I listen to the dial tone and then the ringing, I hope that she answers me today, it’s been four weeks, and she’s still not home. Oscar isn’t hopeful that she’ll be home anytime soon, she’s only checked in with him twice since she finished the job and that was just to say that she wasn’t ready to come home yet. I get that she wants to spend as much time with her sister as possible but fuck, the longer she’s away, the more miserable I’m being.
“About time you got here. I can’t take it anymore; she has got to go!” Soph screams at me as I walk into the foyer of Smithy International.
“You helped Mary hire her.” I love winding her up; it’s so easy, especially when she’s pregnant, as she is now.
“No, we hired a nice woman, this, this is the devil re-incarnate.” She points at Therese, our new receptionist, who seems to have fooled Soph and Mary when they interviewed her, whereas now all she does is gossip on the work phone to her friends and fawn over Oscar, Luke and Sophia’s husband Nathan. Pissing off Soph and Morgan in the process.
“What do you want me to do?” Mary has been checking up on Therese since she retired two weeks ago and isn’t very happy that she was played. However, she has been on the hunt for someone to replace her.
“Find someone to replace her. I’m half tempted to get Hailey to work here!” I wish she’d stop screaming and God no, Hailey isn’t going to work here, no-one would get any work done, she and Soph are like family, plus she works for Nathan. I hear someone walking up behind me, and I’m on edge instantly.
“You’re not stealing my workers.” I hear Nathan say behind me and I instantly settle. I watch as Soph’s face goes soft and she has a small smile for her husband.
“Yes, I am, you forget I’m the reason you hired her in the first place.” She places her hands on her hips and gives him a stare that makes me feel as though I’m intruding even though I’m standing in the foyer to my own business.
“Yes, and I have thanked you profusely enough already, now are you ready?” Nathan says as he walks past me and kisses her.
Fucking hell, can’t they get a room?
“Yeah, I’m ready. I wish I were going with Morgan to get Skye from the airport though.” Wait, what? “I’ve missed her.” She looks as though she’s about to cry.
“Skye’s coming home?” Both of them look at me weirdly, and I have no idea why.
“Yeah, she should be landing in an hour. I’ve got to go; I’ve got a doctor’s appointment.” She has a smile on her face, and I know it’s because she thinks Skye’s going to give me hell.
I walk blindly to my office. I need to see her, I’ve missed her. I need to make sure that she’s okay.
Chapter Four
Skye
It’s so good to be home; I can’t believe how much I’ve missed it. Although saying that, it was so awesome spending time with Addi, who also extended her time to stay in London. Walking through the arrival gate, I see Morgan who has a huge smile on her face. I can’t believe that bitch Alex shot her! I’m glad Morgan killed the bitch. She notices me and starts to walk toward me, and I see that she’s not alone; she brought her best friend Sabine along too.
I can’t help but smile, I may not know these girls for very long, but there is something about them that just makes you love them. Their friendship is something that I haven’t seen in a while; they’ve been best friends since they were little girls. “You look a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you.” Ah, Sabine, she isn’t one to sugarcoat things. “You look good; London must have been one hell of a trip.” Sabine laughs to herself, and Morgan just rolls her eyes, use to Sabine’s weirdness.
“Skye, you do look really good.” She puts her arm around me and pulls me into a hug.
“It’s good to see you, Morgan! How are you?”
“I’m okay, I’ve finally been given the go-ahead to start working out, and Luke doesn’t think I should be yet.” She grabs hold of my case and walks ahead of me, she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, and I don’t blame her. I still can’t talk about what happened in Afghanistan; I don’t think I ever will be able to.
“I can’t believe you ran into your sister, what are the odds? How long hadn’t you seen her for?” Sabine’s voice pulls me from the thoughts of Afghanistan.
“I know, I couldn’t believe it myself when I saw her standing beside me on the plane. I hadn’t seen her in six years, although it felt like a lifetime.” I miss her so much; I had been with her every day for the past month.
