Page 60 of Desperate Games

I don’t block it.

Don’t even flinch.

I let it come.

Pain flares white-hot across my face, and I grunt, spit a little blood into my hand, then I wipe it on my jeans, and I straighten my spine and look the man in the eyes.

“Dad! No!” Andrea yells.

“Andrea, don’t!” her mother commands.

“It’s okay, Andy,” I tell her, raising my hand to ward her off.

She’s on the edge of the couch, and her mother has her hands on her shoulders, holding her back.

I’m still mad, but when I see her like that?

Ready to defend me?

It stirs something inside me.

“You used her,” Mr. Ramirez snarls, shaking his head like he’s barely holding back the urge to go again. “Used her to secure your little promotion at Sigma. Used her good name. Her future. You fucking used her and if you think I’m not gonna make sure Josef fires your sneaky ass?—”

“She’s pregnant,” I say.

His words cut off, turning into a whimper.

Silence crashes over the room.

I let it hang there.

“Your daughter is pregnant. With my babies. You can have Mr. Aziz fire me if you want, but you’re going to be grandparents.”

Ellie gasps. Her hands fly to her mouth.

“Oh my God. Andrea! Is that true?” her mother asks.

“Yeah. Yes, it’s true. I’m pregnant and I’m married,” Andrea whispers, and her dark eyes meet mine for a brief second.

Shit. That’s all it takes for that stupid organ inside my body to start thumping hard.

I hadn’t even had a moment to register all this yet.

Andy’s pregnant with my babies, and she’s my wife now.

My. Fucking. Wife.

Holy shit.

Her mother hugs her, full body, sobbing into her shoulder like she’s a teenager again, not a grown woman sitting on a couch in a stranger’s house, married to a man she barely knows.

Then, like a cosmic twist of fate, Callie stirs from the guest room.

Her soft footsteps pad down the hallway. She appears in the living room doorway, rubbing her eyes, dragging her stuffed purple dinosaur behind her.

“Daddy?” she mumbles sleepily.

Andrea turns.