Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Brooklyn

I roll over, slapping around for my phone. It's a whole process to wake up enough to manage to shut off my alarm.

Libby sleeps stretched out wide across the other side of my bed.

"Oh, crap." I tug the blanket back and pat around, but the bed is dry. She's also in the same dress she had on last night. Yanking up the bottom, I see someone put her in a Pull-Up.

Thank God for that.

Noble must have put us both to bed.

I try really hard to encourage Libby to sleep in her room. If she gets used to sleeping with me, I'm afraid the baby will keep her up all night once he or she is born.

It's time to get us both up and ready to start the day, but first, I need to check on Lennox…

Right after I visit the restroom.

My bladder must have shrunk three sizes recently.

Lennox looks as beautiful as ever, with her long, dark hair fanning around her face as she sleeps. She wouldn't have gotten in until early this morning if she worked a full shift.

I still shake her awake with zero shame.

"Hey, wake up." I give her arm another shove.

"What the hell, Brooklyn?" she grumbles, rubbing at her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I just fell asleep."

"Dustin knows I'm pregnant," I say, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Never in a million years did I expect him to pop up at our door. I was already in my comfy house clothes."

"Oh, shit." She sits up, leaning against her headboard.

"Yeah," I agree, rolling my jaw from side to side. "Why was he looking for you in the first place?"

"He comes into the club a few times a week." Lennox shrugs, and her hair falls over her face as she glances away. "He flirts, but I'm not interested. Thorne can't stand him. I'm polite enough to keep my job. Nothing more."

I study her face for any signs of deception. "Has he been giving you a hard time?"

Even though I can't put my finger on why, it still feels like she's keeping something from me.

"No, not really," she says. "He's just like any other customer. I mean, they all flirt."

My hand slides to cradle the fluttering movements in my lower stomach. I've been able to feel the baby move for the last few weeks. It's just so light that I miss it if I'm not paying attention. He or she must be doing their morning calisthenics.

"Really, Brooklyn," Lennox says softly, stretching to run her hand over my stomach. "How much longer do you think you can keep the baby a secret?"

I sigh, shoving myself off her bed. "Some women manage it for their entire pregnancy…"

"Okay, you're just being stubborn," she says, pushing her lips together. "Me being friendly with Dustin might help?—"

"No!" My hand flies out as I point at her chest. "I don't want you involved with the Barretts at all."

"Thorne isn't a bad guy," she says, referencing Avan's security guy that she's into.

"He works for a…" I trail off, not wanting to scare her. She's still young and a little too optimistic about humankind. "Just stay away from all of them. Please." I walk toward her bedroom door. "Learn from my mistakes, so you don't have to live them."

"Brooklyn, wait," she says, but I'm already out the door and heading to wake up my kid.

Admitting I'd never be able to afford my apartment and Libby's daycare without Avan's help is a hard pill to swallow. He set me up in the spacious three-bedroom unit when I was a few months pregnant.

He also continued to pay all my medical bills, even when it became apparent that he was disappointed Libby would be a girl.

At first, seeing how much less he cared about my pregnancy once we found out the gender made me want to punch him in the face.

Now?

I can appreciate the gift the universe gave me.

I'm just terrified that I won't get that lucky a second time around. He wouldn't have let me keep Libby if I'd birthed a proper "heir."

It's why I've put off finding out the gender of this baby.

I don't have the resources to fight him.

All I can pray is that I keep my secret long enough to escape.

It's so complicated.

Avan isn't a great dad, but he's not a terrible one, either.

I try really hard not to let my personal feelings for him as a shitty ex taint my view of him as Libby's father.

He never makes me beg for money. If I mention that she needs something, he takes care of it.

It's hard on an ethical level, because when we met, I didn't know his family was involved in organized crime.

I thought they were run-of-the-mill businessmen.

Libby was almost a year old before I got a peek at the full scope of what they're involved in. Even now, I probably don't know everything.

Leaning against the glass counter, I study the patrons sitting in the café attached to the bookstore I work in. It was pure luck that I walked in the day after Mrs. Patterson had an employee quit.

Avan may be responsible for keeping a roof over mine and Libby's heads, but I work full time. Although, admittedly, my checks are tiny in comparison to what a three-bedroom apartment around here would go for in rent.

If it wasn't for Avan living here, I wouldn't stay in the city.

There's no way I could afford to.

I startle, pulling my shoulders back when I spot Noble sauntering my way with two paper cups. Absently licking my lips, I take in the dark jeans that are molded to his thighs and the way his T-shirt stretches over his muscular chest.

My entire body tenses as I remember calling him out for all his female guests.

Why did I think I had the right to do that?

I shake away the embarrassment as best as I can and walk around the counter to greet him.

I've seen him stop in for coffee before, and we've said a casual hello , but he's never walked down the three steps into the bookstore.

