Epilogue
MONROE
Two Months Later
“Have a good weekend, Monroe. And remember, we’ll be closed Monday and Tuesday.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Bradley. You’ve only told me twelve times this week,” I said.
“I got Rose to take time off so we could go on a cruise. Sue me if you don’t like it,” he said.
“Can I? Really? Is that a thing?” I asked.
“Get out of here with that crazy talk,” he said with a grin.
“Enjoy your cruise. Take all the pictures.”
“Just make sure to keep an eye on your email. This RICO case is still breathing down our necks.”
I shut down my office and walked out with a cloud looming over my head.
I hadn’t been feeling well the past couple of weeks and I was ready to get home and sleep.
With the assistant U.S. attorney still preparing a case against The Dead Souls, the firm wasn’t getting much reprieve.
Between that and our normal caseloads, all of us were pulling thirteen-hour days and still taking work home on the weekends.
It was rough, but it was what we had to do.
Every time I thought we had a way to get the government to drop their case, there was something else that popped up.
Something else we couldn't ignore that solidified the fact that they had someone on the inside.
Which was why it was imperative that Rose and Bradley were kept in the dark about my relationship with Knox.
I didn’t want them thinking they could lean on it for leverage.
Even with Everly’s admission of what she saw her brother do, it didn’t get us any closer to figuring out how this RICO case was being built.
It was bigger than we thought, and Blaze’s murder was just a small part of it.
Blaze’s murder had been closed for a couple of months and there was no use in reopening it.
The only thing it would do was cause more headache for the club and more work for the firm.
Neither of which anyone wanted or needed.
I got into my car and drove to the drugstore. I walked up and down the aisles, grabbing a few things here and there. A pint of ice cream. Some soda. Dill pickle-flavored chips. I didn’t know why, but that sounded good.
My mouth was watering just thinking about it.
I grabbed a couple of things for nausea and headaches before I headed to the shampoo aisle. I was out of almost everything, and I quickly realized I was going to need a cart. Hauling the small basket around in my hand was already causing me to break a sweat.
Which was odd, because I never sweat.
Even in the one hundred-degree temperatures of California.
I sighed and rested my body as I sat the basket down at my feet. Fuck. I’d have to go get a cart. And the mere thought of walking all the way back to the front of the store was excruciating.
I needed a nap.
I opened my eyes and drew in a deep breath, but not before I took in what aisle I was on. I was staring at tampons. Pads. Lube. Pregnancy tests.
That was it. I was about to start my damn period. Just what I needed for my long weekend.
I grabbed a box of tampons as a wave of nausea rolled over my body. I leaned against the shelving, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. This wasn’t my period. This was something else. I’d never gotten nauseous like this on my period.
Wait. When was my last period?
I took out my phone and scrolled through my calendar. Shit. I was a week late. I looked down at the items in my basket-- the pickled chips and the ice cream and the soda. Things I never ate on a regular basis. Things I would’ve never had a palette for.
Then, my eyes drifted up to the pregnancy tests.
I ripped one off the shelving and rushed back to the bathroom.
I worked it out of the box as I sat there and waited for my body to prepare itself.
I willed my bladder to empty itself. Prayed to whatever deities above that they would give me just enough to take this damn test. I held it between my legs then capped it off, my mind racing a thousand miles a second.
I couldn’t be pregnant. Knox and I were careful. Knox already had a daughter.
He didn’t want another kid, did he?
I washed my hands and eyed the test next to me. Two minutes was excruciating when someone was waiting on something. I paced the drug store bathroom floor, my heels clicking against the grimy tile flooring.
But when it was time, I suddenly couldn’t look at it.
If it was positive, that would be a problem.
My career. My relationship with Knox. This RICO case.
All of it was hinging on me being able to stay focused.
And pregnancy kept no one focused. I had to stay in the loop with the case because of the information I was feeding Knox as well as Diego, and if I defaulted on my agreement with Diego it could spell disaster for the firm.
For my career.
For me.
I picked up the test in my trembling hands. My eyes watered as I read over the word that had popped up on the digital reading. I turned towards the mirror as the test dropped into the sink, my hands splaying out over my stomach.
Pregnant.
I was pregnant with Knox’s child.
Gripping the test in my hand, I rushed out of the bathroom. I grabbed my purse and left my stuff in the aisle, then tossed some cash onto the counter for the test. I barreled out of the drug store and raced to Knox’s apartment, swerving in and out of lanes and blowing through yellow lights.
I hoped to fuck he was there.
