them?”
Alex eyed her as she scooted around stacks of hi-tech equipment making her way to
his cluttered corner. Watching the little whirlwind, he had to admit that there was
no mystery why Drae had fallen so hard and so fast for the feisty little woman. She
was a piece of work, this one. Even though the two of them snarked at each other from
time to time, her unabashed love for Draegyn St. John was apparent to everyone. His
friend was one lucky son of a bitch.
Helping her into a chair, Alex smiled down at her. “How’s the bump today?” Seeing
her little round tummy restored his faith in humanity.
Tori giggled and rubbed a hand all over her protruding belly. “She’s rocking and rolling
today. Takes after her Daddy. Restless energy.”
He barked out a laugh. “I hope if it is a she that a precocious pink princess drives her daddy bat shit crazy. Serves the old fucker
right.” They both laughed.
“ So . Anything new with you?”
Alex wasn’t stupid. He knew a neat segue to another subject when he heard one. The
innocent tone in Tori’s voice told him the gossip train had already left the station
and made at least one stop. He wondered how long it would take before Drae came knocking
too.
“Tori St. John – you would so flunk Private Investigator 101,” he told her with a wry shake of his head.
“For real?” she laughed. “Aw, come on!” Their laughter filled the air. “How ‘bout
this instead? So. Alex. Who’s the woman in your guest room? That any better?”
That was why he liked her. She had a take no prisoners approach to life. He hoped
Drae knew to watch himself around her. She’d incinerate his ass if he were ever stupid
enough to step out of line.
“I plead the fifth,” he joked.
“Don’t be mean to a pregnant woman,” she teased while making a pouty face.
“What is it you want to know, woman?” he barked in mock annoyance.
Tori laughed in his face. “For Christ’s sake Alex. Two simple questions! Who is the woman, and why is she in a guest room and not the Casita? There! Was that direct enough for you?”
“I’m going to have to speak to your husband about that smart mouth of yours,” he grumbled.
She snorted in amusement. “Good luck with that! Now answer the damn questions or I’ll
get Lacey up here too, and we’ll tag team you till we get answers.”
“Fuck,” Alex groaned. “I knew letting women in the compound was a mistake.”
Patting her tummy for emphasis she stuck her tongue out and sneered, “Too late for
that, don’t you think?”
It was an old joke that never failed to get a laugh. The three of them—him, Draegyn,
and Cameron—had been living in bachelor heaven until ten months ago when Lacey came
on the scene followed shortly thereafter by Tori. In a neatly precise one-two punch,
each woman had taken down one of the lone wolves of the Justice Squad. Only Alex was
left now.
Sighing, he grabbed a rolling stool and pulled Tori’s legs into his lap. “Your feet
are awfully swollen little lady. Didn’t the doctor tell you to slow down a bit and
spend more time off your feet?” He slipped her flip-flops off and began rubbing her
soles.
Tori sighed and grumbled, “I’m going to be huge in another five months!”
It pained him to hear her distress. She was going to be a wonderful mother but her
pregnancy wasn’t going to be an easy one. He knew Drae agonized over her condition.
After all, she was just a tiny little thing, and her growing belly was starting to
look completely out of proportion to her small frame. She was going to need all of
them to get through the months ahead.
They sat there like the oldest of friends as he rubbed her swollen feet and she caressed
her baby bump. He was happy for Drae—and Cam too. They both found incredible women
to stand by them. He sometimes wished that his future held something similar, until
he remembered why it couldn’t.
In the bluntest of