"I must say…" Noble sets the cups down on the counter and spins to face me with his hands free. He gets very close to my ear before continuing. "It's shocking how easily I'd miss it if I didn't know." His hands land on my hips, giving a little squeeze.

He leans in, and the coarse hair of his beard tickles my cheek. His delicious scent floods my nose, overwhelming my system.

This is weird.

Maybe I'm still asleep?

I stand frozen.

Blinking like a total goofball, I try to huff as much of his smell as I can take in without making myself seem even weirder than I already have.

"What are you doing here?" I blurt out.

Yeah, I'm sure that helped.

"I brought you a coffee." He stays bent low, so he can stare directly into my eyes. "Decaf, of course."

A slow, sexy smile breaks out over his face, and my heart thumps faster in response.

"You stopped by to bring me a decaf coffee?" I ask, squinting up at him.

"I did," he agrees. "I wanted to check in on you. You seemed beat last night."

I nod, shoving my hair behind my ear. "I was. I'm so sorry. I remember us talking on the couch…"

"Yeah." He chuckles as his hands slide under the collar of my shirt. He proceeds to smooth it out over the top of the sweater dress I'm wearing. "You knocked right out on me. Then again, my family stories weren't exactly riveting." His long fingers brush my shoulders as he pats the collar back into place. "I thought we could try again sometime?"

"You want to hang out with me again?"

The lack of sleep might be affecting me more than I realized.

He did just say that.

I think.

Hell, maybe long-term exhaustion is finally taking its toll.

"I thought we could eat something…together. I could even cook for you if you'd like." Noble smirks, and it makes him so devastatingly handsome that my knees wobble.

I didn't know that actually happened in real life. I've never had a man make me weak in the knees before.

"Once Libby falls asleep, we could start a movie." His thumb teases over my chin as my stomach flutters with excitement.

Noble has grown more affectionate the more we get to know each other, but it feels like he's stepped it up a notch the last couple of days.

"Don't worry." He chuckles. "You won't hurt my feelings if you pass out during the first fifteen minutes. We could even call it a date, if you'd be up for that."

"A date," I repeat like a total weirdo. "I haven't been on a real date since Libby was born."

"I thought you and your ex only broke up…" Noble's face twists into a frown as he gestures to my stomach.

I take a quick step back.

"Yeah, I mean, we were on and off for a long time. We just didn't really go out or do anything fun in public." My gaze falls to the floor as a heap of crappy memories wash over me all at once.

Noble's boots move closer, erasing the space between us once more.

My eyes fly up, searching around to see if I can spot any of Avan's men.

I'm pretty sure they watch me all the time, or they did for a while…

Avan never tells me anything. He wouldn't even explain why I need to have security in the first place.

It's strange, but I don't pick out any of the guys I would recognize as part of the team he assigned to keep an eye on me.

Maybe things have relaxed, and he's no longer on high alert?

That would be amazing.

I haven't been able to touch base with Bless lately. Being under constant supervision made it too great of a risk for her or her partner to come into the bookstore.

Bless Barrett is Avan's cousin, but she's not part of their family business.

In fact, she's been working with the DEA to dismantle her family's empire.

I've tried to give her as much information as I can, but I rarely see Avan these days. It's still a worthy cause, especially since she informed me of some of the darker stuff their family is involved in.

I always assumed it was drugs and maybe guns, but she told me a few months ago about how she suspects they're involved in kidnapping and even murder.

Noble frowns, taking a step back. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. We can always hang out as friends?—"

"No, it's not that. Not at all." I swallow thickly. "I just don't want you to get hurt. I know I've hinted at it, but my ex isn't a good guy. I worry that you could?—"

Noble cuts me off this time, saying, "I'm not afraid of your shitty ex. I grew up lower middle class. There weren't a lot of prospects for me, outside of being a criminal or going into the military."

"He's not just a shitty ex. He's…"

"He's what?" Noble probes.

"Dangerous."

"See, that's the thing about bad guys. They always think they're the biggest and baddest. That lasts until they meet someone bigger and badder than them."

My head shakes.

It seems like he thinks Avan physically abused me or something like that. He is a controlling jerk and has definitely qualified as verbally abusive on occasion, but he's never put his hands on me.

I also get that there are all types of abuse, from physical to verbal to financial.

The point is, I believe Noble could defend himself in a fair fight. But that's the thing about Avan; he never plays fair.

He wouldn't even lift a finger.

If he did, it would be to point directly at Noble to tell his men where to attack.

"Don't stress," Noble says softly as he moves forward to get close to my ear. "It's not good for you or the baby. I'm not trying to pressure you into anything. I just want you to give it some thought. You don't have to be alone out of fear of what he'll do."

My heart thumps against my ribcage as I pull back to study his face. "Maybe we could do pizza or something after Libby falls asleep one night."

His eyes crinkle at the edges as a bright smile crosses his face. "That works for me."