CHAPTER 12
ANDI
Nervously, I pull at my dress, making sure it falls just right. I can’t believe this is happening. After our phone call two days ago, Callum insisted on coming here, stating we’d discuss the Vegas rodeo appearance.
My mom still hasn’t cancelled it, and honestly, I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m nervous about Callum, though. I’ve changed a lot since he last saw me.
My face is rounder, and my boobs are bigger. My mom and Jon were shocked when they found out I was pregnant. On the bright side, my mom is even starting to consider it might be too dangerous for me to go to Vegas.
“Stop fidgeting, Andi. He’s not going to care about how you look.” Butcher’s voice breaks through my thoughts.
Ty went to the airport to pick up Callum and Ria. As usual, Butcher is by my side.
“Besides, he saw you the other day and wasn’t angry or upset with you. Didn’t you say he planned this?” Butcher waves his hand up and down my body.
“Yeah. But how would you feel if you were in his shoes?” I ask, needing a guy’s perspective.
“Ha!” He scoffs. “Not ever happening to me. I’m not getting a girl or having kids.”
“How do you know that? You could fall in love tomorrow, for all you know. I bet you just jinxed yourself.”
“Nope. I know. No woman could ever love me, and I would never put a woman in danger that way.”
I turn from watching the road to look at him, confused.
“What do you mean by danger?”
“I have many enemies out there. Some I know about, and a lot I don’t. It happens in my profession.”
The only thing he’s ever told me is that he has assignments. So far, he hasn’t gone on any, and I can’t help but wonder what he really does.
“What do you do?” I ask as I sit on the swing he and Ty set up for me a couple of months ago.
“It’s better if you never know. But after all these months, I’ll tell you. I’m a professional.”
“What kind of professional?”
He chuckles. “Sister, I’m hired to take care of problems.”
His words wash over me for a moment, then it hits me.
“Oh my God.”
“Yep. I work for a company that used to not let operatives walk away. But under our new leadership, we’ve been able to make changes.
Not for me, though. I’ve got a reputation that makes it very difficult to just leave.
They’d send someone like me or better to make me disappear, and I’d never want a family to get in the crosshairs. ”
“Are there a lot of people like you?”
“More than you know. My organization isn’t the only one. We’re one of the tops in the United States, but there are others. Several years ago, one of our founders broke off and created his own team. Them, I wouldn’t want to cross. I know a couple of them, and they’re good at what they do.”
“Do women this, or is it only men?”
His laughter is deep and dark, just like him.
Butcher is handsome, but there’s a darkness to him that goes beyond his nearly black eyes.
His auburn hair is short and spiky on top.
He’s tall and muscular, but not like Callum, who’s built with cut muscle.
Butcher is long and lean, like a runner.
He always has a gun on him, and he’s usually serious.
“Some of the best operatives I know are women, but you’d never know it if you met them. The look and act like most women.” He pauses, as if thinking. “There is one I do know. She’s like a freaking robot. I’ve never seen her show real emotion, except with her sisters and her true friends.”
“What’s her name?”
“I can’t tell you that. It’s a secret.”
He nods toward the road. In the distance, a dust cloud tells me they’re finally here.
I stand up and wait for Ty to pull in next to my truck and Butcher’s bike. The passenger door opens before they come to a complete stop, and Callum is jumping out. He walks toward the porch with purpose in his step and a swagger I’ve missed.
He’s even more handsome than I remember.
Even though I saw him a couple of days ago on the camera, seeing him in person takes my breath away.
My heart skips a beat as he stands before me.
He’s dressed in his signature Wranglers, a white button-down, and a gray jacket over the top.
It’s similar to what he wears to the office.
I’m instantly reminded of the day I went to his office for lunch, and he made love to me there.
My clit throbs with desire, and I squeeze my legs together.
His eyes track my movement, and a sexy grin tugs at his lips.
“Nymph,” he says, and before I can think, I’m jumping for him.
He pulls me tight against his body. I take a deep breath, inhaling his cologne and everything that is Callum.
He sighs, and then he pulls back enough to kiss me long and deep.
His tongue slides between my lips, dancing with mine.
His arms tighten around me as our tongues entwine, and we lose ourselves in each other.
