Page 17 of With A Little Luck

I also hate that if she’s right, I’ve missed out on a shit ton of memories that I can never get back.

I’ll never get to see the lines on the test turn pink with her.

I won’t be able to go to the appointment when you first get to hear the heartbeat or see the first ultrasound.

Never get to battle it out over whether we want to know the gender of the baby.

I won’t have the chance to watch her stomach grow from a tiny bump into a significant curve.

“I am so sorry I left that morning… I meant to leave my number, but I had an emergency—” She cuts off when my hands land on her hips, dragging her a few feet away as the idiots roll around, punching each other. “Please, you have to stop them.”

“They are not my problem,” I deadpan, quirking an eyebrow. “You and the baby are.”

Shit.

All this stress can’t be good for either one of them.

Apparently I hesitate for too long.

“Fine.” Quincy huffs, shaking out of my grip. “I’ll do it.” She steps around me like she’s about to interfere in an alpha fight, but I grab her by the hips and drag her back once more.

She ends up leaning against my chest, and I can’t help myself. My hand brushes over the soft material of her pajama dress.

Yeah…

She’s definitely knocked up.

I’ve never felt anything like it. Her stomach is firm, almost hard, but also soft. I don’t know how to explain it.

My brain turns into a spiraling mess all over again as I realize all the moments I’ve missed.

I would have been with her at every appointment—by her side every single step of the way.

And all of that is…

Gone.

My teeth grind together to keep from demanding answers. She said she planned to leave her number, but that sure didn’t end up happening, and I feel robbed.

That’s if she’s telling the truth and the baby is mine, but I also know I need to broach that conversation when I’m not concerned the top of my head might pop off.

My mother never hid the fact that I’m a birth control baby. Or rather, a birth control failure. She and my dad were in some kind of committed relationship when she found out she was pregnant with me, but her idea of committed and his idea of committed were two very different things.

Based on her account, he didn’t take the news well. Even went so far as to ask how she was sure that I was his kid. It destroyed any trust my mother had in him. Not that he deserved much—again, by her account.

I never met the man to have an opinion. Luckily my stepdads came into the picture and things were different for my little sisters.

If I’m not very careful, I can screw up any hope I have of Quincy trusting me. Not that I’ve necessarily got a whole lot of trust in her at the moment.

She’s the one who walked out, but I’m willing to hear her side of things before making judgments I can’t take back.

I missed out on a lot not having my old man around when I was growing up, or so I thought when I was a kid. In reality, I was lucky that my mom’s pack treated me like their own.

If nothing else, I’ve got the opportunity to learn from my biological father’s mistakes.

“Ridge, please,” Quincy says, running her small cold hand over mine where it rests on her stomach. “Make them stop. They’re going to hurt each other, and I still have so many questions.” The concern on her face as she peers up at me makes my gut twist.

“Fine, but you owe me a conversation,” I say, trying to shake off the pain in my chest. “No excuses and no putting it off.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey, fuckers!” I bark. “Enough! You accidentally smack into Quincy, and I will have no choice but to snap your fucking necks.” I grimace, peeking at her face over her shoulder.

Fuck me. I’m going to have to learn how to tone it down.

She’s a civilian. “Uh, not to mention, you’re stressing her out, which isn’t good for her or the baby. Fucking stop!”

Trigg freezes, allowing Hartley to slam his elbow into the other alpha’s head, but he gives up struggling when he realizes Trigg isn’t fighting back.

“Now, if the two of you are ready to stop acting like toddlers, we need to leave,” I say, glaring at the two idiots.

“What’s happening?” Quincy asks.

“Remember how I told you I run security for high-profile clients?” I use my hold on her hip to spin her to face me. “I gained some attention from the wrong kind of enemy. The kind that holds a grudge.”

Dammit.

I don’t know how much to say.

Or how truthful to be.

Being vague isn’t going to do her any favors if she decides not to come with us. Telling her the truth might send her straight to the closest telephone to make good on Hartley’s threats to call the cops.

“Trigg is here to watch my back,” I say, studying Quincy’s beautiful face.

Her eyes are so damn blue, and her confusion is clear as day.

“We’re about to hunker down to see exactly how everything plays out, but Trigg’s hyperfixation of eating at the restaurant you work at might have put you in their line of sight.

He wouldn’t let it go until I agreed you could come stay at my house until this entire thing blows over, but that was before I knew the woman he’s been stalking is you. ”

Quincy grimaces. “You know, I’m not a fan of that word. Let’s all stop using it.” She nods, agreeing with herself. “It makes it sound a lot less sweet and slightly more creepy than I’m comfortable with. Trigg has been nothing but kind to me.”

I glance over her shoulder as the asshole in question climbs to his feet.

“You know he has cameras hidden in your house?” I quirk an eyebrow at the fucker.

Let’s see him bounce back from that revelation.

Quincy goes stiff, spinning to face Trigg. “Is that true?”

“Technology is my thing.” He shoves his glasses up and sighs. “I monitor everything and everyone, especially those I care about. I only wished to feel confident that you would be safe when I wasn’t nearby.”

“Dammit,” Quincy whispers. “I think there’s something wrong with me. My instincts seem convinced that was not only a logical explanation, but also very sweet.”

“Are there cameras in her bedroom?” Hartley asks, crossing his arms over his nude chest.

I don’t know when he even had the chance to get to his feet.

Trigg keeps eye contact with Quincy as he speaks. “Just one.”

“Meaning you watched everything we did last night and this morning,” Hartley growls.

“Yes, but you’re still alive.” Trigg spins to face him. “That’s solely because she’s fond of you, but my patience is running thin.”

“Are you willing to come to my house for a few days?” I ask Quincy, trying to get us back on track. “It’s out of an abundance of caution, but with us coming here…” I frown, shaking my head. “There’s an even greater chance now that you might be on their radar.”

“You can’t be seriously considering going anywhere with these two,” Hartley says, his tone lined in pure disbelief.

“I think I might owe Ridge at least that,” Quincy says. “The baby is his.”

If the circumstances were anything other than the clusterfuck currently going down, I would laugh at the way his jaw falls. We’ve been discussing this for the better part of five minutes, but I think he’s been willfully ignoring what’s happening. More than likely due to his hatred of Trigg.

Hey, there’s something we can agree on.

I really don’t know how I feel about that dick. He’s been stalking Quincy for weeks. That can be dangerous when the hyperfixation wears off.

“Just to clarify,” I say, gently grabbing Quincy’s forearm, “you don’t owe me anything outside of a conversation about the baby and what happened that morning I woke up alone in the hotel room.

” She turns back toward me, and I release her wrist. “There is some shit going down that I wouldn’t want you to get mixed up in, but if you’re not comfortable coming to stay with me, I will call my boss and have him assign a team to stay here with you.

They’ll need to be with you round the clock, but it will give you some autonomy.

I don’t want you to feel like the only way you’ll be safe is with me. ”

“Have him assign another team to you if that’s the case. I’m not trusting Quincy’s safety to strangers.” Trigg looks from me to her. “You’ll never be safer than when I’m by your side.”

“Jesus,” Hartley mutters, echoing my thoughts.

For being so completely socially inept, that was actually pretty smooth. I’m probably going to end up stabbing Trigg before all of this is over.

Fuck me. I need a beer or seven.