Total pages in book: 193
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 920(@200wpm)___ 736(@250wpm)___ 613(@300wpm)
“Hey, buddy,” I sit up and pull the baby into my lap. “What are you doing here, huh?”
“Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba.”
“Sure, sure… I was just feeling sad. That’s all. It’s really not that weird.” He pauses and looks up at me with his little lips open. “Okay, maybe it was a little weird.”
“Oooooh-ah,” Coda coos.
“Yes, I do think Khalil was being a jerk, but it’s kind of my fault. I hurt him. You see, I left them behind for a reason, and even though they can’t see it now, I still think it was the right thing to do. It was the only way to protect them. My uncle is an evil man, and he must be stopped.”
“Vrrrrrrrrm!”
I nod at the car-like sound. “When you’re right, you’re right, little man. I got to get up.”
Coda squeals and kicks his chunky legs excitedly.
Gathering the pillows, I quickly build a pillow fort around him before I grab my phone from the nightstand and turn it on. I ignore the messages that come in—mostly from Oni—and text her the name she asked me for the day she dropped me on Bound’s doorstep before I climb from the bed and shuffle into the en suite. I leave the door open though, since I can see Coda on the bed from here, and then I get ready for the day.
I’m too nervous to leave the baby alone for too long so I forgo the shower for now and dress in a pair of tight jeans and a loose pullover, and then I pick up Coda from the bed and we head downstairs.
“See, I told you that would work,” Loren boasts when we walk into the dining room. “No one can break someone out of a funk like a baby can, and our son happens to be the cutest, smartest fucking baby there ever was.”
The long table is full of every breakfast food you can imagine, and I have a feeling it’s all for me. I say good morning to everyone and seat Coda in his high chair on the other side of Rich. I even get a glimpse of the possessive hand Loren has on Rich’s thigh as I walk around the table and take my seat next to Brax.
“Stop saying fuck around the baby,” Rich scolds. “For fuck’s sake, he’ll be fucking talking soon.”
“Not to mention your theory only works when you can give the baby back to the parents after,” Houston dryly retorts.
Braxton, who is currently buttering a bagel with a very sharp knife, pauses to flick sharp eyes toward their lead singer. “Are you saying our kid doesn’t cheer you up?” Braxton inquires softly.
It’s fucking comical the way Houston’s eyes flare as he drops his fork to gape at his wife.
Something tells me that out of the three, he frequents the doghouse the most. Sadly, I can’t help but think how much he reminds me of Thor.
“Of course, he fucking cheers me up, Bambi. He’s my son.”
Rich and Loren snicker at their best friend in the hot seat, and Houston quickly redirects his ire on them. “And did you seriously throw our son in her room like a smoke grenade and run out?” he asks Rich.
“What? It fucking worked, didn’t it? She’s out.” Jericho glances at me like he wants me to back him up. I stare at him over the rim of my glass and take a sip of my orange juice without saying a word. I’m enjoying seeing them give each other a hard time too much. It reminds me of happier times in the wilds. “Wow,” he says, catching on with a chuckle. “Fuck you too, Relly.”
Loren immediately points his knife at him. “No. Relly is mine. Get your own nickname.”
“Please,” I object while holding up a hand. “No more nicknames. I have quite the collection already.”
Loren’s knife drops from his hand and clatters onto his plate as they all sit forward at the first hint of finally learning something about what happened to me. Even Houston, who I can’t imagine engaging in gossip at all. “Oh? Do tell. What are these nicknames and who gave them to you?”
At first, I hesitate, and then I remember these last weeks and how they never gave up on me. I’d say it’s earned at least a little of my trust.
“Well… There’s Sunshine,” I utter, thinking of Seth. “Princess and Goldilocks.” I get choked up when I think of Thorin. “Songbird. Wolf.” Without thinking, I relinquish the most damning one of all. The one I never fully claimed until now, when it’s too late. “Mine.”
Under my lashes, I see the members of Bound glance at each other.
“And the who?” Braxton presses.
“That,” I say with blurry eyes and a strained smile, “I’ll save for another time.”
She nods, and they all go back to eating. I force myself to get something down since I’ve been puking my guts up every day, sometimes twice a day, for weeks. Soon, they’re all done eating, which means I’m done pretending I want to eat.