is, indeed, cupping a hand over one ear. I shake my head and grin at her.
“You crazy chick!” I laugh.
“Me? Crazy? Are you kidding?” Her eyes are wide. “You’re the one who’s out of your cotton-picking mind!”
Cotton-picking!I laugh again. She cracks me up. But laughing is good for the soul, and I’ve laughed a lot this past month. After Mateo got home safely, my fears evaporated. And then, when he told me Mark was gone, and how it happened, it was as if the toxic cloud in my world disappeared too.
“Okay, I don’t want to hear about your fucking revenge spree anymore. It’s not good for the babies.” I can see she’s flopped onto a sofa, holding the phone overhead and looking up at me. She rubs her belly, which is now distinctly round.
“You’re freaking huge, babe!” I can barely believe it.
“Oh, haha! I’m eating for three, remember! Besides, your turn will come.” She waves a finger at me in front of the phone screen. “Go back to that part again. About how you’re pregnant.”
“Not much to tell, Niks. I got knocked up.” I grin at her.Soknocked up. My boobs are humongous. Mateo’s in seventh heaven. He’s probably explored every inch of extra flesh with his tongue. At least twice a day. And four times on weekends.
“Oh, please! I’m in the same boat, you know? There’s plenty to tell. Puh-lenty!”
“Like what?” I’ve flopped onto a sofa, too, setting my feet up onto the arm. My belly is nowhere near as big as Nikki’s, but it’s gently distended. I stroke my hand over the bare skin beneath my t-shirt.
“Have you felt it move yet? You’re four months along by now, right?”
“Thereabouts. Maybe a little more.” I’ve lost track. The days have flown by.
“So? Did you feel it? It’s amazing, right?” Her enthusiasm is infections. But even if it weren’t, I wouldn’t be able to suppress the smile. I’d felt the first tiny bubbles a few days ago. Little popping sensations I’d almost dismissed at first. Which is ridiculous because I’m a doctor. I know the signs.
“It’s the most incredible feeling in the world.” I sigh and then press my lips together. “Okay…maybe it’s a close tie with…” I trail off.
“Sex?” Nikki volunteers. She’s leering at me through the screen. I nod, not bothering to deny it. “Let me guess, you want it all the time, right?”
“Oh, my God, you have no idea!” I laugh, remembering how I’d walked into the shower with Mateo this morning, and he’d almost shot out like I’d hit him with a cattle prod. At least he made it up to me shortly afterward with what must have been an hour of phenomenal head. I’m no longer mortified about that thing he does, which he now calls “getting me juicy.” Still, I know I’ve been demanding. “I think I may have broken my man,” I add.
Nikki snorts out a laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ve done that too! Dario got me a new vibrator last weekend. Said it was to save his cock from being fucked raw!”
“Ah…you see now! What did I tell you about a girl and her toys?” I smile, thinking back to how Nikki had always seemed so naïve when we met. She’s still just as sweet, but I like this new version of her. She’s so comfortable in her skin. Guess that’s what happens when the world’s hottest man thinks you’re a goddess.
Although scrap that.Mineis the world’s hottest man. And I love feeling like a goddess.
“So, jokes aside, when are we seeing you, babe?” Nikki’s mouth is moving after she finishes speaking, and I’m pretty sure she’s eating something. Probably more Turkish Delight. The doctor in me wants to tell her to watch her sugar intake. But how could I? She’s freaking adorable.
“Soon as Mateo’s finished up here with the investigation,” I say. I’ve been feeling impatient with it all. So many questions that need answering. I know he’s been lying to them. They think Mark got away.
But I know better.
Seems karma can be an even bigger bitch than I ever could have been.
“Well, make it snappy. We’re going to be too big to move soon!” She’s still rubbing her belly. I know because she’s aiming her phone camera at it. “Look at the size of me!” Her navel’s beginning to look like an outie, and I start laughing. Yes, I’m laughing again. I love it!
