Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“He’s gonna wake up hungry,” Blaise said. “That’s a sign he is looking for food.”
I turned my eyes to Blaise. He knew things about babies. He had a kid. “What does he eat?”
Blaise winced and shook his head at me. “Fucking hell,” he muttered. “He will need a bottle with formula in it. Chyna left some in the bag.”
I stared at him again, now sucking his hand like his life depended on it. “He’s not mine yet. I mean, no one has proven it.”
I wasn’t about to try and pick him up. Hell, I might do it wrong and break him.
“I’ll get one of the girls up here to handle the feeding,” Liam said.
“Thanks,” Blaise replied, then turned back to me. “That friend of yours. The female one.”
I swallowed nervously. Fuck, don’t go there, Blaise. Please don’t do this to me.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Take the baby there if you don’t want the girls getting attached. She can help you.”
Genesis would help. That wasn’t a question, but she’d expect more out of me. She’d want me to do things for it. I wouldn’t want to let her down. But, fuck, when she found out I had made a human, she was going to be disappointed in me. Then, my mom was gonna find out. Her mom. What if they wanted me to keep it? No, they knew I wasn’t dad material. Genesis would want me to find a good home for him.
My gaze went back to the baby as his eyes opened, and he continued to suck hard on his hand. I didn’t know who I felt sorrier for—him or me.
Fourteen
Genesis
It was almost seven when I heard the keys in the door rattle. Kye hadn’t called or texted since this morning. I had started to think he’d forgotten about me and our plans. There was always the strip club that could easily distract him. If he’d gotten a naughty text, it was likely he’d taken off for Devil’s.
Twice, I’d been tempted to text him, but I had talked myself out of it. It wasn’t like I didn’t have plenty to do around here. I’d taken the time to put away the Christmas decorations, done some house cleaning, and started sketching a design that had been playing out in my head.
When the door opened, I glanced up from my sketchbook to say something, but then my eyes dropped to the infant car seat Kye was holding in his left hand. My eyes shot back up to his, and the expression on his face made my heart rate speed up. I moved my sketchbook and pencil to the coffee table and stood up from the sofa, then walked over to him, staring at the item I had never imagined seeing in Kye’s hand.
My hand flew to my mouth the moment I saw the tiny baby covered with a blanket. Its little eyes were closed as it slept. I reached for the blanket and pulled it back to find the rest of its sweet body. The blue pajamas were stained.
“Kye, did you steal someone’s baby? Please tell me you didn’t kill its parents.” I said it to be funny, but the lost, frightened expression on Kye’s face worried me.
Had this baby had parents who had pissed off the underworld?
“Neither,” he said in a hoarse voice. “He’s … he’s mine.”
My hand fell away from my mouth, and I straightened to stare at him. In horror.
What did he mean, this baby was his? Oh my God. OH MY GOD!
“And his momma?” I choked out.
“Dropped him off like an unwanted animal outside Devil’s.” His words were hard now. Angry.
My chest hurt as I sank down to my knees in front of the carrier as he set it on the floor. “You’re sure he’s yours? I mean, don’t you always use condoms?”
That was a conversation we’d had more than once. I’d warned him he was going to get a disease, sticking his penis into so many vaginas.
“He’s mine. Paternity test confirmed it. And I always wear a condom. It seems one of my piercings punctured a condom. Never happened before. I didn’t remember it. I was drunk,” he said, then dropped a letter beside me. “It’s all in there. You’ll see his mom is a real fucking winner.”
I reached for the letter and unfolded it, then read it. Every word made me feel sick. This woman was a terrible person. I blinked and realized my eyes were watering. My heart was breaking for this little life. How could someone do this?
I put the letter down and began to unbuckle the seat. Someone needed to hold him. He hadn’t been held and loved. How old was he? Oh God, I couldn’t handle this.
“What’s his name?” I asked, taking him from the seat and cuddling him against me.
“Jagger Henley Ward,” he replied.