Stepbrother Soldier's Baby: The Hero (The Complete Series) (8 page)

“Give her some slack. She saved both of our lives.”

I bit my tongue. I didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. Trying to explain Mia’s motives was pointless. Nate just couldn’t see her for who she really was. What would it take for him to see the real Mia?

I yawned and stretched. Nate was right though; I could use a nap. I eyed one of the empty bedrooms.

“What about you?” I asked. “You could use a break too.”

He rubbed his face. “I’m waiting for a phone call.”

“From who?”

“My contact. The sooner we can resolve this the better.”

Nothing would have made me happier than to crawl into bed with Nate and sleep in his arms for a few hours. Did we have time before his meeting? Did he even want to sleep with me? Did he regret sleeping with me before? He was acting close with Mia. What if he wanted to reconcile with her?

“It would be nice if you laid down with me,” I said. I’m usually not this bold, but what did I have to lose? “It would make me feel better, safer.”

I inched closer to him. His eyes drifted over my body quickly. I could tell he was debating what to do.

“Are you angry with me?” I blurted out.

“Why would I be angry?”

“Because I didn’t tell you about the baby sooner. I wanted to. I just didn’t know how.”

“Trust me, I understand the feeling.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. I inched away from Nate and leaned back against the couch. I had an overwhelming feeling that I was unwanted. He’d acted impulsively in sleeping with me. Now, I was pregnant and he probably regretted it all. I understood to an extent.

“I didn’t ask for a baby,” I said sadly.

Nate put his hand on my leg and rubbed it slowly. I watched his fingers trace invisible circles on my skin; I felt like crying. I swallowed down my emotions. I was not going to cry. Mia would never cry. Then again, Mia is a borderline sociopath. Maybe crying would do me some good.

Nate wrapped an arm around me and pulled me to his chest. I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth of his body. How could he stay so strong and confident despite everything?

I squeezed him tight and wished I could steal some of his strength.

Nate ran a hand slowly up and down my back.

“Let’s go lie down,” he whispered.

He led me to the empty bedroom next to the one Jackson was in. For one terrifying second, I thought Nate was going to take me to Mia’s room and put me in bed with her, then leave. If it was anyone other than Mia I wouldn’t have minded, but I did not want to get close to her.

Thankfully, Nate led me to the empty bedroom. He pulled back the covers then helped me undress. I let him pull my clothes off. For a second, I stood before him in my underwear. His eyes surveyed my body. I was sure I had a slight baby bump by now. It made me self-conscious.

I sat down on the bed quickly and pulled the covers up to my chest. Nate pulled them back down.

“I want to look at you,” he said.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his hand over my breasts and across my stomach. A chill shot up my spine. I twisted like I’d been tickled.

Nate smiled. He took off his boots, then his shirt. His sun-kissed skin looked radiant even in the low light of the bedroom. Without thinking, I reached out and touched him. My fingertips brushed across his warm chest and arms. I quickly pulled away as if I’d been burned. I don’t know what had gotten into me.

“What’s wrong?” Nate asked.

He looked disappointed that I’d stopped. I was surprised. I half expected him to push my hand away when I touched him.

When I didn’t answer, he took my hand and placed it on his chest. I touched him gently, tracing the curves of his muscles.

Suddenly Nate’s hand was between my legs, massaging my pussy. I closed my legs and grabbed his bicep. My chest felt tight; I started to breathe quickly.

“Easy, sweetheart…” he whispered.

He rubbed my clit in quick, rhythmic circles. I squeezed his hand between my thighs. Nate leaned in close and kissed my neck.

“Easy…” he said again, whispering in my ear.

Warmth grew and spread throughout my body. I was wet with desire. I wanted Nate inside me more than anything in the world. I pulled him to me, but he resisted. He kept fingering me, massaging my clit in a way that drove me mad.

“Nate…” I protested.

“Patience,” he said with a devious smile. “Relax.”

I let go of him and laid back down on the bed. I started to moan; my hips swayed. Slowly, I opened my legs. Nate kissed my stomach then twisted my underwear around his fingers and pulled.

He stood, unbuttoning his pants then removing his boxers. For a moment, he stood before me naked and hard.

My body trembled with anticipation.

He crawled on top of me and slid his hands beneath my back. With one quick motion, he unhooked my bra and tossed it aside. Soft and sweet, his lips found my breasts and nipples. Nate covered my chest with kisses as he positioned himself between my legs. He slid inside me slowly as if he was afraid he might hurt me.

I held my breath as his cock filled me.

He pulled out slightly, then drove his cock deeper.

I groaned and leaned into him. My breasts brushed against Nate’s chest. He felt so warm and hard that I wanted him inside me forever.

I closed my eyes and arched my back. All of my fears and questions felt like background noise, irrelevant and distant. When Nate was inside me all that mattered was the warm pulsing that consumed my body. I didn’t care about my uncertain future, or the drama surrounding Nate and Mia. I lived in the moment, free from consequence.