“Please tell me that you met some really sexy English dude. Someone like Tom Hardy… Umm, that guy, what I wouldn’t do to him.” The lust in her voice has me wanting to giggle, “Dwayne knows that if Tom comes a calling, he’s gone.” No way is that true, Sabine loves Dwayne and wouldn’t give him up for anyone. Dwayne works for Sophia’s husband; he’s P.I.G.S tech guru.
“Anything good happen while I was gone?” I ask as we reach Morgan’s car. There must be some good news.
“Luke and I will be moving into our new house in the next few weeks.” Morgan has the biggest smile on her face; her eyes light up when she says Luke’s name. “Also, Sim and Dwayne got married.” Sim is the nickname Morgan has for Sabine; it has something to do with the Lion King and when they were younger. I’m in shock, they haven’t been dating very long, but when you know they’re your one, you know.
I turn to Sabine and see her smiling shyly while showing me her ring; it looks gorgeous. “Congratulations, I’m so happy for you both.” I give her a hug. I can’t keep the smile off my face.
“Thank you. I haven’t told my mom yet. That won’t go down to well; she’s wanted me to get married for years.” She’s worried, and I don’t blame her, from the way she and Morgan talk about her, she’s pushy as hell.
I get into the back of the car and Morgan starts driving, I can see her looking at me through the rear-view mirror at me, and I know that she wants to say something and by the way she’s looking, it must be about Ryder. I take a deep breath and ask the question that has been on my mind since I left him standing outside of Sophia and Nathan’s wedding reception. “How is he?”
Morgan tries to hide her smile but fails miserably. “He’s an asshole when you’re not around. He’s missed you that’s for sure.” Tears spring to my eyes and all I can think about is Vegas, and how he rejected me, I don’t understand why he acts the way he does. The tears fall freely, and I hate that I now cry at anything and everything. “Hey, don’t cry. I thought that it was a good thing that he missed you.” Morgan says as Sabine hands me a tissue.
“It is I’m just emotional.” I shrug it off, pretending that it was nothing whereas all I want to do is tell them that I’m pregnant. I’m scared and worried, and I don’t know what to do, having kids was something I never envisioned for myself and yet here I am, just under six months left until that’s a reality.
“Skye are you sure that you’re okay? You look really pale.” Sabine looks worried, the nurse in her is coming out in full force as she leans back and touches my forehead.
“I’m pregnant.” I’m jolted forward as my seatbelt locks across my body as Morgan slams harshly on the breaks. Shit, I blurted it out.
“Morgan be careful!” Sabine chastises her as she pulls over. “I was right; I said so from the very beginning.” She hollers, and whoops, she’s like a damn, child.
“Skye, how far along are you?” Morgan asks sounding worried.
“Fourteen weeks,” I tell them and watch as Sabine squeals.
“So, it’s Ryder’s. What are you going to do?” Morgan asks, and I hear Sabine gasp.
“Yes, it is Ryder’s, and I don’t know yet,” I say affronted that she even asked me if it was Ryder’s.
“Morgan, that was really rude.” Sabine chastises her, and she sounds like she’s her mom telling her off.
“Shit, I didn’t mean it like that Skye, I honestly didn’t. You know that both Sabine and I have your back. Whatever you de
cide to do we will be here for you.” Morgan sounds so sincere, and Sabine is nodding her head in agreement. “If you need us, just call.”
“Thank you. I’m not ready for anyone to know yet. I still haven’t fully come to terms with it myself yet.” That’s an understatement. I’m scared but excited, and half the time I don’t think it’s real.
“That’s totally a normal reaction Skye. The further along you get the more real it will become. Have you seen a doctor yet or had an ultrasound?” Sabine’s reassurance installs confidence in me that I didn’t even know I had but having that reassurance has me even more excited knowing that there isn’t something wrong with me.
“No, I haven’t had an ultrasound yet, but I did see a doctor, and I got to listen to the heartbeat. I’ll see my own doctor tomorrow and get everything sorted out then.” The excitement of finally getting to see my baby is growing as is the fear. How am I going to raise this baby by myself?
