33. Chase

How had things gone to shit so fast? I was used to my life getting turned upside down, but this turn of events shook me to my core. I’d left Leon’s office dazed and angry enough to smash a building into the ground. My clenched fists refused to relax no matter how many times I stretched out my fingers. The last look Sabrina gave me seared itself on my brain. I saw it every time I blinked, and it never stopped hurting. She’d never once admitted she was Leon’s daughter. Never even gave an inkling to her identity.

I’d slept with my best friend’s daughter.

Russell paced up and down the sidewalk outside the cafe where we’d stopped to regroup. His frown and the tense hold on his phone as he looked up at the sky offered a warning as to the caller’s identity.

I rose and tossed a few bills on the counter to cover our food and a hefty tip, nodding my thanks to the waitress walking our way. She eyed me up and down with an appreciative tilt to her lips that I ignored.

Garrett followed me out, his steps loud as he stomped. “What are we doing?”

“I’m going home.” I met up with Russell on the sidewalk at the same time he pocketed his phone and cursed.

“What about Sabrina?” Garrett asked.

I stopped so fast he knocked into my back. “What about her? We slept with her, and now we know she’s Leon’s daughter. I never would have touched her if I’d known.”

“Bullshit.” Russell stepped into my personal space. Eyes narrowed and tight lines framing his mouth, he nudged me with one finger to my chest. “We all felt the same way about her from the minute we saw her. Nothing short of death could have stopped us from doing what we did. I don’t regret it.”

“Neither do I,” Garrett agreed.

They’d said as much in Leon’s office, but I’d doubted their sincerity considering Sabrina sucked our common sense from us with her presence. Now that we were away from her influence, I expected them to come around to my way of thinking. “Fuck off. We don’t screw our best friend’s daughter.”

“Well, we did.” Russell pointed out the obvious with a shrug. “We all fell for her, and I’m not about to let that dipshit ruin it for us because he’s stuck in the past.”

“He’s her father,” I argued back.

“Some father.” Garrett snorted. His expression mimicked Russell’s. “Did you hear the things he’s done to her? The bastard didn’t even give her his last name.”

Yeah, I’d heard. I ignored it because it didn’t fit into the narrative where I managed to let Sabrina go while imagining her going back to Leon, who welcomed her with open arms.

“I knew he was a bastard, but this is more than I can handle.” Garrett brushed his hands over his cheeks and around to the back of his neck. “He contributed to her DNA, but he’s not a father.”

It was a flimsy excuse, but it twisted open the lock on my feelings for Sabrina and brought them back into the light. A car horn blared, followed by another. The ricochet of noise jarred me enough that I stepped closer to the car. “Fine. We can agree that Leon is a shit father. What does that mean for us and Sabrina?”

“Why don’t we talk to Sabrina about that?” Russell walked around the car and slid behind the wheel, then reached over and popped open the passenger side door. “I have something I need to show you. Come on. You too, Garrett.”

We didn’t bother arguing, not when Russell gave us both a look we understood to mean he’d dog us until we gave in. Better to get it over with now than to have another thing to fight about.

Once we were in the car, Russell handed me his phone. “Play the video. I took a call from Sabrina not long ago, and that just arrived. She figured out who’s been stealing from us.”

“What the fuck?” I tapped the screen and concentrated. “Who’s recording this?”

The camera shifted and Keith came into view. He shot a wide smile at the screen and whispered, “We’re going to catch the bad guys for you, Mr. Russell.”

Damn, I loved this kid. My heart swelled to bursting when he flipped the camera back around and homed in on Sabrina and Miranda striding down the hall toward the storage closet.

“Fuck.” Garrett leaned in closer and gripped my shoulder so tight my bones ached.

Keith followed them into the room, exclaimed over the computer, then set the phone down. His fingers flew over the keyboard. “Miranda said she saw my Uncle Markus come in here. I’m going to try his password on this computer.” The screen flickered, then the main dashboard appeared. “I’m in. Look, I did it.”

Sabrina appeared at the edge of the screen but never looked at the camera. The computer took up her entire focus. My fingers twitched with the need to touch her, to smooth the lines forming in her forehead and tell her everything would be okay.

“Markus Adams.” I rolled the name around, the familiarity of it setting off a flash of warning. “Didn’t we hire a new receptionist by the name of Mark Adamson?”

“Don’t tell me we let the wolf in ourselves.” Garrett groaned and flopped backward. “Damn it. We have to increase our security protocols on hiring and deepen the background check. Unless he had a completely fake identity set up, we should have caught him.”

The video ended with Sabrina picking up the phone and aiming it directly at the computer screen. “I’m sending this to you, Russell, so you can see everything that happened. I’ll email everything that I can find, print off the rest, and I’ll download everything from the hard drive. Miranda is on her way to talk to security and get Markus’s pass revoked. He won’t get back into the building. Unless he can log in remotely, which I’m guessing he can’t since he set up this whole thing, then the computer and everything on it should be safe. But I’m not taking any chances. Call me later. Please.” Her voice cracked on the please, and my heart constricted at the plea.

Jaw locked, I dialed Leon’s private number, drumming my fingers on the dash as Russell took a sharp turn that slammed my shoulder into the door.

