Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
DARE
I want to head directly to the clubhouse and lock this woman in my room until she has this baby, and then until said baby turns about eighteen. If it could be that easy, that’s exactly what I would do. But it isn’t and I can’t.
Driving straight for a breakfast spot, I pull into the parking lot, shift the car into Park, kill the engine, and unfold from the front seat. I walk around the front of the car to help her out, but she’s already standing with the door closed.
She’s still pissed.
I walk to the restaurant door, pull it open, and wait for Chassis to walk inside. She does, though she doesn’t spare me even a second glance. That’s fine. She can be mad as long as she’s safe. I don’t give a shit.
The hostess walks us to a booth. I slip in and place my hands on the tabletop. Chassis does the same. Neither of us looks at the menu immediately. I don’t have to. No matter where I go for breakfast, I order the same thing. Maybe it’s because I’m old, maybe it’s because I just know what I like.
“What makes you think Samuil will give half a shit about me?” she asks. “He seemed very uninterested when I told him initially.”
Leaning back in my booth, I look across the table at her. I start to tell her again that this fucking Russian is going to give a shit and will be very interested in the fact that the baby she’s got inside her is a boy.
The waitress appears and takes our orders. I order a breakfast burrito, as always. The Southwest with eggs, mushrooms, green chiles, and cheese, but add in some chorizo. Then I order a side of bacon and potatoes.
Chassis watches me with wide eyes. She clears her throat before she orders her own breakfast, a special: two pancakes, two eggs, and two slices of bacon. It sounds fucking amazing. I almost switch to that, but old habits die hard and all that shit.
After the waitress leaves our table with a promise to return shortly, my gaze flicks to meet hers. “That Russian fuck might not give a shit about you personally, but he’s going to give a fuck about his son. He’s going to want to keep him.”
“Misogynistic bastard,” she murmurs.
“Whatever you want to call it. But that’s what will happen. He will come for you, for the baby. Don’t think he won’t.”
“And then what?” she asks. “I can’t imagine he would really give a shit about me or anything to do with me. Even the baby.”
I lean forward. She’s got no fucking clue what men are capable of. I have a feeling that while Cake didn’t keep her sheltered from everything, she has been sheltered from some things.
Chassis shifts her gaze from mine to my hands and then back up to meet my own again. We stare at one another for a long moment. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone more than I do her right now. I could flip this fucking table over and take her right here in this restaurant.
She’s so goddamn beautiful, but then I remember that she asked me a question and she’s waiting for my response.
“Then what?” I ask.
“What happens when he comes for me… for us, if he does?”
I press my lips together in a thin line, then part them slightly before letting out a long exhale.
“He will,” I state before I continue. “He’s going to use whatever power he thinks he has to get you.
Me marrying you, keeping you here in Boulder City, it’s protection, but that doesn’t mean he won’t come for you.
That doesn’t mean you’re untouchable, especially to an asshole like that. ”
She stares at me, unmoving, unspeaking. So I make sure she understands what I’m fucking saying. “And in his macho world, a boy is an extension of him. He’s going to come for him, Skel.”
Her nose wrinkles, and I’m sure my using that nickname right now only pisses her off even more. Especially with the way I acted earlier at the doctor’s office. I shouldn’t have said what I did, but I don’t want to keep anything from her.
I want Chassis to know exactly what the fuck is going on, especially when it concerns her or her baby. There is no keeping her in the dark or sheltering her. Not when her life is on the line.
The waitress appears before we can say anything else. I watch as she sets down the food, syrup, ketchup, and refills our waters before she walks away. I’m starving and ready to dig in, but Chassis doesn’t reach for her silverware.
“Your dad and brothers are coming tomorrow. We’re going to figure this out and keep you protected.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out in a long exhale. “Samuil doesn’t care about me,” Chassis whispers. “But if what you’re saying is true, I don’t want him to have access to this baby either. So I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”
“Our baby,” I state.
Her eyes flick to meet mine. They widen, they sparkle, and then they fill with wetness. She blinks a few times and is able to hold the tears at bay, but I can tell they’re swimming there beneath the surface.
“Amos,” she breathes.
Shaking my head once, I reach out across the table, taking her hand with mine. I lace my fingers with hers, flexing gently. I can’t look away from her. I’m not sure what else to say to her. It’s my baby. My name will be on the birth certificate as the father. She’s my fucking wife.
Releasing her hand, I shift my attention to my breakfast and focus on that. A boy. Holy fucking shit, I’m going to have a son. Blood or not, this baby is and will be mine—forever. Nothing and nobody will ever touch him, especially not that piece-of-shit Samuil. I’ll make damn certain of that.