“Because I told her to go lie down,” she snapped, without missing a beat.
He reared back. That was an even bigger part of the problem. “Don’t even get me started on what you did. Or what you didn’t do.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Oh no, please do get started on that. I’m dying to hear your opinions.”
He fought the urge to let the beast inside him go. Pain shot through his jaw as he ground his teeth. His nostrils flared as he took one deep breath, then another. Never before had it been this hard. A sign that he needed to walk away. He rose, intent on doing just that.
Daphne cocked her head. “No, please, really. Do go on. Enlighten me, oh wise one.”
The dark, ugly thing inside him broke free.
“You had a fucking former FBI agent in the house with you, and you chose to confront those two men on your own,” heyelled, pacing in front of the fire. “Who the hell does that? If it were Kendall in the house with you, no question. Or literally anyone who doesn’t have the training your sister has, I’d get it. But Callie? As angry as I am at her, I know how competent she is. And that the two of you together is better than you on your own. Why the hell didn’t you use that brain of yours and lean on her?”
He paused, his back to the fire, the heat licking his skin, fueling his emotions. The crackle of the flames filled the silence, and after three more breaths, he lifted his eyes to meet hers. He braced himself for her anger, her temper, her defense. Instead, curiosity shadowed her expression. As if she was digesting his words, picking them apart, and coming up with a story he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like. He’d been ready for her to fight back. He didn’t know what to do with this.
“Nothing to say, Daphne? You got what you wanted from me and now you have nothing to say?” Disgust at his own loss of control laced his tone, and if she thought it was directed at her, he wasn’t going to correct that assumption. If that made him an asshole, then so be it. He was already feeling like one anyway. He still believed he had a right to his anger, but yelling at someone who’d just gone through what she’d gone through wasn’t exactly going to win him any compassion awards.
“She did it because she didn’t want to risk me and the baby,” Callie said, her voice so quiet it cut the air like an arrow.
Lovell sucked in a breath, but his eyes stayed locked on Daphne for the space of a dozen heartbeats as the words sank in. “You’re pregnant?” he asked, turning to Callie. Philly reached over and took his wife’s hand. That was all the confirmation he needed, but she nodded.
“Eleven weeks,” she said. “We wanted to make it through the first trimester before we told anyone. Daphne didn’t wake me because she didn’t want me in the line of fire. You have no ideahow much I hate that she did that, but if you need to blame someone, blame me.”
“You’re going to be a father?” he asked, his eyes darting to Philly. His brother nodded and flashed him a grin Lovell had seen dozens of times on the battlefield after he’d pulled off some crazy stunt or other.
Fuck, Callie was pregnant. Philly was going to be a dad. They were all going to be uncles. No doubt there’d be more little Falcon chicks in the coming years, but this was the first.
A fierce wave of protectiveness rolled through him. “Are you okay?” he asked, switching his attention back to Callie. “Are you sick? Have you been to the doctor? Are you taking vitamins and all those things? Is there anything you need?”
Callie offered a tentative smile. One he hated. And he’d put that hesitation there. He was such an asshole. This was what he got for letting the ugly thing inside him break free.
“The baby is doing great,” she said. “We’ve heard the heartbeat twice and had one ultrasound. Yes, I’m taking the vitamins, and I’ve only had a little morning sickness.” She paused. “But I’m tired. Tired in a way that sometimes feels like I’m hitting a brick wall. That’s what happened this afternoon,” she added quietly. “That’s why she wanted me to rest. I shouldn’t have, though.”
“There was no way we could have known that they’d figure out who I was because they’d seen my car parked in the carport of the rentalbeforeI had any clue what they were up to,” Daphne said. “We all assumed they’d take some time and do some fancy tech stuff to track me down. Believe me, I’m never renting a house with a carport again.”
“And if the situations were reversed, Callie, you would have done the same thing,” Lovell said. A look passed over Daphne’s face when he glanced her way, but it was gone in a flash.He owed her an apology. The jumble of emotions were sorting themselves out, but at least he understood her decision now.
“Now that we’ve cleared that up, can I go take a shower?” Daphne asked, her voice light. “I feel like a dozen pieces of material that someone’s sown together in a ragged pattern.”
“You two go on to bed,” Lovell said, with a nod to Philly and Callie. “I’ll make sure she has what she needs tonight.”
“I’llmake sure she has what she needs,” Amber said, stepping to Daphne’s side. “Whatever is going on here”—she wagged a finger between him and Daphne—“is too much for either of you to deal with tonight.”
Lovell opened his mouth to protest, but Daphne shot him a look that might have been a little pleading. Therewassomething between them. Chemistry, for sure, but maybe something more. Or maybe it was all in his head. Either way, Amber was right. Accepting his help meant being vulnerable, and neither he nor Daphne was in the right place to hold space for that.
He nodded and took a step forward. “At least let me help you to your room. Then I’ll leave you in Amber’s hands.”For now, was left unsaid.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Daphne grimaced as she rolled over in bed. She’d been run over by a steamroller. No question. The ache in her legs made sense, as did the pain encircling her wrists, but her shoulder blades? Or her upper arms? Nope, sometime in the night, a steamroller had made its way over her body.
Bracing herself for her eyelids to hurt, too, she forced them open. A dull light seeped from around the edges of the dark curtains, her bags were sitting across the floor, and a glass sat on the bedside table.
She had no idea what time it was, but clearly it was late enough that someone had dropped off her things while she’d blissfully slept through it.
With a deep breath, she eased herself to a sitting position, gingerly dragging the blanket with her. She wore a pair of sweats she’d borrowed from Amber and the heat was on, but the thought of ever feeling cold again didnotappeal.
Leaning against the headboard, she paused long enough for the shock of pain to fade before attempting another move. When it mostly subsided, she turned her head to spy a glass on the side table.