The bed shook with the force of Nate’s thrusts. The headboard hit the wall with a loud bang. I held onto Nate, wrapping my legs around him. His thrusts came faster and harder.

“Don’t stop,” I begged.

I was on the verge of cumming. I could feel a great wave of energy build intensity inside me.

Then the door opened.

“That’s just great,” Mia said, standing in the doorway.

Nate jumped off me. I pulled the covers up to my neck.

“Am I interrupting?” she said.

“Mia-” Nate started only to be cut off.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to say: ‘This isn’t what it looks like’?”

Nate pulled on his pants.

“Well?” Mia said. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

She was looking at me like it was my fault. I looked to Nate for an answer, but he was quiet.

“You’ve spent the last two years fucking Jackson,” I said. “So don’t act surprised when your husband moves on to something better.”

Nate and Mia looked at me like I was an alien. I usually don’t talk this harshly, but I was fed up with the bullshit.

“You’ve been more than happy to shack up with a criminal while your husband was deployed, so don’t pretend like you’re outraged now, you phony bitch.”

Mia’s mouth dropped open.

“Nate!” she whined.

She wanted him to save her, but he didn’t say a word.

“Are you going to let her talk to me like that?”

“This isn’t the time or the place for this discussion,” he said.

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Mia was fuming. “You’re not even going to apologize?”

Nate shot her a dirty look. “I’ll apologize when you apologize for sleeping with my best friend.”

Never, then. Mia wouldn’t apologize because Mia didn’t make mistakes. She was perfect in every single way- according to Mia anyway.

As much as I enjoyed seeing Nate finally get angry at Mia, I didn’t like being cast as the other woman. I was carrying his child. I had no idea what kind of future Nate and I would have, but we would be forever linked because of the baby.

I threw back the covers and started to dress. I pushed past Mia and went into the living room. I wanted to storm out, but I had nowhere to go. I was in a foreign country with no money or contacts. I was stuck where I was at.

I paced around the living room before walking to the window. The construction site was crawling with workers and heavy equipment, obstructing the view of the city.

“Stay away from the windows,” Nate said. I turned to find him behind me. He was shirtless; his hair wild.

“Why?”

His phone rang before he could answer. He ran to grab it. What followed was a brief conversation. Nate listened intently to the voice on the other end before responding: “I understand.”

He hung up the phone and ran into the bedroom. He returned shortly dressed and heading out the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I have to meet my contact. You girls are going to have to keep an eye on Jackson,” he said.

Mia stood on the opposite side of the room pouting. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and her face was pinched like a stubborn toddler.

“When will you be back?” I asked.

“As soon as possible. Jackson’s still medicated. He shouldn’t be too much trouble, but if he is…”

Nate reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial and a needle. He set it down on the coffee table. Mia and I both went for it at the same time. I got to it first. I did not want Mia to have control of the drugs. I didn’t trust her. I wouldn’t put it past her to drug me and run off with Jackson.

I snatched up the drugs and needle a second before she did. She shot me a dirty look.

“Girls, please try to behave while I’m gone,” Nate said.

“I’m not the one you have to worry about,” I muttered.

Nate sighed and gave us both a hard look. “I’ll be back soon,” he said.

He turned and left, leaving me alone with Mia and Jackson.

6

As soon as the door closed, Mia slapped me. She took me by surprise, nearly knocking me off my feet. I broke my fall by bracing against the side of the couch. My gut reaction was to hit her back, but I couldn’t hit a pregnant woman. Mia didn’t seem to have any problem hitting me, but I was not going to sink to her level.

“This isn’t the time or place to do this, Mia.”

“And where is the appropriate place? It doesn’t matter. You’re never leaving this country.”

I laughed. “Oh, really? You think you can keep me here? What will Nate have to say about that?”

“Nate doesn’t know what’s good for him. If he did, he wouldn’t waste his time fucking around with you.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

Mia flicked her hand at me like an aristocrat dismissing a servant. Did she think that was enough to shut me up?

“You’ve lost control, Mia. This isn’t going to end the way you want it to.”

Mia ignored me and stormed past into the hallway. Shutting herself up in a room until Nate came back was fine with me, except that’s not what she did. She went into Jackson’s room.

I followed behind quickly. I gripped the needle in my hand tightly.

Mia was inside pulling at the headboard, trying to break it. She didn’t have a key to Jackson’s handcuffs. Her only choice was to break the bed.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

She grunted as she pulled, but the bed was solid. The only way Mia was going to take it apart is if she had tools to dismantle it. Not that that stopped her from kicking and punching the headboard like a crazy person.

Jackson watched with a look of patience on his face. He made no move to help her dismantle the bed.

“Babe, give it up,” he said.