I skidded into his driveway and started pounding on his door.
I had no idea how he was going to take this information, but I needed him.
Tears were welling in my eyes and I felt my legs buckling underneath me.
My hands were shaking and my knuckles ached from pounding on the metal warehouse door.
I was pounding with both fists, yelling for Knox to open the door as tears cascaded down my cheeks.
The door ripped open and I fell forward. Directly into the arms of a very shirtless and tired Knox.
“Whoa whoa whoa. Monroe. Get in here. Come on. I gotcha.”
I stumbled into Knox’s apartment with the test clenched in my hand.
I couldn't speak. I could hardly breathe. My nausea was getting worse and my headache was blinding. I felt weaker than I’d ever felt and it was all too much.
I felt Knox’s arm in the crook of my knees as he lifted me off the floor, the test falling from my hand as I leaned heavily into him.
“Come on. Calm down. What’s happened? Can ya say something?”
He sat on the couch and settled me in his lap as his chiseled arms cradled me close.
“Monroe? Look at me.”
My fluttered my bloodshot eyes up to Knox as his thumb smoothed over my cheek.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Please don’t be mad,” I said breathlessly.
“Never. Is it something with the case?” he asked.
“No.”
“Did Diego do something?”
“No.”
“Did something happen with your job?”
“No, Knox. I-I-I…”
My forehead fell into his lips and he kissed me softly. I sniffled hard, trying to regain my composure. My stomach was rolling and I couldn't hold it back any longer. I scrambled off Knox’s lap and ran to his bathroom, throwing the toilet lid open just in time.
I heaved up the contents of my lunch, my body trembling as tears continued to stream down my cheeks.
I rested my cheek against the edge of the toilet as I breathed in through my nose. I heard Knox’s footsteps approaching the bathroom entrance. His heavy footfalls were sturdy. Sound. A noise I’d come to associate with protection and comfort over the past couple of months.
Was I going to lose that now? Was he going to leave?
I flushed the toilet and sat down, my back pressed against the wall. I grimaced at the taste in my mouth as Knox walked towards me. He bent down into my view and handed me an opened bottle of water, urging me to drink it.
And that was when I saw it.
The pregnancy test in his hand.
“Please don’t be upset,” I said.
“Drink.”
I put the bottle of water to my lips as he sat down next to me.
“You’re pregnant,” Knox said.
I felt my lip start to tremble as I took another sip of the water.
“I’m pregnant,” I said breathlessly.
The snicker that fell from his lips caused me to whip my gaze up to his. And when I took him in, I didn’t see the anger or the fear I thought I was going to see. I didn’t see the disappointment or the shock I figured would come with something like this.
Instead, I saw a smile.
A growing smile that bloomed so broadly it closed his eyes.
“We’re pregnant,” Knox said.
“We?” I asked.
“Holy shit. We’re gonna have a baby.”
“You mean, you’re not-?”
Knox reached out for me and pulled me into his lap. His arms flew around me, his lips peppering my neck with kisses. The bottle of water fell to the floor, spilling out everywhere as his arms cloaked my back.
I could feel his smile on my shoulder as I held him close.
“We’re gonna have a baby, Monroe. Canyon’s gonna have a sibling.”
“And you’re okay with that?” I asked.
Knox gripped my shoulders and held me out, his eyes connecting heavily with mine.
“Yes,” he said. “I’m very okay with that.”
Tears of relief rushed down my cheeks as I threw my arms around him.
My lips planted into his as his hands roamed my back.
I could feel his cock growing underneath me.
I could feel his muscles throbbing against my chest. He got up off the floor, taking me with him as I wrapped my legs around his thick, strong frame.
“We’re gonna have a baby,” Knox said as he lowered me onto his bed. “A beautiful, wonderful, incredible baby. Who’ll be as smart as you and as strong as me.”
His lips nipped at my chest as his hands slid my skirt down my thighs.
“I love you, Knox. I love you so much.”
His lips nipped at my neck before his nose nuzzled against my ear.
“I love you too, Monroe.”
His hand slid across my stomach, cupping the place where my stomach would eventually grow.
Where our child would nestle inside of me and feed until he or she was ready to greet the world.
He palmed the whole of my stomach, his massive hand spread out.
Like he was trying to communicate with our growing little bean.
Then he slid between my legs and planted his lips against my belly button.
“I love you too, little one. And I can’t wait to meet you soon.” He then looked up at me and took my face in between his hands.
“We’ll figure this all out, Monroe, I promise.”