6. Greedy
Chapter 6
Greedy
“Explain yourself.”
The gruff demand is one I was prepared to make myself, but Sione beats me to it.
Levi closes the door quietly, turning the lock, then joins us in the middle of the room so the five of us are standing in a loose circle.
Eyes cast down and face screwed up in contempt, Kabir shoves his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.
He almost appears remorseful. Though it doesn’t excuse the way he blindsided us or the information he manipulated to do it.
After a few seconds, he blows out a breath and stands tall. As if a switch has been flipped, he goes into CEO mode—straightening his spine and looking directly at each of us before he clears his throat. “Right. An explanation. I want to start by sincerely apologizing for the emotional turmoil I caused today.”
His words are for all of us, but his gaze lingers on me a little longer than anyone else.
“I modified test results and withheld information to garner authentic reactions. Hunter—” He shifts so he’s facing her directly.
It takes more strength than it should to fight the urge to step between them. To shield her from him.
“You are not pregnant, love.”
She nods, eyes glassy and shoulders slumped. “I’m not pregnant,” she repeats, wrapping her arms around her midsection as the truth sinks in.
She knew that, I’m almost sure.
I sure as shit didn’t, but she did.
Regardless, it’s obvious she’s still hurt by Spence’s scheming, just like I am.
Sione sidesteps until they’re inches apart and grasps her hand. Instantly, tension ebbs from her body. He extends his arm, and as if she’s a puzzle piece slotting into place, she nestles into his side and rests her cheek against his chest.
Satisfied he’s got her, I study Levi.
He’s standing eerily still, his face ashen. “I’m sorry,” he chokes out, his focus fixed on me. That simple phrase is far more contrite and sincere than Kabir’s attempted apology.
I open my mouth to reassure him, but then snap it closed. I was confused and livid at my dad’s house. Did Levi pick up on that? Is that why he’s apologizing? Because he thought he knocked up the woman we both love?
Fuck this. I refuse to let him beat himself up over a contrived, fictional situation that’s not even happening.
And fuck His Royal Highness for putting us all through this.
Kabir’s not my concern right now, though. Hunter is okay, too. Levi, though? He needs me.
It takes three strides to reach him.
Two seconds to wrap my arms around his broad shoulders.
One exhale to pour out all the assurances I can offer. My lips find the scruff on his jawline. I trail my mouth along it until my face is smashed into the crook of his neck.
“It’s not real,” I whisper, for his sake and mine. “It’s not real.” Swallowing my pride, I straighten but keep my head close to his. “And even if it were—if she was pregnant, and the baby was yours—that would be okay, too.”
I sneak a glance at Hunter, who’s watching us from the crook of Sione’s arm.
“It would be more than okay, actually,” I say before turning my attention back to Levi. “Because I love you.”
He pulls back, startled, his eyes welling. When he blinks, one single tear falls. I catch it with my thumb, then cup his face and step in closer.
“I love you, Levi.”
I hold him steady. Force him to look me in the eye and feel my sincerity.
“There’s nothing you could do to change that. Nothing .” I grit out the last word, then pull him into a suffocatingly tight hug.
Our breaths match. Our heartbeats, too. We stay like that until there’s a tug on my arm.
Tem .
She’s right there, wanting to love us and accept us for who we are.
Leev and I break apart, but we only put enough distance between ourselves to let her in. We hold each other like that, comforting her, comforting one another, after the absolute shit show we’ve just endured.
A quick glance at Si confirms he’s fine. He’s standing tall, arms crossed over his enormous chest, glaring. The expression isn’t aimed at the three of us. His gaze is firmly set on Kabir.
“Why?” he pushes, his tone angry. For a man who exudes calmness and serenity in almost all circumstances, he’s alarmingly irritated now.
This is a side of Sione I wouldn’t have guessed existed. Even I’m intimidated by his sharply worded demands.
Spence holds his gaze for a beat, then turns to the three of us. “I did it to buy us time.”
“Bullshit.” Hunter’s curse escapes with a slight twang, her southern temper momentarily busting through.
I smooth my hand down her back like Sione does sometimes. She softens slightly, but she remains focused on Spence.
“You bought a month or two, tops. Magnolia and Dr. F will want to see ultrasounds. They’ll expect my stomach to grow.”
Levi slips his hand up her back, brushing over mine as he moves it from her hip to the base of her skull. Gently cupping her nape, he murmurs, “It’s okay, pretty girl. We’ll figure it out.”
