“I was wondering when you were going to show up.” Titus rumbles from behind a punching bag in his home gym.
“Yeah. You were expecting me because you knew you fucked up by letting my dad find me. You knew I’d been avoiding him on purpose.”
I grab water from the mini fridge and sit on one of the weight benches, all while giving Titus the side eye.
“Man. You know I’ll always have your back. Even when that means helping you see the possibility of an ugly truth.” Titus uses a towel to wipe off his face before he sits down in front of me.
“So based on that, I’m guessing you know what he told me.” I take a sip of water, hoping to all hell that it helps with the thickness in my throat.
“Yup. There’s no way I was going to divulge your location without knowing how serious things were. He sounded pretty desperate to reach you, and when he told me… well, yeah. It was pretty fucking serious.” He looks at me, his eyes narrowing. “Did you fuck her?”
The memory of my cock sliding in and out of Alyssa as I pushed her against the wall just a couple of hours ago has my cock stirring. Fuck. I’m sick.
With a hand in my hair, I turn to the side, unable to look Titus in the eye. “She’s pregnant, brother.”
“Fuuuuuuu—” Titus whisper-hisses, not even finishing the word.
“I know. Damn, do I know.” I let out a deep sigh, burying my face in my hands. “I have no clue what the hell I’m going to do.”
“What do you mean you don’t know what you’re going to do? It’s your baby. Incestuous child or not, that kid is yours and I’ve never known you to be a flake. Especially not to someone who’s family.” Titus’ eyes flare with restrained rage, making me snap out of whatever self-pity trip I was on.
He’s right. No matter what, I need to be there for my kid. Hell, we don’t even know if it will have any health problems because of my inability to keep my dick in my pants.
“I’ve already been in contact with a doctor for genetic testing. Sent them over a copy of the DNA test Alyssa’s mom gave my father. Also got a kit where I can do my own testing. We need to find out what anomalies, if any, our kid will be predisposed to.” I lick my dry lips, trying to stay calm even though I feel anything but. “Also left Lynora a message trying to get more info on where she got the testing done. I want to see the records of when they ran the two samples against each other.”
Titus nods his head thoughtfully. “Is there a possibility there was a mistake with the paternity test your dad gave you? Not sure when it was taken, but DNA testing has come a long way over the years.”
I blow out a long breath. “Yeah, I’m not even sure of what method Lynora used to obtain my father’s DNA or how the test was performed. I went ahead and ordered a paternity kit for Alyssa to take. I just haven’t had the balls to tell her about any of this yet.”
Titus chuckles sardonically. “Yeah, I don’t envy you, brother. That is some wild Jerry Springer shit right there.”
I shoot him a glare, to which he holds up his hands.
“Okay. Too soon.”
“I don’t think there will ever be a time where I can joke about this.” Looking him dead in the eye, I let him in on my truth. “I love her, Titus. I fucking love her.”
Titus shakes his head. “For now, just take this one day at a time. For all you know, this could all be some crazy mistake at whatever lab did the original testing. It’s possible, right?”
I scoff, knowing the likelihood of a mistake that severe is extremely rare. “I guess anything is possible. Probable, though? Not likely.”
Titus gets up from his bench and walks over to me, clapping a hand on my back. “Like the saying goes, it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”
Right. Well, in my head there’s a stage full of fat ladies singing at my funeral. My heart is dead and buried along with that damn DNA test.
“What do you mean she’s gone and isn’t coming back?” I look at Rosa, who looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here. And who could blame her?
I’m surprised I’m not breathing out fire at this news.
“She moved out, sir.” Rosa looks like she’s about to fall apart any second. I know she cared for Alyssa deeply and this is clearly painful for her as well.
I try to calm my nerves, not wanting to take out my aggression on the woman I’ve come to consider a second mother. This isn’t her fault. “Rosa. Tell me everything you know.”
“She packed one bag of things and said that she was going to stay with a friend until she got everything settled. She asked me to tell you not to worry and not to go looking for her.”
I scoff. Does she not remember she has a detail on her at all times? “Thank you, Rosa. That’ll be all.”
She flies out of the kitchen like a bat out of hell, and I would too if I were in her shoes. I’m on a damn mission to bring Alyssa home, and heaven help whoever stands in my way.
Taking my phone out, I call Sam, the lead in charge of my girl’s detail.
“Hello, sir. How can I help you” Sam’s even tone cuts through the line and the fact that he doesn’t sound panicked brings me some semblance of peace.
“Yes, I need to know Alyssa’s whereabouts.”
“She’s over at Cassie and Ren’s, sir. She left your property a couple of hours ago carrying a duffel bag into her Blazer. Went to the pharmacy and then went to the Moretti residence.”
This all seems very typical, and I’d be none the wiser had I not known that her departure was intended to be permanent. Well, too bad for her. I don’t give up that easily.
I’ll give her space… for now. Lord knows I’m not looking forward to telling her the truth about who her father really is.
From what I know, she was really close to the guy who raised her. They had a strong connection, and she still misses him to this day. All it takes is looking at her talk about Big Red and her road trips with him to know that this sort of information will destroy her.
Even though we can no longer be together, that doesn’t mean I won’t be there for her and our child.
I want her home, where I can care for them and give them anything they need.
Sure, it will be torture in its purest form, but I can’t see myself living without her. Even if it’s having to keep her at a distance, it’s better than nothing.
“Thank you, Sam. Keep me informed if anything out of the usual occurs. I don’t care if it’s as simple as a change in her normal coffee order. Tell me.”
“Yes, sir.” The line goes dead and I start to pace.
Twenty-four hours. I can at least give her that before her world, as she knows it, crumbles.
