Page 32 of When She Needs Them Most
He beams.
I spin around, wrapping my arms under his. The baby belly pushes against his stomach, but I ignore it and give him a squeeze that I hope conveys my appreciation.
Chapter Fourteen
Kase
Sometimes I wonder what the benefit is of being genius-level intelligent if I have to dumb myself down to fit in with societal expectations. I’ve already scanned the marketplaces where for-hire contracts are placed. Two teams are available that would meet my criteria for taking out Emmett Raynor. One of the two would be qualified to take down the bookie’s entire operation, so that way, we wouldn’t need to worry about him getting any bright ideas about following Chelsea’s trail.
When Arden catches me looking for contract killers, he buries me in so much mundane work that I briefly consider murdering him. Unfortunately, he’s very good at keeping himself alive. Most days, that’s a good thing, but he’s on my last nerve today.
No part of me wants to be stuck in the office. Chelsea is probably snuggled up with Lincoln right this moment.
I want to be the little spoon.
Or the big spoon.
I’m willing to be flexible.
My fingers slam against my keyboard as I handle the bullshit tasks Arden gave me as busywork. The only positive thing is, Ifind an audiobook tailored to dads that I mindlessly memorize while I bust out menial task after menial task. Chelsea is already in the third trimester, so I skip all the useless beginning chapters and focus on the stuff we’ll need to know moving forward.
Only the narrator talks exceptionally slowly, so I jack the speed up to 2.20 to help my system stay focused. After this one is finished, I’m going to do a little research and see if I can find one specifically for omegas.
My phone buzzes with a text, and I pause the audiobook. It’s likely my sister, continuing her mission to give me tips about how to pretend to be normal. There were a few earlier about how to seem less creepy.
Only, it’s not Cordelia but Linc, telling me to call Joyce’s baby store to pay for the multitude of shit he ordered but couldn’t get caught paying for.
That seems like a dangerous game to play with how skittish Chelsea already is, but according to my research, she’s at the stage where babies can come at any time.
My jaw hits my chest when Joyce politely informs me the totalwiththe friends and family discount is just shy of six thousand dollars.
What the hell did he buy?
Not that it matters.
It does make it easier to understand why Chelsea would be uncomfortable with that level of a gift. However, I’m sure it’s all necessities, and it even includes delivery, so that’s a relief.
Only, I might be losing my shit, because my train of thought goes to a dark place as I start to wonder if Linc is going to try toclaim all that stuff ashiscourting gifts, instead ofourcourting gifts.
I recall the list Joyce gave over the phone. It was all furniture, so I pull up several essential item lists for newborns and proceed to buy…all of it.
Things like diapers, clothes, burp rags, and sheets, I snag multiples until the website tells me I have the maximum number of items that can be checked out in a single cart.
Frowning, I pay for that and switch over to another retailer. Having an item limit doesn’t seem like a great way to meet your customer’s needs. I make a mental note to send them a complaint later when I have time. For now, I go a little crazy grabbing everything that’s highly rated. Once I’m done, I check that cart out too and peek at Arden’s office door.
He’s on a conference call with one of the cops who barely bothered investigating Chelsea’s case.
My head tilts.
We drove separately.
Very quietly closing my laptop, I shut down my desktop computer and shove my laptop in my man bag. Lincoln loves to call it my purse, and I’m fine with that. A wallet doesn’t cut it when I need access to my laptop at all times.
I’m the most covert of all covert agents as I sneak out of the office, locking both doors behind me.
It’s time to check on Chelsea.
The GPS app says Linc is by the pond down the street from our house. The house security system was disarmed and rearmed fourteen minutes later. I’m betting that means Chelsea is at ourhouse, and Linc took Sky out for a run. It’s unusual that he would reset the system if he’s just out for a jog.