“That’s good, if you want one of us to come with you, just ask I’m sure we can rearrange a few things and be there for you,” Morgan says, and I think her, and Sabine are a lot more excited than I am.
“That would be so awesome; I’d love if one of you could come with me.” Grateful that I won’t have to be alone when I have it.
“Just let me know when and we can arrange something.” I think it will be Morgan that will be coming with me as she looks the most excited. “Where am I bringing you? Smithy’s or your house?”
Now that is a question I haven’t quite figured out the answer too just yet but knowing that I’m close to both places I must make up my mind and quickly. “My house, please Morgan.” I need to work up the courage to see Ryder, so I will go and retreat at my house until I work up that courage.
“Are you hungry?” Morgan asks out of nowhere.
That’s a random question; I look at Morgan through the rearview mirror and see that she’s smiling. “Famished, which by the way is a constant these days, there’s no need ask the question. If there’s food available, I’ll eat it.”
“Great, we’ll stop for something. I’m starving, and you have an excuse as to why you’ll be eating all the time, the same, however, can’t be said for this one.” She points in Sabine’s direction while laughing as she puts the car in park and I forgot how much I enjoy being in these two’s company. They make you forget everything and have fun.
“I have a fast metabolism.” Sabine sulks as she gets out of the car.
“Hmm, so you say,” Morgan says playfully.
We walk into the bistro and quickly take a seat, there’s something on my mind, and I know that these are the only ones who will tell me the truth. “How is Hailey?” Hailey and I don’t always see eye to eye, and I regret that. I was way too protective of both Sophia and Winter, and because of that I pushed Hailey away and mistreated her when it should have been saved for her sister.
“Still with the ass,” Sabine says, and I can tell that this is a subject that has been talked about a lot.
“Yeah, and Scott hasn’t helped. You heard what happened at the wedding right.” Ah, Sophia and Nathan’s wedding. Scott had enough of waiting for Hailey to make up her mind on whether or not he was the one she really wanted and decided that he would make that decision for the two of them by trying to hook up with a guest at the wedding.
“Well, what you don’t know is that Hailey had decided that Scott was the one for her and she was waiting for Eric to get home. He was away on business, and she wanted to wait and end things.” Sabine fills me in; sorrow etched on both hers and Morgan’s faces.
Eric is an asshole; he beats the ever-loving shit out of her. I’m glad that she’s leaving him. “So where is she living now?”
The girls look at each other with a look that I can’t decipher. “Um, well…” Sabine starts, and I know that whatever she says I’m not going to like, “The thing is, she’s moving into Morgan’s old house with Maddie.”
Yep, I knew I wouldn’t like it. Maddie’s coming back, after all the hurt she caused. I never liked that woman, there was always something about her that didn’t sit right with me, but I know having her back will mean a lot to Hailey and for that reason alone I won’t be a complete bitch to Maddie when I’m in her presence. “How are Soph and Winter taking her coming back?” She accused Winter of lying that she was raped, something that I will never forgive. Winter had hit rock bottom, she had kept it a secret from everyone, and when she finally did confide in people, she was called a liar.
“They’re fine about it; they know that it’s going to help Hailey. Nathan and Sam, however, aren’t happy and are pitching fits anytime Maddie’s name is mentioned.” Morgan says, and I can see by her face that she isn’t happy about it either. Morgan was the one to find Winter when she was kidnapped; she was also the one that Winter reported her rape too.
“I’m just worried about what Eric’s going to do when Hailey finally does end things with him,” Sabine says quietly, and everyone sitting at this table knows why she’s worried. Men like Eric who hurt women love control, and when Hailey does end things, he’s going to lose that control. And in turn, he could hurt her, a hell of a lot more than he previously has.