“Russell?” Leon’s sharp voice spurred my anger to new heights.

“It’s Chase. We need to talk to your son, Markus.” I bit back the explanation as fury exploded deep inside.

Leon’s hesitation worked a tangible threat between us. “What’s this about?”

“We’ll tell you when we talk to him. Set up a meeting.” I eyed Russell. “Tomorrow.”

Leon evidenced his annoyance with a sharp curse. “Fine.” The call ended without another word.

“Drop me off at home.” I set Russell’s phone in the cupholder and rubbed my throbbing shoulder.

“You’re not going home to sulk.” Russell changed lanes before he studied me with a sideways look. “We need to straighten things out with Sabrina.”

“Not tonight.” The last thing I needed was to look at Sabrina and realize how much I’d disappointed her. Then again, waiting to apologize wouldn’t make it any easier. My ego and my pride were a problem I thought I’d overcome, but facing Leon today and understanding that I’d fallen in love with Sabrina hit me with a combo punch that left me reeling.

Russell clicked his tongue, and a sly grin emerged. “That’s too bad. I’ve already sent someone to pick her up. She’s meeting us at your house.” He took the next turn, bringing my condo into view.

“Damn you.” I thumped my fist into my thigh. “Why did you wait to say something?”

“Figured you’d try to jump from the car.” Garrett snorted from the backseat. “I might be the one with the temper, but you hold grudges.” He clapped a hand to the back of my neck, his fingers digging into the muscles. “Time to let it go and get in touch with your feelings.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I tried to shove him off, but the man had an iron grip.

“It means.” Russell stopped the car but left it idling. “That we are all going to apologize to Sabrina for being a bunch of assholes. You, in particular.” He poked me in the chest. “And you.” He repeated the motion with Garrett. “And you’re going to keep apologizing until she forgives us, because I’m not letting you two asshats ruin the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“We’re not the damned musketeers,” I muttered. But the ache in my chest eased with his demand. Russell rarely pushed his authority. When he did, it was always for a good cause. “It’s not all for one.”

“Yes, it is.” Russell pinned me down with a stare that could shatter glass, the laser focus locked on. “This is important. It is an all-or-nothing kind of thing. So if you can’t go in there and admit that you’re in love with her, tell me now.”

The words hit the back of my throat and lodged there. I could do it. I could tell him a lie; that I could never love Sabrina. My breath leaked out in a slow wheeze. But I loved her. Damn us all, I loved her enough that once I apologized, I’d let her walk away if that was what she needed from me. I had ruined so much in my life. I loved Sabrina enough to want to make sure she did not become another casualty. “Fine.” Yanking open the door, I stepped into the shadows surrounding my front door and entered the condo’s dim foyer. Lights clicked on, bathing the open space in a warm glow that did nothing to appease the emptiness inside me.

Russell and Garrett followed me inside, their steps echoing down the hallways.

“When will she be here?” I paced to the far side of the room and ran both hands through my hair while attempting to mentally prepare my apology.

Sneakers squealed on the polished linoleum. “I’m here.” That low, velvety voice shot straight through me. She sounded sad, and a little angry.

I turned so fast my head swam and two Sabrinas flashed through my vision until I blinked them back into one. She wore simple jeans and a loose top that showed a stretch of her bare midriff. Both hands rested in front of her, gripping her phone so tight her hands shook. “Before anyone says anything, there’s something I need to say.” Her cheeks turned rosy, and she bit her lip in that adorable way of hers that I’d come to love.

“Do you want to sit down?” Russell took her by the elbow and she let him guide her into the living room but refused to sit when he positioned her at the couch.

Instead, she lifted her chin and tossed her hair over her shoulders, the warrior in her rising to the surface. “You need to have all the information. About everything.”

“We already know why you took the job. You don’t have to explain.” Garrett eased onto the arm of the couch and leaned forward.

Sabrina met his gaze and her blush deepened. “This isn’t about the job. Or my dad. Or any of that. It’s …” she trailed off and stared up at the ceiling, blinking furiously several times before she turned and locked eyes with me. “I told the truth when I said I was on birth control.”

My gaze dipped automatically to her stomach. Images popped through my mind in a series of rapid-fire shots. Sabrina pregnant. Russell with a child in his arms. The four of us creating a family, together with Keith and a baby.

“I’m pregnant, and I’m pretty sure it’s Chase’s baby, but I don’t know for sure. I understand that none of you signed on for this kind of responsibility. I won’t hold it against you if you want out. But this is my baby. I’m having it, and I’m keeping it.” She ran out of breath, and out of words, her voice falling silent even as she cupped her hands over her stomach in a protective stance.

Pregnant. It knocked around inside my head, driving all the air from my lungs and sending my body into a state of frozen bewilderment. I’d always wanted to be a father. We all had, but we’d given up that dream a long time ago when the business kept us from establishing any kind of real relationship.

Now I knew why. We were waiting for the right woman to come into our lives. One who could love all of us, and who we could love in return.

Sabrina took a single step back. “I’m going to go.” The quiver in her voice attempted to pull me from my stupor. “I’m sorry you found out this way.”