33. Nazai
CHAPTER 33
NAZAI
I lay in bed smiling as I listened to Cashlynn throw up for the third time this week. She thought I didn’t notice when she got up and went into the bathroom, but it was happening more frequently. Too frequent to ignore.
It had been a few days since we’d raided the church we thought Neil was hiding out at and he hadn’t shown himself yet, but I made sure River had his guys around at all times. Neil was gonna get desperate and I wanted everyone protected.
My arm that was shot was a bit stiff as I climbed out the bed and headed for the bathroom, where the door was closed. Grabbing the handle, I pushed it open and leaned on the archway. Cashlynn was on her knees, gripping the toilet, releasing her stomach. I waited for her to realize I was there. After wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet, she lifted her head and her eyes widened upon seeing me. Her skin was pale, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes watered.
“You feeling sick?” I asked as she walked over to the double sink to wash her hands and rinse her mouth out.
“No. I’m fine.”
I smirked. “Just in case, I think you need to look under the sink and grab what’s under there.”
She looked over her shoulder at me confused. “What’s under there?”
“Look.”
After drying her hands, she leaned down and opened the cabinet.
“What the hell is this?” She shot up with the pregnancy test box in hand.
“What does it look like?” I cocked my head to the side and raised a brow.
Her mouth turned upside down. “Why would I need this? I’m on birth control; there’s no way I can be pregnant.”
My smile broadened. “Funny thing about that.”
Her eyes narrowed and her mouth pinched. “What’s that mean?”
“I told you in the beginning, I needed an heir by the end of the year. You were dead set on not getting pregnant anytime soon, so I had to take matters into my own hands.”
Cashlynn’s body tensed. Her grip on the box tightened. “What the hell does that mean?” she asked tightly.
I crossed my arms over my chest and ran my eyes over her body, pausing at her midsection. I had suspected for a few weeks that she might be pregnant. It was why I had the pregnancy test waiting for her.
“I had my brother get me some sugar pills and switched them with your birth control pills.”
Her mouth widened and her brows shot to her hairline. For the first time I had left her speechless. Her right eyes twitched and her nostrils flared.
“You did what?”
I shrugged and stood straight. “Since you refused to do what I needed, I decided to take matters into my own hands. When you agreed to be my wife, you agreed to give me a baby too.”
“I didn’t agree to this shit!” she shrieked, waving the box. Her body trembled. “You blackmailed me into marrying you and I told you I didn’t want a baby right now!”
“That didn’t work for me,” I told her calmly. It was clear she was a second away from exploding and I was preparing myself. When she found out what I did, I expected for her to react badly. Cashlynn didn’t like being forced against a wall or into something she didn’t want to do.
Cashlynn blinked rapidly, her eyes bouncing between me and the pregnancy test in her hands.
“Just take the test and?—”
I moved quickly when she launched it at me. “I’m not taking the fucking test!” Her honey-colored orbs were like sharp lasers blazing into me. Her face glowered in a mask of rage.
“I can’t believe you would do this!” My brows drew together. It could be a mistake but I thought I might have heard a bit of hurt in her angry tone.
Cashlynn stormed toward me and I expected her to attack me, but instead she shoved past me. I turned around, watching her move around the bedroom like a tornado, eventually stalking out and slamming the door behind her.
“Well that went better than I expected,” I mumbled.
Dropping my eyes to the floor, they landed on the pregnancy test and I couldn’t help but grin. If Cashlynn was carrying my baby, then this marriage was about to get a lot more interesting.
____
“You’re right; the kid has good instincts,” Lucas mentioned, watching Ezra and Carson spar with one another. We were currently at the farmhouse, in the basement. Although impulsive at times, Ezra was the best hand-to-hand fighter out of the four of us. The two had on boxing gloves and headgear. Carson wasn’t doing bad holding his own either. I was gonna have River train him but he had a job under his security firm today.
“Told you. I’ve been training him for a little over a month and already see improvement in him. He’s been working with Emmet too; he’s into technology and shit.”
Lucas rubbed his chin. “You plan on bringing him in the business?”
“Right now? No. I doubt his sister will let me anyway.” I chuckled. “But in the future if he wants to?” I shrugged. “Even still, he needs to learn basic skills and stop being so scared of everything.”
Lucas nodded in agreement. His eyes fell back on my brother and Carson. “So what did you call me here for? I assume it wasn’t because you want me to teach him how to do medical shit. Did you bust your stitches?” His eyes swiveled to me and he narrowed them.
“Nah, I actually got some good news I wanted to share in person.” My mouth lifted into a wide grin. “Cashlynn’s pregnant.” Pride swelled in my chest. She might not have taken the test, but the signs were obvious.
