Page 20 of With A Little Luck

Chapter Seventeen

Trigg

K nox and I make it inside, and I’m shocked to see Quincy sitting next to King. That mutt can’t stand me, but thus far, I’ve been able to head him off before he successfully managed to piss in my shoes. That furry creature and I have a reckoning coming.

Animals are fine.

I’m generally indifferent to their existence, unless their presence makes my eyes water, my nose run, and that weird tickle of a dry cough appears in the back of my throat.

“You are the cutest little guy I’ve ever seen,” Quincy coos, scratching the mutt behind the ears.

His tongue hangs out of the side of his mouth, and the drooling almost makes me gag.

I can see the benefits of certain breeds, but that dog isn’t adding any protection value to the house. Perhaps an early warning alert if the security system was to go down in a power outage, but I know for a fact that Ridge has a backup system that comes on with the generator.

Also, the mutt failed to bark upon our arrival. Although he did growl at me for quite some time yesterday. He was simply too lazy to jump from the couch to do anything about his distaste.

Well, until Ridge served his dinner.

Then he promptly attempted to piss in my dress shoes.

“He’s got so many rolls,” Quincy laughs, bumping her shoulder against Hartley’s. “Do you like dogs?”

I believe I might be jealous of an animal that can hardly make it up the stairs on his own without needing to be carried.

“Yeah, they’re great for companionship, but I traveled so much, it didn’t seem fair to get a pet.” Hartley reaches around her, scratching under the beast’s jaw.

King doesn’t growl at the former football player.

I believe he has a personal vendetta against me.

It’s fine.

The feeling is mutual.

“Ridge texted me,” Knox says. “He wants me to show the two of you to the bedroom you’ll be staying in.”

“You should probably rest and elevate your legs.” Hartley pats Quincy’s thigh and stands. “I’m still full from the late lunch, early dinner that we had, but if you’re hungry, I bet one of them will let us know when the food arrives.” He offers her his hands, and she takes them.

“I’m going to spend a while unpacking my computers,” I say, just in case she cares. “But I’ll be happy to come find you when it gets here.”

Quincy smiles. “Please do. I tend to eat small, frequent meals.”

“That makes sense. You don’t have much room with the baby taking up all your space,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

Flashes of the show they put on replay in my mind like I’m watching the live feed. The urge to slice Hartley’s throat is strong, but I did give Quincy my word that I wouldn’t harm him.

Why did I do that again?

Ridge leans against the counter in the kitchen next to the refrigerator. His arms are crossed, but he’s got a bottle of beer gripped in one hand so tightly that it looks like he wants to deal with broken glass.

I come to a stop by the island, trying to determine how to broach this conversation. “How did you meet Quincy?”

His head rolls around the top set of cabinets as he twists to meet my gaze.

Does he always wear those ridiculous aviators?

Even at home?

“Knox and I were having drinks after work one night,” he says. “We normally go to O’Malley’s because they have good food, but they were closed due to a water leak.”

“And she was your waitress?” I ask when he pauses for too long.

“No.” He pulls his beer to his mouth, taking a long swig.

“She was by herself. Some guys were hassling her, and she came over to ask if she could sit with us so they would leave her alone. I found out later that she walked in on her boyfriend with his receptionist or assistant or something. She went to the bar to have a drink before heading home to look after her grandmother.”

“I see.”

“And now she’s here in my house , and she’s pregnant.” He bangs his head against the cabinet. “Oh, and she has a fucking boyfriend.”

I open my mouth to tell him Hart isn’t her boyfriend, but Knox interrupts.

“They’re settled into the pack bedroom.” Knox chuckles. “I thought you were exaggerating, but she’s about to pop. She has to be close to her due date.”

“Where the hell are Leo and Shaw?” Ridge pushes off the kitchen counters, striding toward the dining room. “I swear to fuck, I’m going to puke. I’ve seen someone holding their intestines and never felt a flicker of nausea.”

My gaze moves to Knox’s.

“Oh yeah, he’s losing his shit.” The other alpha laughs and takes off after his friend.

I follow, and I’m not even sure why. Ridge’s mental breakdown is of no concern to me.

I should be scoping out teams I can hire to take out Hartley Adams. I assured Quincy I wouldn’t hurt him, but I never said a peep about other highly paid assassins.

Ridge stumbles down the back steps and begins heaving in the grass.

I frown.

I’m not going to be the one to offer him assistance.

