BROKEN COURAGE (Broken Redemption Book 3)

Chapter 6

Emilia

"I don't know where to start." I sigh, allowing that gutted feeling to settle deeper into my chest. "What I did..." I clear my throat, realizing I should backtrack. "I did something that's going to hurt your brother and by the time we're done here, there's a good chance you'll hate me."

"Tell me," she demands in a sharp tone. Gone is the caring friend who's spent the past three years tiptoeing around my secrets, replaced instead by Lucas's sister and self-appointed protector. The girl who spent almost half of her life missing him, and who now fears she may lose him because of me. "No more bullshit, Emilia. What did you do?"

"I'm pregnant," I deliver the news in a whisper, the air in the room growing thicker with the weight of my guilt as I brace for the next part of my confession.

"Really?" she chuckles excitedly. Sensing she's come to the wrong conclusion, I push on before she can say anything.

"It's not Lucas's baby." I drop my head and close my eyes. The pain from saying the words out loud damn near rips me apart, and it takes everything I have to fight back the sobs clawing their way up my throat.

I feel it when she stands, then I hear her footsteps as she begins to pace. When she stops in front of me, squats down, and takes my hands in hers, I lose the fight and break into sobs. Tear-filled eyes, full of sadness and understanding I don't deserve, stare back at me.

"Tell me the rest. I promise to listen."

"It's Creed's baby," I blurt out once I get my crying under control. "I couldn't tell you at the time because we didn't yet know how much danger we were in. He came back to town a little less than two months ago with a plan that would protect the girls and me from the trouble he's in. He arranged for Nic, Lucas, and Ben's team to meet us at a safe house to finalize our divorce, and so he could give up custody of the girls."

When she gasps in surprise, I lock eyes with her. "He wanted Ben to adopt the girls, but he refused. He was adamant he couldn't make such a life-changing decision without you. What we were doing was risky, and he didn't want to endanger you or your baby, which I not only understood but agreed with. If it were up to me, no one would have had to adopt them, but the laws of this state require it. So Lucas stepped up and agreed to adopt them. Legally, he's now listed as their father, and as of a few weeks ago, they now carry his last name."

"What? Lucas?" she asks with a quiver in her voice.

Nodding, I continue, "The girls don't know yet. Nobody does except for those who were there, which equates to Lucas, Nic, Ben, Dominick, and Mason. Oh, plus Mom and Harold, but only because when they found out we were under Offset Tactical's protection, they demanded I turn the girls over to them. I got angry enough that I blurted it out, which I admit wasn't my finest moment. I'm actually surprised Mom didn't call to tell you."

"They wouldn't have. After that last horrible dinner where Lucas called Harold out for what he said to you, Ben and I made it clear to her that we wanted no part of them until she and Harold made things right with you. We haven't spoken a word to them since."

"You guys didn't have to do that."

"We did. Honestly, we should have done it long ago."

Taking a seat next to me, we sink into silence. When she reaches out to take my hand, she asks, "So, what happened with Creed? The baby... how did it happen?"

Taking a deep breath, I tell her the story. The way Creed got me to my agent's office, and then tricked me into leaving the building with him. How he took me to a remote cabin a few towns away so he could explain what was going on, while a trusted team of FBI agents led Ben and Lucas to our location. And then the worst part: how in my overwhelmed emotional state, I allowed myself to be used.