“Damn, for real? It’s about time! I bet she was surprised.” He chuckled.
“Hell yeah, I thought I was about to prepare for war.”
He shook his head. “If I thought I was preventing pregnancy only to learn my prevention was tampered with I’d be ready to go to war too.”
I shrugged. “She’ll get over it. The end of the year was growing closer and we were running out of time.” An heir was needed within the first year of marriage. Her being pregnant now would make that happen and be one less thing to worry about later. Plus, I was excited to have someone to pass my legacy to when the time came.
Lucas lifted his hand and patted my back. “After we raided that church, I grew respect for your wife. She saved my life, but I also learned she’s someone that you shouldn’t fuck with. I would sleep with one eye open.”
He turned and walked to where the sparing was. I pulled my phone out and went to my tracking app, checking to see where Cashlynn was. She was at my other house, using the shooting range I assumed. It seemed to be her favorite place when she was upset.
My attention was caught when Carson flew back on his ass, bouncing off the mat.
“Damn,” Lucas muttered.
“Shit, Ezra, You had to hit him that hard?” I slid my phone back into my back pocket and walked closer to where they were.
“He was distracted. Distractions will get you killed,” Ezra explained.
I walked to Carson and held my hand out, helping him up. “You good?”
He nodded. “I’m fine.” He cut his eyes at Ezra who was smiling at him.
“See he’s good. I ain’t even hit him that hard.”
“It’s been a minute since we put the gloves on. You tryna run a round, doc?” I asked Lucas.
“These are million dollar hands. Do you think I’m gonna risk them?”
I waved him off. “If you’re scared you can admit it, little bro. I’ll go with Ezra.”
His eyes narrowed. “One round, but we need to take it easy; you’re still healing.”
I waved his concerns off. “That’s what I like to hear.”
It had been a minute since I’d sparred with any of my brothers. We used to do it a lot when we were growing up. My dad made sure even though I was the only one to go the assassin route that all of us were trained and prepared for anything.
____
I was mid cut into my steak at my dinner table when Cashlynn came into view. Sticking my fork into the cut piece, I lifted it to my mouth while watching her. She stood where the living room and kitchen connected, watching me with a blank expression on her face.
“You gotta be hungry. Come over here,” I said. She had been at my other house all day. From what Luke and Bruce said, she hadn’t eaten anything and spent most of her time at the range.
Her eyes bounced around the dining room, her lips twisted and hands balled as she slowly strode toward the table. She went to sit across from me but I stopped her.
“Uh, uh. Over here.” I reached for the chair at my side, pulling it out.
Her brows drew downward in a frown but she did as I said. A crooked grin split my face. Cashlynn plopped down in the seat and I cut into the medium well NY Strip and picked a piece up with my fork, holding it out for her.
Her eyes cut into slits and dropped to the held-out fork. “I know you’re hungry and you need to feed my baby.” As she snapped her eyes up, they burned with defiance. Her mouth tightened. I shoved the fork closer. Slowly Cashlynn moved in with her mouth open and snagged the meat.
“Good girl. Another.” I grabbed another piece of steak. Between the bites of steak, I made sure to give her some of the garlic mashed potatoes too. Her tongue slid across her bottom lip, collecting some food caught on it.
Time passed and soon the plate was empty and I was satisfied.
“Now don’t you feel better?”
Cashlynn stared at me with an emotionless expression. “You take joy in what you did, don’t you?” she finally asked.
“I’m not upset at it.” I picked up the glass of brown liquor and swirled the ice around.
“You shouldn’t have messed with my birth control. I’m so tired of my choices being made for me.” Her hands balled into fists and slammed on the table. Her voice was shaky as she continued, “Since I was a kid my life has never been mine. My parents forced me into the life they wanted for me. I was forced to be a parent to a child I didn’t birth. You blackmailed me to marry you. And now you’re forcing me to be a mother. I told you that’s not what I wanted!” With each word she spoke, her voice grew louder, with a growing edge. Raw hurt glittered in her honey eyes.
Setting the glass down, I twisted so I was facing her fully. “If you’re scared you won’t be a good mother then?—”
“That’s not the issue here!” Cashlynn shot out of her chair and stormed across the room until she got to the large windows. I had the automatic curtains open, giving a full view of the city lights below and darkened sky above.
Her stance remained stiff with her shoulders full of tension. Standing up, I followed her and walked over to her, pressing my body against her and moving her hair off her neck. Leaning down, I inhaled her scent and closed my eyes.
“Then explain it to me.”