Chapter 9: : Chapter 8

Chelsea seems upset after her nap. I don’t like it. I’m frustrated that I can’t determine what upset her. Snuggling on the couch may have been the wrong call. She seemed okay when she first woke up, but I’ll admit, I’m not nearly as adept at tracking social cues as I am at processing facts and statistics. My brain loves to find patterns and work out puzzles.

We eat together at the table, but the warmed-up grilled cheese and soup doesn’t seem to hit the spot, since she leaves the majority untouched.

“Do you know if they’re back yet?” the little omega asks, shoving her hair behind her ear.

“They haven’t texted.” I grab my phone, just to double-check that it’s still true. “Nope, but we could go over and tackle some small stuff, if you’d like?”

Something in me says she’s going to try to sleep over there tonight, even though the repairman isn’t coming until tomorrow. Texting Arden and Linc, I ask them to make sure they snag a heater or something. And not one of the scary ones that burn down houses if they get knocked over.

Tossing the phone down, I check back on Chelsea. Her face rests in her hands as she leans over the table.

My forehead wrinkles as I frown. “Are you okay?”

She nods. “Yeah, I’m just beat. It’s ridiculous. I haven’t even done anything, and I’m so tired.”

“Okay.” I push back my chair and stand. “Nap, it is.”

“What? No way.” Her head shakes. “I already took one nap. I have too much to do. There’s no way I can sleep right now.”

“You can’t do much until they get back with the tools and things they’re supposed to grab.” I offer her my hands. “It’s probably better to stockpile some rest. That way, you’ll be ready to go as soon as you can.”

Her adorable nose wrinkles, but she nods. “I also need the bathroom something fierce.”

I snort. It’s been kind of a recurring theme, and with that big ol’ baby belly? It’s not hard to understand why.

She scoots her chair back, and I give her a tug.

“Thanks,” she says once she’s on her feet. “Sorry, I know I’m heavy.” She’s really not, and it’s not like I deadlifted her.

“Not even close.” I smile as she runs her hand over her stomach.

She’s in a long-sleeve cotton dress that she changed into earlier, and it makes the baby belly even more pronounced. I spent a fair amount of time running my hand over it while she slept earlier, trying to catch the baby moving. The pictures of her ex were helpful. They gave me a good idea of the type of guy she’s attracted to. I’m also good with computers and have curly brown hair. In other words, I could pass for the baby’s father, which led to me maladaptive daydreaming that I’d met her first…something that lasted for the entirety of her nap.

It’s not like I would have killed the guy to get him out of the way—I have some limits—but I’m not particularly sad he’s dead, either.

It’s not my fault that I was born with psychopathic traits.

This is how the universe made me.

Chelsea looks up at me with her thick lips pushed together, and I remember she needs a bathroom visit.

“Come on. Bathroom, then we rest for a bit. You don’t have to sleep, but it won’t hurt to get off your feet and relax.”

She nods, and I fight the urge to nuzzle my nose to hers.

If I burned down Mrs. Wilson’s house, I’m sure the old woman would be happy with the insurance payout. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about that old house from states away.

Chelsea would have no choice but to stay with us.

It would probably be a bad idea to act on those intrusive thoughts, so I lead her to the downstairs bathroom instead.

Chelsea comes into the room to find me stretched out on the bed, waiting for her. I had a brief argument with Sky about lying on the floor, but the mutt never listens to me. As such, she’s stretched out across the end of the mattress like she owns the place.

Chelsea smiles and stops to scratch the furry beast before eyeing the bed.

I hop up, gesturing to the middle of the mattress. “I thought I might lie down with you?”

It will make things significantly easier if I don’t have to sneak in after she’s asleep, but I will if I have to. There’s no way I’m prying myself away from her right now.

Her head tilts, like she’s trying to figure out what the hell I’m doing.

Trust me, beautiful. I have no idea, either.

She finally nods, and I feel like I can breathe. Bending over, I tug back the comforter and toss it down toward Sky. Chelsea slides past me and crawls onto the bed before settling in the middle.

I pull up the blanket and lie on top of it, because I do have some manners, even if they’re few and far between. Chelsea rolls around a bit, like she’s trying to get comfortable.