The pounding on my front door has me jumping out of the shower and reaching for a towel, as I pull it around me I notice that it feels a bit tighter around me than it usually has, and I know that feeling of getting bigger wasn’t in my head. I’ve been expecting this but knowing that it is happening makes everything that so much more real. I grab my robe off the bed on my way to the door and throw it on as the pounding gets louder. Whoever the hell it is they’re loud and determined.
I open the door and look into the face of the man I love. Damn, is it just me or has he gotten sexier since the last time I saw him? I instinctively pull my robe around me tighter; I give Ryder a dismissive look as I try and act as though I hate his guts. “What are you doing here?” It comes out a lot bitchier than I intended.
“I came to see you. I had to see with my own eyes that you’re okay.” I’ve never seen Ryder this soft before.
“A phone call would have sufficed.” I watch as he tries to hide his shock at the way I’m behaving. Usually, I’m quiet and placid unless you get my back up and then I’m hell on wheels and right now, I don’t feel as though Ryder deserves to have the normal Skye. We got married, and instead of annulling it, he’s making me stay married to him because he knows that I love him.
“You haven’t answered any of my calls.” He raises his brow as though he’s giving me some sort of reprimand.
“You should have got the message then. I'm tired Ryder; I just want to go to sleep.” I reach out for the door hoping that he’ll get the message and leave me the hell alone. This isn’t what I wanted; I wanted to see him when I was ready.
He reaches out and gently caresses my face; I try my hardest not to lean into his touch, but I can’t help it, I crave him. As soon as he touches me I sigh, it’s as if I’ve been cold for a very long time and his touch is all the warmth in the world. “God I’ve missed you.” It’s an admission I never thought I’d hear from him. “Get some rest Skye, and I’ll see you soon.” That’s a promise if I ever heard one and for some reason I love it.
“Bye Ryder,” I close the door in his face, even though all I want is to be held by him and for him to tell me that it was a mistake, that he wants us to be together. That isn’t going to happen; I know that whatever Ryder’s problem is, I can’t fix it. He’s been closed off for as long as I have known him and whatever happened to him, I don’t think he’ll ever get over it, and I don’t have it in me to help him get over it. I have our baby to think of now.
Chapter Five
Ryder
She’s still avoiding me; she’ll tell me she’s not, but I know that she is. In the two weeks that she’s been home, I can count on one hand how many times I have seen her. I’m supposed to be going to Luke and Morgan’s housewarming party that is also Soph and Nathan’s ge
nder reveal party. Those two are having twins, and there’s a bet going on between everyone on the sexes. I’m saying they’re both girls; they already have two boys; they need to even things out. I won’t be going as I know Skye will be there and I’ve already caused her enough pain as it is.
So, I’m working today, as are the new recruits, we got a new receptionist Keely, who seems to be working out great. Especially as she took an instant dislike to Will Travers, as has Sophia. Only Oscar knows that Will slept with and impregnated my high school girlfriend. I’m a gruff bastard most of the time, so anyone who doesn’t know me like my team does think that I treat Will as I treat everyone else. Which is kind of true, I’m an unsociable person, so I don’t talk to Will unless I really have to.
I hired five new men and women to become team members. Smithy International is expanding, and that means we need more personnel, not all the recruits are military, Will, Henry and Gareth are Military. Will is Army and Henry and Gareth are SEALS. Maisey is ex FBI and is one hell of a marksman. Patrick is an ex-cop who Morgan knows and recommended, and I must admit, he’s been a great asset in helping us liaise with cops. We didn’t use Morgan because if anything were to ever go wrong, we don’t want any comebacks on her as she’s still an active member of the force.
I’m in the conference room setting it up for the morning; we have a new client who wants to meet the whole team. Thankfully I met her once and passed her off to Maisey who is more sociable than the rest of us, that or she has a hell of a lot more patience than us. Mrs. Clapton is someone who thinks that she is above everyone else. That we are all her servants and should jump at her every command, it’s the main reason I handed her off to Maisey. I would have told her to look elsewhere, and I still reserve that right if she’s a complete bitch at tomorrow’s conference.
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