“There was no one here that would have done that.”
My eyes closed as I felt a headache coming on. “Exactly.”
“I’ll call someone to watch the house tonight, so you can get some sleep. I’m sure we can arrange a security detail while you’re in town. I’ll speak with—”
“No,” I cut her off. “I don’t trust Alexander’s men.”
“They’re my men,” she said coldly.
“And you know all of them? You trust all of them?”
“I don’t trust anyone,” she reminded me. “Except…”
“Who?” That was who I wanted here until I could figure out how to handle this situation on my own. I’d be retrieving my father’s gun from Alexander—if it hadn’t been taken as well.
“Brexton,” she said, “but he’s doing double time keeping an eye on Anders.”
“Get him here.” If MI-18, the shadowy society that had dark plans for the royal family, had any interest in Anders, they could have taken him out a long time ago. The threat to Belle was immediate. I could sense it. “Wait, Brex knew about the bullet.”
I’d shown it to him as proof that I wasn’t the one who killed Hammond when he came knocking on my door two Christmases ago. I had no reason not to trust Brexton Miles, but I couldn’t claim to know him well enough not to mention it.
Georgia shook her head. “There’s no way. Brex is an open book.”
It sounded like there was a story there, but she wasn’t going to share it with me. “Then, I want him. You can tell Alexander he’s coming back to London.”
“He’s not going to like that.”
“He owes me,” I said in a clipped tone. “I’ll remind him of that when we meet.”
Georgia didn’t try to reason with me further. She knew better. “You should get some rest. Once the baby gets here, you won’t be sleeping much.”
Despite everything that happened tonight, I couldn’t help smiling. The baby was the light in all this darkness. Soon, we’d meet the proof of our love. We’d be a family, and I would do anything to protect my child and her mother. “I won’t mind being tired then.”
Georgia started toward the front door and I walked behind her. She drew her coat off a hanger by the door. “Is there anyone else who knew about that bullet? The one you’d saved for Hammond?”
“No one alive.” I’d already asked myself that question. I couldn’t blame her for wondering.
“Maybe this doesn’t have anything to do with MI-18.”
“Do you really believe that?” All our troubles led back to them. It had taken years for us to put a name to the faceless organization. “No one else alive knows about that bullet, except you, Belle, and Alexander. Do you think one of them did it?”
“They want him,” she said softly. “Not to bruise your ego, Price, but why would they be interested in you now? You’re out.”
“I helped him. I stuck my neck out.” And now it was back on the chopping block.
She studied me for a moment, her dark eyes veiled in secrets before she turned toward the door. Georgia was down the first step before curiosity got the better of me.
“What are you thinking?” I called behind her.
She stopped, not bothering to turn to address me, but I heard her voice cut through the crisp night. “I guess people really do change.”
Change? I turned the word over in my head as I locked the front door, taking special care to throw the additional manual bolts not connected to the security system. The surveillance feed might not have shown anyone entering the premises but it also had not alerted me that my system was down earlier. That had been a harmless manipulation on Georgia’s part for the baby shower, but it was a good reminder that even a computer system could be deceived. While we were in Sussex, I didn’t care if someone broke in here, trashed the place, stole my shit. But while my most priceless possession slept upstairs, I wanted to know she was safe.
I climbed the stairs, remembering a simple time when I would have spent tonight fucking Belle on them before watching her crawl to the bedroom, dripping with me. Now everything was changing. I was on the verge of having everything I wanted: her, a family, a future. Suddenly Thornham and its silly ghost stories looked even more appealing. The real ghosts were in London. This was where I’d committed my sins. This was where my bodies were buried.
I paused in the hall, realizing how empty the house felt now. We’d never bothered to do much to it. Never hung art on the second floor. Anytime, we’d gotten close to a bed, we wound up in it, thwarting thoughts of decorating. It hadn’t been the same in Sussex. We’d relaxed there. We’d planned. We’d picked out bloody curtain rods for an entire day, and I’d never been so happy.
Inside our bedroom, I found Belle slipping on a silk kimono. It closed under her bust, fluttering open over her belly. My breath caught for a moment as I looked at her. She looked up, grinning sheepishly. “It doesn’t fit.”
She’d managed to maintain a good attitude about the evening’s events, but I worried that she might be on the verge of a breakdown. Between Thornham’s skeletons and cryptic, but sinister gift deliveries, it was too much. She should be focusing on the birth of our daughter, soaking up the last few days of being a couple before we became a family of three.
“You look pensive,” she said unhappily.
I shook my head, determined to leave our troubles outside the bedroom. We should have one safe place.
“Fine.” She sighed, sweeping her hair into a knot on top of her head. “I’ll say it. Someone sent me Hammond’s bullet. I didn’t want to talk about it in front of everyone, but we should talk about it.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. Georgia is looking into it.” I decided to leave out that we’d have a security detail soon. She’d find out soon enough.
“Nothing to talk about?” She turned, arms crossed, her lips still sporting her signature crimson shade although the rest of her make-up had been removed. “It’s not your job to carry all the burdens of the past.”
“It is—” I held a hand to stop her from interrupting me “—while you’re pregnant. You’re carrying the most important part of our family right now. Let me handle this.”
Her open mouth closed. I waited, but she seemed struck silent by my request.
“Beautiful.” I crossed to her and took her in my arms. “Nothing can tear us apart, remember? You and me? We’re forever.”
“I just want a break from it,” she admitted, nuzzling against my chin. “From the construction and the drama and the swelling ankles.”
“I can do something about that.” I led her to the bed, and she licked her lips in anticipation as I dropped to my knees before her. Picking up one foot, I rubbed her ankle.
She groaned. “Should I be concerned that foot rubs are becoming our go-to foreplay?”
“This isn’t foreplay.” I said, shushing her. “I’m just taking care of my wife.”
“So you don’t want sex?” she teased.
My eyes traveled to where her knees were parted slightly. “I’ve heard it can induce labor.”