My mouth drops open.
“Truth is stranger than fiction, isn’t it?”
“Wow.”
“So, the night I finally met you, he might’ve approached as part of a plan to fuck me over. Rob me. Tryin’ to fuck me over again after the shit he pulled three years ago.”
I blink in surprise.
“Cops are askin’ questions about Iadanza and his connection to you. Things are a little sticky.”
“Yikes.”
We’re quiet a minute and still hugging. I look up at him.
“Those drugs could’ve killed you,” I say.
“Or you could’ve gotten hurt. Our baby.”
I’ve got a nasty bruise on my lower back from when I got knocked into his desk. I don’t bother saying that and I’m hoping it fades before he notices. He’s got enough guilt eating him up right now.
He pulls me closer. “Please go out. Until tomorrow morning. Let me sleep. Then come back. I’ll come home when I’m sure I’ve got my head on straight. Okay?”
I nod. “I don’t wanna be away from you, but I get that you need this, so, okay. Don’t stay away from me a second longer than you need to.” I poke him in the chest.
He gives me a sad smile and I know he’s clued into the fact that I used the words as he did when I left him after finding out about Ray.
He touches his lips to my head.
“I love you,” I say.
“Love you, baby. So fuckin’ much,” he whispers gruffly. “Go,” he adds, slapping my butt.
I kiss him, then roll away.
“Maybe I’ll go visit Grampa, stay at his place. My cousin Wendy arrives today. Maybe I’ll find out where she’ll be. Or if she’s in too late, I’ll stay at Susanna’s. I’ll let you know which. Or spy on me like you do and save me the phone call.”
He smiles. “I spied on you a lot from the hospital. You looked sad.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I sure was. Don’t you dare shut me out again or I will rain down hellfire Violet-style.”
He sighs.
“Call me if you need me and message me when you’re leaving.”
He looks into my eyes. “I will. Fuckin’ love you so much.”
“Not as much as I love you,” I say.
He jolts in surprise and then smiles. “Definitely more.”
I shake my head. “Nuh uh. Go to sleep. Call me later.”
He reaches a hand out toward me. I grab it. He squeezes it and then tugs, making me fall into the bed.
“Do you want me to go or don’t you?”
“I don’t. But you need to.” He kisses my nose and then his hand lands gently on my belly and he rubs back and forth. “Love you both.”
“We love you, too. Okay, sleep. I’m just gonna hang out out there until Tony gets here.”
“And you’ll call and then wait for Wes.”
“Oh yeah.”
He gives me a dirty look.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” I kiss him again and then roll away, wishing he’d just let me snuggle up with him and stay.
But I get it.
I gather some clothes and bathroom supplies, then when I get to the kitchen I toss in my bottle of prenatal vitamins and a package of refrigerated gingerbread cookie dough along with an extra bag of the morning sickness suckers my mom bought me.
There’s a knock on the door just as I zip my bag up. I peek out the peephole. Tony.
I disarm the alarm and let him in.
“He gave me the keys, but I didn’t wanna just let myself in,” Tony greets.
“Come on in,” I invite. “Can I get you something? Anything?”
“I’m good. Where’s Killian?” he asks carefully.
“He’s asleep. I’m goin’ to visit some family until tomorrow. Right after I contact Wesley. Hopefully he can get here soon.”
“Wes is in the parking garage right now. Killian called him to be close today.”
“Oh?”
He nods. “Kill’s payin’ a lotta good money to keep you safe. He’s torn up about the other day, Violet. I shouldn’t say that, but I’m gonna say that. If you two aren’t okay, believe me, you will be. He just needs time to come to grips with everything. He’s really shook up, haven’t seen him like this before.”
“What he went through was terrifying, I’m sure,” I say.
“And I apologize to you for what happened when you called the ambulance. I was tryin’ to do what he wanted me to. And he agreed that’s what he’d have wanted.”
I’m about to argue when he shakes his head, halting me.
“But I understand why you wanted to call the ambulance. I hope you’re not angry with me.”
“I’m not,” I say. “Not anymore.”
He cracks a smile. “And just to say, I’m also sorry about the other thing that happened. Last week when I went to the other house and… when you-know-what happened with you-know-who. I wasn’t careful enough and that could’ve been bad for all of us. It won’t happen again. But I’m sorry it did. I’m someone you guys can count on, despite how it looks.”