“You need a pregnancy pillow.” I grab one of the bed pillows from behind my head and, using my feet, lean up enough that I can pass it under the blanket. “Try this between your knees. It should help with your alignment.”

She wiggles around a bit, placing it where she likes it. “Thanks. I checked them out, but they were kinda expensive.”

Hmm. My phone is in my pocket. I can have one here by tomorrow if the shipping is on point. Our town is small. I’m not even sure if we have a baby store, but Blacksburg will. It’s the closest moderately sized town.

“How about a crib?” I didn’t notice one when I was peeking around.

“I have to take care of that this week,” she says with a heavy sigh. “I browsed a lot, but just as I was getting ready to purchase…” I twist until I can fully study her face. She frowns so deeply, wrinkles appear in her forehead. “I told you Luna’s dad left us some money. I didn’t even know he had a brother until he started harassing me. I don’t think he was pleased to learn that the money wasn’t going to him.”

The light stalking I did already told me that, but she doesn’t know that I know.

“And that’s why you left—” I cut off as my mind races. She hasn’t specifically told me that she moved from Richmond. My brain scrambles for a way to finish that sentence. “I mean, that’s why you moved?”

“Yeah, I was ready for a change, but I would have waited until after Luna was born.” Her eyes clench closed. “I think I hoped it would be enough of a distance that he would finally leave me alone.”

I scoot down until my socks hit Sky’s bum and roll toward the little omega. “You couldn’t have moved next to a better set of neighbors. We run the Blacksburg office of Shadow Security. We’ve built our entire career around protecting people.”

Damn.

What am I trying to do? Give her the hiring spiel?

“And I appreciate it, but honestly, I hope it doesn’t come to that.” Her big blue eyes pop open, and the shiny way they glisten makes me think she might be on the verge of crying. “I feel bad. You know? He lost his brother. I’m sure that grief is a lot to process. If Luna wasn’t in the mix, I’d give it to him to be done with the situation. I don’t know, maybe it’s selfish. I just wanted to save as much of that money as possible to give to her one day. I know money can’t replace her dad, but it would be something special he left to give her a better future.”

“That will mean a lot to her one day,” I say, giving her what I hope is a reassuring smile. It also makes a lot more sense why she chose to rent instead of buying something. The late Clark Raynor left her just shy of a quarter of a million dollars. She spent five thousand securing Mrs. Wilson’s rental property.

Technically speaking, the guys and I could pay off the younger Raynor without blinking an eye, but that idea rubs me the wrong way. If he was an upstanding guy, maybe I would consider it, but he’s only concerned with paying off his bookie.

Chelsea has altruistic goals for her daughter’s future, and if she bonds us, then we’ll need to take over stocking up a fund for Luna’s college, wedding, and all that good stuff.

My hand comes to rest on the back of Chelsea’s head as she faces me. I dig my fingers into her thick, blonde waves. “Get some rest. We’ve got a lot of unpacking to do later.”

A tired smile breaks out over her face. “Thank you, Kase. This is all so bizarre. I feel like I’m taking advantage of your kindness, but I don’t know what I would have done without you guys stepping in to help.”

“It’s nothing,” I fib. “Just small-town hospitality. Neighbors look after neighbors around here.”

She yawns. “It sounds like I picked a great town to start over in, then.” Her eyes fall shut and stay that way as I tenderly massage her scalp.

It’s nice that she doesn’t ask me to stop or tell me to get lost. She’s already got one stalker, and if she realizes she has another, she might not take it well.

However, I only did a little light romantic stalking to ensure I have all the information about what she’s running from. If I don’t know everything, I won’t be able to keep her and Luna safe.

It’s also not stalking if she knows I’m here, right?

No, that’s just a little romantic observation.

Totally different from creepy stalking.

As long as she doesn’t try to cut me out of her life, we’ll be golden. If she does, I’ll have to work twice as hard to convince her that I’m not a threat. She triggered my instincts. There’s no walking away for me now.

I just have to pretend to be normal long enough that she lets me bite her, then she’ll never be able to escape.