Page 153 of All That Glitters

“You’ve got to be good to your mom. She loves you a whole lot, and she can’t wait to meet you. And I’ll let you in on a little secret, sweet pea. I can’t wait to meet you either.”

I freaking love the nickname sweet pea that he’s been calling the baby since we found out she’s a girl. I swear I melt every time he uses it.

He kisses my lips lightly before grinning when he gets to his feet. “So, food?”

“I want the usual, but I also want some cake pops and a peach iced tea.”

“You’ve got it. Powers is on the phone in the office. Tell him I’ll grab his usual when he comes out.”

“I will. I can’t believe how busy it has been today. I swear people are acting like we’re closing down or something. It’s so weird.”

“Yeah, weird.” He snorts before heading out, and the bell above the door gives a little jingle when he closes it.

I get back to my humming and dusting. Five minutes later, the jingle starts again. I look over and see Kiki trying to maneuver the door with a large cardboard box in her hands.

“Ooh, let me help. Midas said you were coming.”

“Thanks.” She grins at me as I move to take the box from her. She frowns when I get a look inside.

“What the heck is all this stuff?”

Before she can answer, the box slips as she tries to pass it to me, and we both fumble for it. I reach to catch it and when she slaps something into my palm, my fingers automatically close around it.

“Whatever you do, don’t let go,” she says in a sing-song tone.

“Huh?” I ask, confused when she pulls the box away. I stare down at my hand, trying to understand what I’m seeing. When it finally sinks in, my eyes snap to hers to find her grinning maliciously at me. “Please tell me this is a joke.” My voice breaks as I stare back down at the grenade in my hand.

“The only joke here is you. You think you can take my man?” she snarls at me. I blink at her, feeling sweat drip from my brow, my fight-and-flight instinct abandoning me and leaving me paralyzed instead.

“I thought once you were gone, everything would be better. But then the rest of the bitches kept sniffing around, trying to make their plays for him. Of course, he never saw them, onlyme, as it should be. But I didn’t trust them not to try something underhanded like spike his drink or something.”

“You poisoned Tina,” I state, my breath coming out in short pants.

“Of course I did. I knew she was going to sneak into his bed and pretend to be you, and I wasn’t about to let that happen.”

“I don’t understand. You’re the one who trashed my apartment? Did you steal my underwear too? God Kiki, I’d already left him. You’re the reason I’m even back here in the first place.”

“He couldn’t leave you alone. You’ve got some kind of fucking hold over him. It makes no fucking sense. I mean, you’re carrying another man’s baby, and he still wants you? No, I’m not buying it. You’re blackmailing him somehow, I know it.” She’s not making any sense, going backward and forward in her explanation, but all I can focus on is the grenade in my hand and the ringing in my ears.

I hear movement behind me and whimper, expecting it to be Powers.

It’s worse than that.

“They didn’t have any cake pops left so I got you cookies.”

My world falls apart and crumbles at my feet. This can’t be happening. It can’t be real.

“Legs? Oh, Kiki, hey. What’s wrong with Legs?” I feel him get closer. Kiki, for once, looks a little lost because what the fuck is she even going to say?

“There was an accident. She tried to grab the box when it fell…” Her voice trails off as Midas steps up next to me and freezes solid at what’s in my hand.

“Baby?”

I look up at him, tears streaming down my face. “You need to get out of here.”

“No, fuck that. I’m not leaving you.”

“She’s right. It’s not safe. We should leave and call for help,” Kiki adds, just as the bell goes above the door again.