Mia kicked the bed hard and grabbed her foot. I couldn’t help laughing.

“It’s not funny.”

She came at me quickly. I dodged out of the way.

“Mia!” Jackson called.

She stopped in her tracks.

“Leave the girl alone,” he said. “She’s not important. The only thing that matters is us.”

Mia’s face softened. I wished Nate was here to listen to this.

“You know she told Nate that your baby was his,” I said to Jackson.

I wanted to spoil their touching moment. He shot her a sharp look, but didn’t say anything. Mia shrugged as if what I’d said was irrelevant, but there was an edge to her voice when she spoke. She was nervous.

“It was just a matter of convenience,” she said. “I wanted to wait until we were settled. Until you were finished with your work and you could send for me. I would have dumped Nate eventually. You know that.”

She sat down on the edge of the bed and started to rub Jackson’s thigh.

“Please tell me you’re not stupid enough to believe this?” I said.

Jackson glared at me out of the corner of his eye. Clearly, he wanted to believe what Mia was saying, regardless of the fact it was bullshit.

“Get out,” she said to me.

“No. I’m not leaving you alone together. You might free him.”

It seemed unlikely, but you never know. She might succeed in pulling the bed apart. Mia was not to be underestimated.

“What about you?” Jackson said to me.

“What about me?”

“Is that baby really Nate’s?”

“Of course. Do you think I’m the kind of person to lie about the father of my unborn child?”

I gave Mia a pointed look. She rolled her eyes as if I was the ridiculous one. Jackson smiled.

“It’s hard to imagine Nate as a dad.”

“He won’t be a dad if you get what you want,” I replied.

Jackson’s eyes went wild. “I don’t want to see anything bad happen to Nate. I just want him to pay for what he did. It’s only right. I’m not going down for him.”

“Okay,” Mia said, trying to calm him.

“I won’t!”

“No one says you have to.”

She shot me a look that begged for help, as if we were suddenly allies.

“What did Nate do?” I asked.

I didn’t actually believe Nate had done anything wrong, but I was curious as to what Jackson would say.

“It was all him,” he said. “I tried to save them- I wanted to save them all. He wouldn’t let me. They’re dead now and they’re all trying to pin it on me- they’re listening to everything through the internet and computers. They want me to take the fall because I followed orders. I won’t let them bury me for this.”

He was raving like a paranoid lunatic. I shouldn’t have bothered asking for his side. Mia rubbed his leg and tried to calm him. He jerked viciously, pulling against his handcuffs. Blood ran down his forearm as the metal cut into his skin.

As I watched him mumble and fight against his restraints, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. This wasn’t the Jackson I remembered from my childhood. War had made him into the broken man he was today. It was troubling. A part of me felt guilty. Despite what he’d done, he deserved compassion- as long as he wasn’t threatening my life, or the life of my unborn baby, anyway. If he tried to hurt me, I wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him. This wasn’t a game anymore.

“He’s gone to sell me out, hasn’t he?” Jackson said. He sounded calmer now. The hysterical edge had left his voice.

“He’s gone to sort things out,” Mia said.

It annoyed me how she seemed to know so much about Nate’s work. Nate swore the less I knew the better- that my ignorance would keep me safe, but Mia seemed to know a lot. How did she know about the airfield? Or any of the rest of this mess?

“He’s going to sell me out to his contact,” Jackson said. “They’ll kill me.”

“Nate won’t let that happen,” Mia said.

Jackson laughed. “He’s going to save himself and this little bitch and leave you all alone,” he replied.

“That will not happen.”

Mia seemed determined to have her cake and eat it too. I had no idea how she planned on juggling both men, but she seemed to think it was possible. To her, my pregnancy was a minor roadblock in the way of her goal: controlling both Jackson and Nate.

“It’s over, princess.” Jackson started to laugh. The hysterical edge was back. “Nate’s already made his choice. You just don’t see it yet.”

“Shut up,” Mia snapped.

“You’ve lost control of this situation. Hell, you never had control to begin with.”

“I saved your ass at the airfield.”

“And look at how much good it did.” Jackson held up his hands showing her his handcuffs. “All you did was save her life.”

“I was trying to save you.”

“I never should have gotten you involved in this. You’ve fucked things up worse than I ever could have imagined.”

Mia looked taken aback. Jackson was always fawning over her.

“You want to make things right?” he said.

“Get rid of the girl.”

I took a step back and slipped my hand inside my pocket and pulled out the needle and vial. While Jackson and Mia were focused on each other, I quickly filled the syringe.

“The only reason why Nate is agreeing to hand me over is to save her,” Jackson said. “Get rid of her and he’ll have no reason to strike a deal. Everything will go back the way it was. That’s what you want, isn’t it, baby?”

Mia nodded and turned on me. She rose slowly from Jackson’s side.