“Well, damn, I’ve never seen you puke.” Shaw’s voice startles me, and I turn, just catching him and Leo as they stride in through the side gate. It allows someone to bypass the house completely, leading from the front yard directly into the backyard. “You’ve got a stomach of steel.”

I’m not overly familiar with the two, but I have seen them around the Shadow Security office on two separate occasions. From what I understand, they work with Ridge regularly. Easton mentioned that he often likes to group them together because they make for a solid team.

I suppose that means they’re friends outside of work. I personally like to keep my work and social life separate. The fact that I have no social life is irrelevant.

“Exactly how much has he had to drink?” Leo only stops to latch the gate before following hot on Shaw’s heels. “Should we grab Valor? If he goes down, it’ll be our only chance of carrying him without a crane.”

The giant alpha is still bent over, dry heaving, but he raises his right hand, shaking his bottle of beer. “This is my first, you fucking dicks.” More gagging. “I need new friends.”

“Food poisoning?” Shaw asks, glancing between me and Knox.

“Pregnancy,” Knox says with a straight face. “Fucked him right up.”

I scoff.

Seriously?

These are the type of people my brother chooses to surround himself with?

Ridge pops up and points at me. “That son of a bitch has been stalking my baby mama for weeks while I had no idea how to find her.”

“I’ve been quietly courting a woman I’m interested in,” I clarify. “I had no idea you were who impregnated her.”

“So… This is for real?” Shaw asks with wide eyes. “You knocked someone up?”

Ridge shrugs. “Sure looks that way.”

“I’m so fucking confused,” Shaw says, laughing and thumping Leo in the stomach. “Go make us some popcorn. This is getting good.”

“Make it yourself if you want it.” Leo slaps Shaw’s hand away.

“I’m going back inside to ensure Quincy and her man friend don’t try to escape while no one is around to stop them,” Knox says from near the sliding glass door. “I suggest you get your shit together before coming back inside.”

“Holy fuck,” Ridge groans. “She’s going to have to give birth. I did that to her. She’s going to hate me.”

“I mean, is she dead set on having the baby?” Shaw asks. “Did anyone ask how she’s feeling about the situation, rather than making assumptions?”

“It’s way past that point.” Ridge takes a sip of his beer and mimics the size of Quincy’s stomach with his free hand. “She’s like this pregnant. Super pregnant. Really fucking pregnant.”

“Damn,” Leo and Shaw say in unison.

“Quincy is excited about the prospect of meeting the baby.” My eyes narrow. I am, too, for that matter, not that anyone thought to ask. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be. I’m more than happy to step in and fill the role you seem to want no part of.”

“I will stab you in both eyes while you sleep.” Ridge growls, jabbing his beer in my direction. “Do not fuck with me right now. I found out about the baby an hour ago. I’m allowed to spiral in private!”

“You know, I think you’d be a great dad,” Shaw says, shrugging. “Yeah, it’s a surprise, but it doesn’t automatically have to be a bad one.”

“She’s got a boyfriend,” Ridge hisses.

“Hart is not her boyfriend. He’s her employer,” I clarify.

Fine, yes, I heard them both confirm that they’re now dating, but I refuse to acknowledge that.

I’m her literal soulmate!

I just have to find a way to scare him off before they can bond. If that doesn’t work, I might have to take more extreme measures, but I need to do it in a way that Quincy won’t be upset over.

“She’s been working five or six days a week out of financial necessity,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “That’s how the two of them grew closer.”

“Well, you can fix her financial situation, at the very least,” Leo says. “She doesn’t need to be working if she’s that far along.”

“I’m frustrated as fuck,” Ridge growls. “She left that morning! Not me. I don’t go around sticking my dick in anything that moves, and there’s a good reason for that.

I don’t want to be anything like my biological father.

” He sighs, shaking his head. “But I had no way of finding her. East kept sending me on job after job?—”

“Her grandmother died. She got the call that morning.” I quirk an eyebrow. “She was frazzled and walked out without leaving her number.”

Apparently now I’m lying to protect Quincy.

Or I could be.

I heard her mention to Ridge that she intended to leave her number, but there were extenuating circumstances. I know from one of our conversations after I started obsessing about the fact she has no alphas that her gran passed the night of her one-night stand.

Adding all of that up leads me to believe it’s a logical train of thought with just a few leaps to fill in the missing information.

