Promise of Eternity: (Promises Book 4)

Chapter 8

Isat on the end of the couch, waiting for Rayne to come in while Ethan paced back and forth in front of me, running his hands through his hair. Joey had sent us a group message that she’d dealt with a group of assholes, and one of them had pushed her. There was no doubt in my mind that Rayne could handle herself in a fight. She’d grown up in a neighborhood similar to mine. She shouldn’t have to though. Especially not while she was pregnant.

Part of me was upset that I hadn’t been there. I’d been busy putting the finishing touches on a commission being shipped out later in the week. The other half of my brain knew that being unhappy about the night’s events was pointless. Joey had been there to handle everything and would protect her with his life.

Dominic hadn’t seen it that way. Even though he had a meeting at eight, he threw on his clothes. When Ethan offered to come with him, he glared at him, telling us we should wait here before storming off. From the look on his face, he was ready to murder whoever had put their hands on our girl.

I almost wondered if he hadn’t wanted us to come with him because of Ethan. He had been better since Rayne was living with us, but he was still the impulsive one, ready to fly off the handle at a moment’s notice.

I sighed and stood, strolling over to the bar in the corner. Pulling out two tumblers, I filled them each with two fingers of whiskey. “Ethan,” I said, loud enough to grab his attention. I gestured to the drink that I had made. He shook his head at first, still pacing.

“Come here.” Slowly, he walked over, and I thrust the glass into his hand. “Chill out. Rayne is fine. If she weren’t, Joey would have told us.”

At least, that was what I told myself.

Ethan seemed to struggle with the thought. He had never been good at staying calm. He slammed back the whiskey in one smooth motion and laid the glass on the bar. “That’s it. I’m going to check on her.”

I closed my eyes and wiped my hand over my face. “You can’t. How long has Dominic been gone? Thirty minutes? By now, they are both on the way back home. Plus, you know Joey will take care of her.”

His hands balled into fists at his side. “It shouldn’t be him that is taking care of her. It should have been me.”

He started to move, but I blocked his path. “Take a deep breath and listen. You can’t be with her twenty-four-seven. For one, Rayne is a grown-ass woman. I think that you’re forgetting what she did before she met us. Two, we pay Joey to watch over her and help her. That’s his job. If you want, you can start spending the evenings at Inferno to keep an extra eye on things. You can help us find more employees who will actually show up for their shifts. Hell, you can even help her with restocking the bar and orders.”

His face fell, and he looked defeated as he picked up the bottle of whiskey. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. “Yeah, but what if something happens to her? What will I do then?”

He took a drink straight from the bottle, and I laid my hand on his shoulder. “No one is going to let that happen.”

“But it doesn’t make it easier.”

I couldn’t argue with that point as I took the bottle from him, turning it up. It didn’t make things easier. But Rayne was stubborn, something all of us knew. It was hard enough for her to accept Joey as her shadow daily.

The elevator doors opened and Rayne stormed into the apartment with her arms crossed over her chest. “What do you expect me to do, Dominic? The world doesn’t stop just because I’m pregnant.”

He clenched his jaw at her words as he walked over to where I was positioned, yanking the bottle from my hand. “Like I said earlier, I understand. But you aren’t a bakery owner or a secretary. You’re a freaking mob boss running a strip club. And you can’t stay out until three in the morning anymore.”

She blew a stray tendril of hair out of her face. “The doctor told me that as long as I felt fine, I could do everything I had before I was pregnant.”

“Can someone please talk some sense into this insufferable woman?” I raised an eyebrow at him, deciding to stay out of their spat. Rayne was the only one who could get under his skin. To the rest of the world, Dominic wore a mask. He was cold and aloof. Distant and calculated. It was what made him great at his job.

But with Rayne, she knew exactly what to say, and how to act, to push him over the edge.

As soon as their argument was over, he would pick her up and tie her to his headboard. Then we would hear him fuck her until they made up, and she forgave him.

She continued her rampage through the space and stopped by the coffeepot, slamming a pod into the coffeemaker. Ethan cleared his throat. “Are you sure that you should drink coffee right now? The sun is coming up in three hours–”

She cut him off with a death glare. “My doctor said I could have two cups a day.” Then she mumbled, “And she didn’t specify how large the cup could be.”

There was no point in trying to talk to her with the mood she was in. I prowled over to where she stood and crowded her in with my body, forcing her to look at me. I cupped her cheek and gave her a soft smile. “Princess, are you okay? That’s all I’m worried about right now. We can handle everything else in the morning.”

Her expression softened slightly. “The only thing bruised is my ego. Well, and maybe my butt cheek where I landed. Hopefully, Joey pulling a gun sent the message they weren’t welcome back. I think that the new dancer knows them.”

I gently kissed the corner of her mouth and brushed my thumb across her bottom lip. “If they’re smart, they’ll know Inferno is off limits.”

I had doubts they were that smart. My words were meant to assure her, but we both knew it wasn’t over. Rather than voice any of that, I grabbed the coffee and added sugar and hazelnut creamer once it stopped brewing. It was the way she had drunk it since we had met.

When I handed it to Rayne, she took a tiny sip, and her entire body relaxed. “I have to tell all of you something.” She clutched the coffee cup to her chest and chewed on her bottom lip. “I know who the father is.”

“All of us,” Ethan muttered under his breath. He had been the person most against getting a DNA test. He reasoned that no matter what, he would love the baby the same way. Logic had won out, though.

Rayne shook her head at him. “I’m scared to tell all of you because I don’t want anything to change.”

Dominic was still the voice of reason, even when they were frustrated with one another. “And it won’t. You should just tell us.”

She mulled it over briefly before whispering, “It’s Hunter’s.”

The entire universe stopped when she said my name. There had always been the possibility that it was mine. I knew nothing about being a father. My mother had raised me on her own. When I discovered who had contributed genetic material to me, it fucked me up. He was a terrible human being all the way around. And he had paid the price for that. The only good thing he’d ever given me was my sister, who I hadn’t found until I was in my thirties.

And everything that she said had painted him in an even worse light.

Ethan rushed over and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me so tightly that I couldn’t breathe. “Congratulations.” I tapped his arm to get him to loosen his grip. When he pulled away, his eyes were shiny.

Dominic’s lips were pursed. “How much do we know about your father’s medical history?”

I blinked twice, his words even taking me off guard, before bursting into laughter. “Not a damn thing, Dom. We’ll have to see if someone can pull up his medical records.”

And just like I had suspected, as soon as Rayne finished her cup of coffee, he threw her over his shoulder. He’d be late for his meeting, but in his mind, it was worth it. He’d never let her go to bed mad at him.

Sleep never came to me. Instead, I lay in bed wondering what the baby would look like. Would it have Rayne’s eyes or my hair? Dimples or curls?