“Mia, think about what you’re doing. You’re pregnant. I don’t want to hurt you, or your baby,” I said.

Mia’s face twisted with disbelief. “You think you’re going to take me out?”

“Make it fast,” Jackson said. “Use that.” He nodded towards the bedside lamp. Mia unplugged it and pulled off the lampshade. She wrapped the cord around her fist and wielded the lamp like a club.

“Stop and think for a minute,” I said. “How’s Nate going to react when he comes back to find me dead? Do you really think he’s going to want anything to do with you after that? You’re not thinking.”

“Nate will believe whatever I tell him to believe.”

She was on me in a heartbeat. She swung wildly. I ducked, nearly avoiding being hit in the head. Mia put too much force into her swing and fell forward. I got behind her and pushed her down onto the floor. She punched and clawed at me. I didn’t want to use the sedative on her, but she’d left me no choice. I drove the needle into her arm.

She screamed: “You bitch!”

I held her down and waited. It took a minute, but the sedative slowly overpowered her. She fell asleep at my feet. I gave Jackson a dirty look.

“Was that really necessary?” I asked. “Did you have to get her all worked up, like that? Now look what you’ve forced me to do.”

He smiled strangely.

“Do you find this amusing?” I asked.

“No… and neither will Nate.”

I didn’t understand what he was getting at. I put the needle away and looked at Mia. I didn’t like the way she was laying. All her weight was on her stomach. I worried her position might hurt the baby. I decided to move her.

I turned her over and grabbed her under her arms. She barely moved. Dragging an unconscious body is much harder than it looks. It took several tries before I was able to slide her across the floor and into the living room.

I closed Jackson’s door. I didn’t want to hear from him anymore. I wasn’t strong enough to lift Mia onto the couch so I left her on the floor.

Sweat dripped down my forehead. I wiped my face on my sleeve. Mia’s lips were parted and her top was pulled up, exposing her belly. For some mad reason, I placed my hand on her stomach. I was met with a hard kick. I pulled away.

“You must take after your mother,” I muttered.

I stepped over Mia and went to the minibar. I was suddenly starving. I took out candy bars and bags of chips. I ate quickly then started to pace the room. An hour had passed since Nate left. When would he return? I wasn’t sure how long the sedative would last. When Mia woke, she’d be furious. I would need Nate’s help to control her.

Another hour passed. The light dimmed in the sky.

Finally the door opened and Nate returned. I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck. He didn’t hug me back.

“Is everything okay?” I asked. “Did you get everything sorted with your contact?”

“What the hell is going on?”

He pushed past me and fell to the floor beside Mia. He started to shake her.

“Mia? Christ, can you hear me?”

She moaned and sat up. When she caught sight of me, a look of horror passed over her face. She jumped into Nate’s arms.

“Keep her away from me!” she shouted.

“What happened?” Nate demanded.

“She attacked me,” Mia and I said at the same time.

“Please, don’t let her hurt me. She injected something into me. She was trying to give me a miscarriage. She can’t stand the fact that I’m having your baby.”

My mouth fell open. “Please, don’t tell me you believe that?” I said to Nate. “She was trying to free Jackson. He convinced her to try and take me out. She attacked me. I didn’t want to sedate her, but she left me with no choice. She thinks that if she gets rid of me, then she’ll have you and Jackson all to herself.”

Mia screamed and bent over, clutching her stomach. “Oh God! I think I’m going into labor.”

“How convenient.”

“Help me,” Nate said. “This is serious.”

Mia breathed heavily and clung to Nate.

“She’s obviously faking,” I said.

“It looks like you got exactly what you want,” Mia said. “I’m going to lose my baby and Nathan will be yours. Was it worth it? Was my baby’s life worth sacrificing just so you could win?”

Nate looked concerned. “How much did you give her?”

“I don’t know. I had to act quickly. I didn’t have time to measure.”

He frowned. “We’re going to get you to a doctor.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” I said. “Since you don’t want to take my word for it, the doctor can examine her and tell you what I already know: Mia’s full of shit.”

“This isn’t helpful,” Nate yelled. “I’ve got to get Mia to the hospital. You stay here.”

“But Nate…”

“I can’t argue about this right now.”

Mia leaned on Nate. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the door.

“Oh, Nate,” she whispered dramatically, “I forgive you for everything. I love you so much. No one can take our love away from us.”

To my relief, Nate didn’t respond. An eerie silence filled the room once they were gone. I sat down on the couch and looked at the vial of medicine. Could I have inadvertently caused her to go into labor? No. It was just a sedative. Besides, I hadn’t given her that much. Mia was trying to manipulate the situation to her favor.

It suddenly dawned on me what Jackson meant when he said Nate wouldn’t find this amusing.

I started to laugh. They’d planned this whole thing. Mia let me overpower her so she could play the victim. But why? Because they wanted to separate us. She wanted Nate alone.