Page 143 of Second Sets Omnibus

“I’m sorry, kiddo,” I whisper, shaking my head. “Where are your parents? Are they around here somewhere?”

She sucks in a breath, heavily fidgeting with her bunny until she snatches it out of my hand. “It’s okay,” she whispers. “Mommy said…”

“Lyric!” I drop my hand the moment a frantic voice echoes from down the hall. I swallow hard as River comes hauling ass in our direction with determination taking over her expression. And then she stops right beside us, silently shaking her head. Every ounce of color drains from her face when she sees my tear-stained face standing so close to…

“You,” I whisper, furrowing my brows, watching intently as she collapses to her knees and pulls the little girl away, shaking her head frantically.

“Lyric, I’ve told you before. You can’t go wandering off on your own, okay? Even here.” River’s voice evens out into a soothing one, something my mother used to coo at me when she tucked me in at night and told me she loved me.

“I love you so much, my Asher,” my mother’s soothing voice echoes in my mind. Her hazel eyes stare down at me filled with so much love, I beg her to lie beside me. “Just for tonight,” she murmurs, kissing my hair as her warm arms envelop me in a hug. “Stay my little Asher Bear forever,” she whispers one last time before my eyes flutter shut, and my chest feels whole.

“Mommy,” she whines, pointing a finger in my direction and making my body lock up. Lyric’s lip puffs out in a pout withpuppy dog eyes that could give Rad a run for his money. “He doesn’t know my name,” she says with more sadness, breaking my fucking heart. “It’s Lyric,” she says through a pout, eyes threatening to spill tiny teardrops.

“I know,” River soothes, side-eyeing me with apprehension, but shakes me off. “Aunt Kaycee is waiting for you,” she says in her mom voice again, successfully steering the conversation away from her child and me.

Her fucking child. Jesus. My heart gallops so damn fast in my chest that I swear it’s going to finally take the leap and kill me. River has a kid. When the hell did that happen? Fuck. I run a hand through my hair, gripping the roots. She has a kid who has mismatched eyes and…

Every ounce of oxygen expels from my lungs. The entire world tilts on its axis and stops turning. Little pieces click together without her having to say a word. I snap my gaze to River, who swallows hard in my presence and silently shakes her head. Long gone is the woman who confidently walked into the conference room with her head held high. In her place is a woman scared shitless that I’m here in front of her daughter.

“And Maggie!” Lyric squeals with excitement, tightening her tiny fists, seeming to forget my mistake.

“And Maggie,” River confirms, shaking off my presence and taking the little girl’s hand in hers. With one last look in my direction, River drags the girl away from me with worry lining her face.

“Bye, Daddy,” Lyric says, waving with her bunny in her hand and a bright smile on her face, reminding me so much of the woman holding onto her for dear life.

“Bye, Lyric,” I rasp, waving back as a multitude of emotions roar through my body.

“Mommy! Daddy said my name!” she squeals, breaking away from her mother’s grip and charges me with a grin. Her tinybody slams into mine, still seated on the ground. Her tiny arms wrap around my neck, and she nuzzles her face into my neck. “I knew you’d remember me, Daddy,” she whispers into my flesh. “Please, don’t forget me again.” My heart fucking cracks inside my chest and splinters into pieces. I don’t know what River has told her. Hell, I don’t know how the fuck this happened, but I’ll get to the bottom of it.

“Lyric, babe. We have to get you downstairs. Maggie is waiting,” River’s voice cracks when she says those words, slowly peeling Lyric off me.

“Bye, Daddy! See you tomorrow!” she says in a cheerful tone, waving to me one last time until they disappear around the corner and out of view.

“See you tomorrow,” I whisper a promise I can’t keep to no one but the empty hall.

I sit there for another five minutes, staring at the same spot they disappeared through. Rampant thoughts roll through my mind at hyper-speed, sending my heart into a damn frenzy. She called me Daddy. Daddy. Me? Fuck. I bring a hand up to my mouth, contemplating throwing up the acid still burning holes through my esophagus. This is my fault. Every ounce of this situation is on my shoulders. More tension mounts inside me, wreaking havoc. A pounding headache hammers through my skull, pressing me down onto the floor. The weight of the fucking world rests on me because I did this.

I’m to fucking blame. The guys have no clue River had a baby. Fuck. I didn’t know! And here she is, this beautiful little creature calling me daddy and begging me to never forget her. Goddamn. Kieran is going to break my face open when he finds out.

And I’ll deserve it.

I rub my eyes and lean my head against the wall. Fuck. I have so much to do, but I can’t seem to get myself to move fromthis spot. Just as I’m about to rise from my spot, a figure comes marching down the hall with gritted teeth and balled-up fists.

“Why’re you still here?” River asks with suspicion when she walks by, only stopping right beside me. “Shouldn’t you be packing? I’m sure you have a lot of stuff to do.” She raises a pointed brow, taking out a key from her pocket. Like a silent invitation, she opens the door I’m beside and walks in. It isn’t until I climb to my feet do I read the plaque outside the door.

‘River West–Manager–Fixer’

God damn. She really went and made something of herself, like she had always hoped. All her hard work and determination have paid off. How many days and nights did she work herself to the bone to achieve her dreams?

My heartbeat roars in my throat when I step into her office and stop short in the middle. River’s brow furrows as she leans over her desk, running her finger over a piece of paper. She swallows hard, turning to another page.

“You had a baby?” I question through a rasp, startling her from her stupor.

“Great deduction skills, Asher. You’re a regular detective,” she bites back. “You’re as smart as I remember. How long did it take you to remember her?” She scoffs, tossing whatever she was looking at back into a large envelope with her name on it. But I note the tremble in her fingers and the shiver that runs down her spine. Quickly, she picks up her phone and types out a message with pursed lips, not letting me see her emotions. Paleness erases all the color from her face, and she mutters a name under her breath, shaking her head. “Fucking, Kat.”

“Remember?” I ask, furrowing my brows. “What the hell are you talking about?” I ask, rolling my shoulders back.

She rolls her eyes and sets her phone back in a large purse. “Don’t you have more important things to do? Like pack and getyour ass in the limo?” Cocking her head to the side, her green eyes narrow at me as she waits for my answer.