Normally, I find lying unnecessary and unpalatable, but I would go to much darker lengths to protect my literal other half.

“Fuck,” Ridge mutters.

“Do you know if she looked for you after she found out she was pregnant?” Leo asks. “Even if she did, I’m sure she couldn’t have found anything. You know how tight Easton has all of us locked down. There’s not a trace of any of us anywhere on the internet.”

“Jesus.” Ridge swipes a hand over his face. “I forgot about that.”

“I don’t want to sound insensitive to your situation, because I would be upset too,” Leo says calmly. “But I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. You’re the one with access to hackers. It would have been way easier for you to find her than vice versa.”

“Easton sent me out of town!” Ridge snarls, spinning in a circle. “One job after another on a rotating loop of assignments. I haven’t had a day off?—”

“Yeah, he does love to work us to the bone,” Shaw says, pointing at Ridge. “It’s a complicated situation, but no one is perfect. It sounds like you both made mistakes. Be grateful you didn’t miss out on the birth.”

“No, I just missed out on like eight or nine months of milestones,” Ridge mutters.

“That is difficult to come to terms with,” Leo says as he approaches Ridge, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Unless you’d like to miss out on fifty percent or more of your child’s life, I suggest you find a way to accept what happened, move on from it, and rebuild your relationship with Quincy. ” He looks at me. “Is that right?”

I nod.

Does he think Ridge doesn’t even know her name?

Christ.

I hate dealing with this many people. I greatly enjoy solitude, and they’re all on my last damn nerve.

Leaving Ridge on the back deck to have a beer and talk things out with his friends , I head back inside and straight upstairs to begin unpacking my equipment.

Now that Quincy is here with us, I’m even more on edge about Costa and his minions. Having my belongings organized will help offset some of the unsettled feelings that come from having my routine destroyed.

I’m in the process of hooking up my three monitors when Knox sticks his head in the door. He knocks after the fact, making my eyes roll.

“The food is here,” he says, aiming a thumb over his shoulder. “Ridge is still out back, but he told me to tell you guys to feel free to eat. I’m beat. I’m about to hop in the shower. It’s all laid out on the dining room table.”

Shoving up my glasses, I nod. “Thank you. I’ll get Quincy.”

Hopefully that barnacle who thinks he’s dating her can be detached. I wouldn’t mind a few minutes alone to speak with Quincy without Hartley verbally attacking me at each turn.

There’s every possibility Ridge will come to terms with things, and there’s a chance that he won’t. Logically speaking, I assume there’s a slim possibility the two won’t make amends.

I would find it more convenient to have Quincy to myself, but at least Ridge and I have our profession in common.

If nothing else, I’ve decided it can’t hurt to have another capable alpha around to protect my omega.

I can give a little.

Allowing Quincy to keep Ridge will show that I’m not as rigid or as selfish as everyone accuses me of being.

However, I can’t seem to find a purpose for Hart. He doesn’t have military or personal protection training. He’ll be a liability—another civilian that I’m forced to keep alive, simply to ensure Quincy remains happy.

That doesn’t bode well for his long-term survival.

Hartley better prove himself useful before my patience runs out.

Hartley, of course, decides to tag along to eat—even though he made it clear only an hour ago that he wasn’t hungry.

Quincy must have been cold because she has a cardigan sweater on over a new cotton dress. It’s dark gray and falls nearly to her knees. She must prefer that style of dress because I’ve seen her in it in several different colors. They always cling to her stomach, showing off her delicious curves.

I’m a fan of the style, and I like that she seems comfortable in them.

“Are you cold?” I ask as we approach the table. “I can locate the thermostat and bump the heat up?—”

“No, I’m good. Thank you, Trigg.” She smiles softly. “It just felt inappropriate to wear a nightgown around someone else’s house. I figured I should at least put on a sweater.”

Hartley doesn’t hesitate to pop the lids on the boxes, checking what’s inside each before moving on to the next. “You got lucky.” He laughs. “I see mozzarella sticks with extra marinara sauce.” He tosses an arm around Quincy’s shoulder.

Acid reflux burns my gut and esophagus. I’m not used to having to endure being in close proximity to people I dislike, and it’s causing physical discomfort.

Having Quincy here was supposed to go so much differently. I even thought she might allow me to cuddle with her as she slept. It would be the first time she knowingly allowed me to sleep at her side.

I had plans, dammit.

And Hartley is ruining every single one of them.