“Hey, Cowboy. Your kid is starting to cry. I do baby animals, not baby babies,” Ty whines.
“I’m going to fucking eat you alive as soon as Ria gets to bed tonight.
” He pulls away from me slightly, letting me slide down his body.
He keeps his hold on me until I’m steady on my feet.
His hand moves between us to adjust himself, and then he rests a palm on our child.
“When I’m done, I’m going to kiss the hell out of this sexy bump. ”
I shiver at the thought of his lips on my body. He shakes his head before turning away and heading back to the truck.
I walk behind him, and when he opens the door, I peek in to get my first look at Ria in months.
She’s grown so much. Her green-blue eyes, just like Callum’s, focus on me.
She’s wearing another cute outfit, pink with little black hearts all over it, along with white leggings and tiny black-and-pink shoes.
A large pink bow wraps around her head, and her honey-blond hair is growing out.
She coos as soon as she sees Callum, and my heart clenches.
“I can’t believe how big she’s gotten,” I say in awe. Soon, I’ll have a baby who will grow just as fast.
“Yeah, she’s a little weed. She’s crawling and rolling around the floor.” He has so much pride in his voice.
He’s an amazing father to her, and I know he’ll be one to our child too, but it still causes me to panic for a moment.
Right now, I can’t leave the ranch because of fear.
I worry about someone coming after me. What happens if they come after this precious baby or mine?
I smooth my hand over my belly as I step back.
“Get that thought out of your head. It will all be okay,” Callum says as he takes my hand and drags me back up the porch.
When we cross the threshold of my small place, I immediately take in the space as he would see it.
He walks over to the tiny living room and pulls a blanket from the diaper bag slung over his shoulder.
He spreads it on the floor and lays Ria on her back.
She flips to her stomach immediately and pushes up on her arms to look around.
“Watch the baby, nymph. I’m going to grab our bags. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
I sit down on the floor to play with Ria. She smiles at me and starts cooing.
“Oh, you don’t say, baby girl.”
Looking into the top of the diaper bag, I see some toys and pull them out for her. She reaches for one and rolls onto her back, gnawing on the toy keys.
“Are you trying to cut some teeth there, baby girl?”
She laughs as she swings the keys, but they fly back and smack her in the face. I wait to see what she’ll do next, and sure enough, her little face scrunches up, and she lets out a loud wail of pain.
I lift her into my arms. “Did those big, bad keys bite you back?” I ask, and she lays her head against my chest, just like she did all those months ago. A piece of my heart settles, just as it did then.
“I love seeing my girls together,” Callum says as he walks in with a large suitcase and several other bags. “Which room is ours, and where is Ria’s?”
I point off to the side. “Ours is the first one, and hers is at the back, across the hall.” I pause, trying to figure out how to get up off the floor while still holding Ria.
“Let me get up and help you.” I realize I’m going to have to lay her back down, but she’s got a grip on my hair, her head resting against me.
“Nope, stay right there, baby. I got this.”
He moves off, and I rock Ria for a bit until she squirms to get down. I set her back on the floor to play some more.
Cowboy
The afternoon progresses with my girls spending time together. I can’t wait until my baby girl falls asleep so I can have my way with Andi. Her beautiful body is lush and full of my child. Her breasts are fuller and will overflow my hands. I can’t wait to get her nipples into my mouth.
For dinner, we both worked around the kitchen, making steaks and baked potatoes for ourselves. Ria had a bowl of baby rice with a partial jar of sweet potatoes. Now we’re sitting in the living room talking as Ria wears herself out before bed. Her schedule is all jacked up from today’s travel.
“What’s going on with your classes?” I ask Andi.
“I’m doing this semester online and taking next semester off. My advisor wasn’t really happy with me, but I explained that I’m expecting in January, and he said he understood. I took some extra online classes to help me hopefully graduate next December.”
“Good. So, you plan to go back to Eastport?” I’m nervous to hear her answer.
I need her close. I’ve told her how I feel, but she still hasn’t said the words back to me. She’s keeping her distance, and I know it’s partially because of her stalker.
“I’m hoping to, if they can capture my stalker before then. Ridley said Vegas called her with some new evidence. They might have a suspect, but they wouldn’t share anything more.”