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“I was worried about you,” I murmured, the anger that had fueled me now fighting with the comfort of holding her again.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered against my chest, her voice shaky. “I should’ve never gotten out of the car like that.”
I pulled back slightly, searching her eyes. “You’re not the one who needs to apologize.”
My hands slipped around her middle, and I confirmed what I had just noticed when she walked out of that room: the slight curve of her belly, unmistakable under the fitted clothes she wore. My heart skipped a beat, and a thousand questions flooded my mind.
“Are you… arey’allokay?” I asked, my heart racing as I palmed the baby bump just beginning to show beneath her shirt.
“I’m okay, Real. Aaqil’s an idiot, but he didn’t hurt me. I cussed him out real good, too.”
Love was the cutest when she got feisty. And my time in Louisiana had shown me that my shorty could curse like a sailor.
A smile pulled at my lips. “So, Pip was finally wrong about something.”
She rolled her eyes. “Pip loves to play with words. She said you didn’t knock me up that morning, because I was already pregnant. She and Granny realized before I did.”
I couldn’t help the grin that crossed my face. Wait until I saw that little troublemaker.
Aaqil cleared his throat, and it must’ve been the first time Love looked around the room. I heard her gasp, and then her grip on me was tightening. She shook her head as her eyes widened with fear. A soundless “no” curved her lips. Raouf said nothing, but the way he stared at her—a sick mix of lust and anger pissed me the fuck off.
“It’s okay. I got you,” I whispered.
“But I have all the guns.” Aaqil smirked. “Step away from him, Everly.”
She shook her head as I held her tighter. “Fuck you, Aaqil. Ain’t nobody leaving here with her but me,” I vowed.
Aaqil made a tutting sound. “I do not know about that. I made a deal with Raouf. He is willing to take her as is, although she must be a favored mistress instead of his wife. You fucked that up for her, little brother. You should be more careful about wrapping it up,as you Americans say.”
I laughed softly. “As if I would ever let her go with this stalking ass nigga. You and he got me fucked up.”
“Oh, Raouf has the perfect plan. He quickly figured out how this situation gives him leverage. He will take her, and he will not even make her destroy the child. It will be insurance. You will live knowing that your child is under his domain. He will take them to a place where they are both his legal property.”
Rage, blinding and possessive, arced through me. I took a step toward Aaqil, only to feel Love’s hands on my arms.
“Real… baby, wait,” she pleaded.
“That will never happen.Never. I don’t let go of what is mine.”
It was my half-brother’s turn to laugh. “You have no choice. As I said, I have all the guns. If you ever attempt to steal her back or threaten Raouf’s life, he will take the child’s.”
“No!” Love objected, the sound anguished as she placed a protective hand on her belly.
“Yes,” Aaqil countered. “And he so generously offered to include me in the protection.”
My mind was working, trying to figure this out through the haze of anger Aaqil’s audacity had created. My brothers would be on their way by now—I had already felt my phone buzzing nonstop—but could they make it in time? I would need help getting her out of here safely with these odds. But there was no way I could let Raouf take her. Depending on the country, he could effectively disappear Love and our baby from the Western world forever.
“You are at a loss for words, yes?” Aaqil chuckled. “Raouf’s plan is perfect… except for one little detail.”
The man who had been unable to take his eyes off, Love suddenly frowned and gave Aaqil a confused look. Aaqil’s face hardened, and he quickly lifted his gun hand.
“You could not possibly think that I would ever allow a niece or nephew of mine to be used like that.”
Love jumped and screamed as a silenced shot ripped through Raouf’s forehead. Shockwaves rippled through me.
“Your niece or nephew?” I finally spoke. Imagine this nigga, claiming my baby.
Aaqil shrugged as his men rushed to begin the clean up.