Kabir’s jaw ticks, his eyes stormy. “It should be all the time we need. Over the last several days, I’ve put multiple measures in place to monitor Magnolia’s behavior. In doing so, I uncovered plans that were already in motion. Arrangements that had been scheduled and confirmed.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask if he put a tracker inside her. But we’re dealing with enough turmoil right now without bringing that up.
“Texts. Calls. Appointments,” Kabir says, ticking each word off on his fingers. “It’s all available to us now. We need to be a step ahead. We can’t rely on anticipating what she might do or reacting to the bullshit she pulls. We need to know her next move before she makes it.”
That makes sense, but I still don’t understand why only buying us a month or two was the right move—
“She has a pre-op appointment scheduled for Tuesday.”
My gut sinks.
Pre-op.
Pre-op?
A palpable anxiety thrums between us, thickening the air in the room.
“Tuesday, as in, a few days from now?” Levi has unwoven himself from our embrace, but he has one arm draped over Hunter’s shoulders, and with that hand, he’s cuffing the back of my neck.
The heat of his palm there, along with Hunter’s warmth at my side, brings me at least a modicum of comfort.
Kabir nods. “Surgery is planned for Friday.”
Hunter emits a high-pitched yelp. I go rigid, my body instinctively preparing for a fight. Levi tightens his grip, keeping me from physically charging toward Spence.
“No fucking way.” I shrug off Levi’s touch and pace toward Kabir.
Halfway there, I remember: He’s just the messenger.
As that thought hits me, I turn on my heel and stride back toward the others, then circle around again.
“She hadn’t even agreed,” I mumble, scuffing the floor with my pacing. Every stride feels more taxing than the last. “She hasn’t consented to anything .”
Fury erupts inside me. I’m so fucking pissed I could bottle up this feeling and fuel a weapon of mass destruction. Every cell in my body is on fire with the need to protect, to avenge. To stop Magnolia St. Clair-Ferguson once and for all.
“What were they going to do? Coerce her? Guilt her? Kidnap her again ?”
Spence regards me, his gaze piercing. “If I had to give it my best guess, I’d say all of the above.”
A high-pitched whimper pulls me out of my rage spiral. I whirl around. Hunter hasn’t moved. Neither has Levi, but Sione has stepped into my place, and the two guys are comforting her.
Sniffling, she lifts her head and looks first at me, then at Kabir.
“She’s never going to stop, is she?” Her voice is hollow and thoroughly defeated.
She slumps against Levi, the movement so abrupt it causes him to stumble. Sione steadies them both, then the three of them ease into a sitting position—Si cross-legged on the floor with Hunter in his lap and Levi sitting with his legs spread wide.
“This was a mistake. We can’t stay here. She won’t stop.” Hunter’s breathing is shallow, her sharp inhales coming too quickly. I open my mouth to remind her to breathe , but Sione is right there and gets to her first.
He rests his hands on her collarbones, his palms and long fingers covering from her shoulders to the hollow of her throat.
“Exhale for four,” he instructs. He pulls his shoulders back and demonstrates what he wants her to do.
Her eyes well with tears, but she listens to him, intentionally focusing on her breath and visibly calming.
He’s got her . Sione. Levi. They’ve got her. I suppose, in his own domineering, not always forthright way, Kabir’s got her, too.
We’ve got each other. All of us.
Not for the first time today, I’m so fucking glad my boys are by my side. That none of us have to navigate this alone.
At the sound of a quiet chime, Kabir pulls his device from his pocket and smirks at the screen. “Pre-op and surgery appointments have been removed from Magnolia’s calendar.”
Hunter releases another cry, this one filled with relief.
The instinct to fight and defend ebbs from my body, but my anxiety is still raging.
Kabir steps toward Hunter and crouches, cupping her face in one hand.
“I’m sorry for the pain I caused.” He brushes his thumb over her flushed, tear-stained cheek. “But I’m not sorry for what I did. There was an imminent threat. We needed a full-stop solution to derail a plan that was already in motion.”
He looks to each of us then, his expression resolved but also remorseful. “I’m deeply sorry for the stress and heartache I may have caused. But today’s announcement bought us the time we need. For that,” he rises to full height, smooths his hands down the front of his trousers, and straightens the collar of his shirt. “I’ll never apologize.”
With that, he turns and walks out the door, leaving the four of us silent and dumbfounded.