When She Needs Them Most
: Chapter 28

My thumb runs over Chelsea’s lower lip as she blinks up at me from under her lashes. I’d fucking kill to be able to ignore the information Easton passed along this morning, but that would be the opposite of the right thing to do in this situation.

“The last thing I want to do is to ruin the moment.” I exhale heavily. “But our boss, Easton, filled us in on some information that I think would be wrong to keep to myself.”

“Okay,” she says in a shaky tone.

“Clark was a decent guy. I don’t want anything I tell you to take away from your memories of him.” My head shakes. “It seems like there’s a good chance he did some computer work for the men Emmett owes money to. This would have been right after the two of you…” Fuck, I really wish I didn’t have to be the one to tell her this.

“After he broke up with me?” she offers, searching my face.

“Yeah.” I nod. “This came from the tech guy at the main branch. He looked into Clark, and after he got sick, it seems like he wanted to help get his little brother out of debt in case he didn’t make it.”

Chelsea’s eyes widen. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just…that sounds nothing like the guy I knew. He didn’t even jaywalk. He would go back into a store and point out if they missed charging him for something.”

“And that’s still who he was. Doing one thing to try to protect his brother doesn’t take away from any of that.” I study the bond. She’s confused, but still relatively calm, so I go on. “When Emmett was harassing you, did he specifically ask for the money back?”

Her head tilts. “What?”

“Clark didn’t want you anywhere near any of it. It seems like he hoped he would get better and that the two of you could reconcile.” I grimace, wondering if I’m making things worse. “The bookie operation Emmett is in debt to has ties to the Manzo family. They’re pretty standard, as far as the mob goes, except they’re also trying to slither their way into human trafficking.”

“And Clark helped them?” she shrieks.

“Not with that,” I blurt out. “He was working on software to keep track of the financial side of the betting and even something experimental that Kase could explain, because I’m terrible with computers, but some kind of risk analysis software.”

“That does sound more like him. He was great with numbers.”

“Yeah, and really good with tech, from the sounds of it.” I give her a tight smile. “Only, it seems like the guys he was working for think he made a copy of all those files he was running. The tech guy for Shadow Security, Calder, couldn’t find the files themselves, but he did locate a search Clark did about a month before he passed away. He was looking for where he could anonymously report things like organized crime.”

Chelsea’s eyebrows rise. “He was going to turn them in?”

“Yeah, sweetheart.” I nod, still palming her swollen stomach. There’s technically no way of knowing for sure if he would have gone through with it, but the man is dead. It costs me nothing to help preserve her memories of him. “Emmett’s text history seems to indicate that they were pushing him hard to retrieve that proof.”

“I don’t have it,” she says, and I can feel the truth of words radiating in the bond. “After he broke up with me, I never saw him again. If it exists, it would be in his belongings, which I’m pretty sure went to Emmett.”

“Except for that box that your neighbor mailed.”

“So, when Emmett was texting me hundreds of times a week, saying I had something that was his…it wasn’t about the money?”

I sigh, shrugging. “He might want that, too, or maybe it was an excuse to try to get a face-to-face meeting with you. It’s impossible to tell. Maybe his brother told him that you knew nothing about what he was involved in, and he didn’t want to tip his hand by unnecessarily filling you in.”

“If I had been given Clark’s laptop or files or something like that, and Emmett asked for it, I would have given it to him without a second thought.” She sounds dazed. “This is insane. Do you think they would come here to try to get it back?”

Jesus Christ.

Did she really have to ask that?

“It’s a possibility, but we have a team coming to back us up just in case.” My free hand flies to her cheek. “Once we receive the package from your neighbor, we can check it over and go from there.”

She gives a wobbly nod. “Thank you for being honest with me.”

My heart thunders in my chest. I didn’t want to risk stressing her out, but secrets haven’t done us any favors, and it feels good to have the truth out in the open.

“Always, sweetheart. I will be from here on out,” I assure her, moving to capture her lips.

I’m not sure where the fuck all this shit is supposed to go, but opening the boxes and examining all the stuff has a bright smile on Chelsea’s face.

Kase bought four plastic dressers, in addition to the real wood version still chilling in the garage. And even though they’re hideous, they come in clutch for somewhere to stash stuff as Chelsea continues through the multitude of boxes.

“We’ll need to stop by the grocery store and purchase the infant laundry detergent,” Arden says, snapping pictures of the three of us.

“It should be around here somewhere. Along with bottle brushes and dish soap specifically for the baby stuff. It’s supposed to be gentle and leave no residue.” Kase glances around, like he’s searching for which box that might be in.

I snort and take the few steps toward Arden, snagging his phone. “Have a seat. I’ll make sure you’re in a few.”

He nods, moving to sit on the couch at Chelsea’s side. I snap pictures and make a point of taking several when Arden leans over to tenderly kiss her cheek.

I do owe him for staying up to make sure she didn’t run last night. If she had come across me or Kase, it probably would have been too much, but Arden found a way to put her at ease.

It doesn’t bode well that the fucking owner of Shadow Security is coming down to watch our backs, but it is a relief knowing Easton will be around. He comes with Keir and Calder as part of his package deal. They’re more than capable of keeping an eye on things while we focus on Chelsea and Luna.

Kase crawls over to the remaining boxes and begins cutting open the tops. I chuckle and shake my head. That fucking goofball bought the entire baby section of three stores. We might need to keep Chelsea’s house just for overflow storage for all the shit he bought.

At some point, we should verify if it’s okay that East and his team stay at Chelsea’s. They could stay at the resort, but that place is overpriced. There’s also the benefit of having them legitimately thirty yards away if something goes down.

Chelsea smiles as her contentment fills the bond. That question can wait until tomorrow. For now, it’s time to focus on Luna and prepare for her arrival. Arden holds up a tiny onesie, and my heart thumps.

Jesus Christ.

She’s actually going to be small enough to fit into that? That’s terrifying. I need to find a doll and practice changing its clothes and maybe a diaper or two.

Kase and I share a look as Chelsea groans, leaning her forehead against the wall as her hips sway from side to side. She’s doing her best to block her misery from filtering through the bond, but it’s still noticeable.

“I did promise to rub her back earlier,” Kase whispers. “Only, we got distracted with the delivery.”

Arden steps out of the closet in the room that will be Luna’s. He immediately moves behind Chelsea, pulling her hair to the side and murmuring in her ear as his hands soothe over her lower back.

“I don’t know what those fake contractions are supposed to feel like, but this is intense,” I admit, rubbing at my own lumbar region. It’s crazy how a bond can transfer pain, but I’m grateful for the link. Watching her and trying to guess what she’s experiencing is frustrating. Being able to live it gives me insight into what she’s going through.

The room is relatively small, compared to the others in this house, but it’s plenty for a newborn. If we ever expand the pack to have more kids, they can take one of the rooms Kase or Arden normally stay in, since they’re also close to the primary suite.

I imagine we’ll all be moving into the main bedroom soon. We just need to let Chelsea dictate when that happens. Maybe I’m too optimistic for my own good, but things are going significantly better tonight when compared to last night.

We just need to spoil her with courting gifts and avoid any major fuckups, and we should be fine. Once Luna comes, we’ll be able to help. That will be when she really gets to see that we’re in this for the long haul. Babies are a huge undertaking for couples, let alone a single mom, but she’s got us now.

My stomach rolls as her pain intensifies, and I turn back to Kase. “We should stay home tomorrow to tackle assembling the furniture. It feels like the baby could come at any time, and I don’t like not having that handled.”

He nods, watching Arden and Chelsea. “Yeah, we should probably figure out how the car seat fits in the SUV too.”

“Agreed.”