Page 18 of Ready or Not
However, that doesn’t negate the pain Vale experienced.
“You know I’m not the kind of man who would walk away from the woman carrying my child,” Garza says, staring straight at Bishop.
Bishop stares straight back and scoffs. “Except, that’s exactly what you did.” He turns around and heads toward the home gym. “Do yourself a favor and stay far the fuck away from me,” he calls over his shoulder.
“Mercy,” Garza says.
“It’s a complicated situation.” I take a seat, gesturing for Ranger to take the other side of the couch. “But I do know you deeply hurt Vale. She assumed you might have a wife… And the circumstances did seem quite telling. Her coworkers attempted to track you down using credit card receipts, but you always paid cash.”
“Yeah, but that’s just standard protocol.” Ranger tosses his booted feet up on the coffee table, completely ignoring the glare I send his way. “You can’t hold that against him.”
“You never thought to check back in on her?” I ask, genuinely wondering how he managed that. My impulses simply wouldn’t allow for that distance between us. “Revisit the club?”
“I thought she blew me off.” Garza buries his face in his hands, leaning his elbows on his knees. “I wanted to so many times, but that asshole made me seem like the predatory alpha taking advantage of an omega on the verge of her heat. I was trying to respect her right to choose if our relationship continued or not.”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty,” Ranger says. “What’s done is done. Now, back to establishing paternity. I believe you should do that without alerting the omega. If the child is Garza’s, then she never needs to worry about the possibility of anything else. I intend to do a little hunting while I’m in town.”
The way he says the word hunting so easily sends a shiver down my spine.
Ranger qualifies as a serial killer. No doubt about that.
“Merrick mentioned Landis is in town,” Ranger says. “I’m going to attempt to locate him. Once he’s in my possession, I’ll extract further information on if he sexually assaulted her. Even if the baby belongs to Garza, that doesn’t mean he never took that step.”
“Fuck,” Garza groans, clutching his chest as he shoves himself out of his chair. He bolts toward the half-bath just off the kitchen, and the sounds of retching fill the air.
“That’s unfortunate. Vomiting with broken ribs is the worst.” Ranger shrugs. “There’s a test that can be done with just a blood sample from Vale. It’s non-invasive. Garza will also have to give a sample, but if she’s already going to the doctor tomorrow, then you should probably go ahead and have that done. That way, she never needs to know about the grimmer possibility.”
My stomach churns violently as the toilet flushes down the hall. “I’m not sure keeping something like that from her is the right course of action. I’ll need to speak to the others.”
“Hmm, I’d consider it the far more merciful choice.” He chuckles, and it’s an eerie sound. “I’ll leave that up to those of you with more of a moral compass than I possess. I was quite annoyed when Bishop ended Alvarez before I had the chance to interrogate him. The prospects of getting my hands on Landis will have to count as my consolation prize.” Ranger moves his feet to the floor and stands up quickly. “I’m not sure it matters, but Garza hasn’t been himself since…” He gestures toward the stairs. “He hasn’t been on a single date or gone out with the guys for a beer. He’s been…” He pauses again, rolling his eyes. “Mopey. It was quite unsettling, because you know how he normally is. I believe he was quite looking forward to reconnecting with the three of you. And your allegiance now lies elsewhere. Hmm, perhaps I’ll get him back sooner than I thought.” He grins a wickedly cutting smile. “He’s been surprisingly vicious lately in the field. I was just growing fond of having him at my back.”
The psychopath shrugs, spinning around and heading out without another word.
I blink in utter shock.
It’s time we up the training for the guards at the gate and those who roam the property.
It’s also time I hire a groundskeeper to scan for and patch exterior weaknesses.
I don’t fear Ranger. He’s too committed to our goals for that, but his appearance has made it clear that our security isn’t nearly as reliable as I thought it was.
“I’m having a baby,” Garza says, putting himself down in the spot Ranger vacated. “A girl?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. That’s fucking crazy. It’s like my entire world just exploded.”
“I can only imagine.” I study him carefully. “I had a similar reaction upon meeting Vale.”
“How the hell did you get married? Only Bishop has a claiming bite.”
“I need a wife to secure my inheritance,” I say, choosing my words very carefully. “And Vale was without health insurance. Well, truthfully, she still is. We’re just privately paying for all of her care.”
Which his brother should now give me a significant discount on, considering the circumstances.
“God, that makes me feel like even more of a piece of shit.”
“She was struggling greatly before she came to us,” I admit.