Page 103 of Pucked Around and Found Out

Slowly, reluctantly, he releases me and leans back, putting distance between us.

The loss of his touch feels like a physical ache, but I know he's right.

I can't do this. Can't add another complication to the disaster my life has become.

Even if part of me desperately wants to.

“I'm sorry,” I whisper.

“Don't be.” His voice is gentle, understanding. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

We sit there in silence for a long moment, and slowly, my breathing evens out. The tears slow. The panic recedes.

But something has shifted between us.

Something I don't know how to name.

“You need to eat,” Carnage says finally, breaking the tension by gesturing to the forgotten burger. “For the baby.”

The baby.

My hand goes to my stomach instinctively, and the reminder of why I can't let myself fall into Carnage's arms crashes over me.

I'm carrying Xaden's child.

No matter how complicated things are between us, no matter how much he pushes me away—this baby connects us.

And I can't pretend it doesn't.

“Okay,” I whisper. “Okay.”

I force myself to pick up the burger and take a bite. It tastes like cardboard, but I chew and swallow anyway.

For the baby.

For the future I'm trying to build.

For the person I'm trying to become.

Carnage watches me eat with approval in his eyes, and I'm grateful—so fucking grateful—that he's here. That he didn't push. That he's willing to be whatever I need him to be, even when it costs him.

“What did Alex say?” I ask between bites, desperate to focus on something other than what almost just happened.

“He's sending more men,” Carnage replies, his voice back to normal or as normal as it can be after we nearly crossed a line we can't uncross. “And he wants a full briefing on everything we got from Masen. He's also working on a plan to approach Fiona with the intel.”

“A plan?”

“A trade,” he clarifies. “Masen's cooperation and everything we’ll learn from him will help us take that snake down once and for all. Then we leverage your brother to try and convince Xaden to release Cas.”

My stomach twists at the mention of Cas. Xaden has him locked up somewhere, punishment for the betrayal. And we need to get him out.

“Do you think it'll work?” I ask.

“I think if we can take the head off the fucking snake, we remove the leverage Fiona has on everyone,” Carnage says. “Including whatever she's holding over Masen. And if we can do that, maybe we can convince Xaden that Cas deserves a second chance.”

“Xaden doesn't do second chances,” I say quietly.

“He gave you forty-eight hours,” Carnage points out. “He gave Masen a chance to cooperate instead of just killing him. Maybe he's more capable of mercy than you think.”