Kresley Cole - If You Deceive

No more. She truly was finished this time.

"I'll never let you go," he'd vowed, and she believed him. Somewhere along the way, he'd fallen in love with her—or as much as possible for a man like him, with the lies between them.

In fact, she sensed that what he felt for her bordered on obsession. If she left, he wouldn't rest until he found her.

But she was Maddyla Gamine —she could find her way out of anything. She had the jewelry he'd given her, and all the money she'd wisely begun hiding away.

She'd go back to La Marais. But only to collect her friends.

On their way to somewhere else.

Forty-one

Ethan heard the screams from his Grosvenor town house before he even set eyes on the property.

To his shock, he saw Court and Hugh outside—notrunning to the sound. Court looked as though he was about to murder someone.

Ethan swung down from his horse. "Why the hell haven't you gone up—" Another scream sounded, and Court bellowed in answering pain, punching his fists against the brick wall. Blood was already matted there from previous hits.

"Stop it, Court," Hugh snapped. "She'll no' like that I let you hurt yourself like this."

"How could they send me away?" Court asked, his voice hoarse, his eyes dazed.

"I wonder," Hugh said dryly.

Ethan finally found his voice. "What the hell is going on?"

"They've asked me to keep him downstairs for the present," Hugh said.

"Who?"

"Did you no' get our letters?"

"No letters, just a short telegram to Carillon—"

"I wasn't sure if you still owned that one," Hugh said. "I sent telegrams to the less likely of your haunts." He narrowed his eyes. "What were you doing there?"

"Spendin' the winter. Now answer me. What is going on here?"

"This is the birth of your niece or nephew," Hugh said proudly. "And the possible loss of your brother's sanity."

"Birth?"Ethan tripped back against his horse. That arse of a horse sidestepped, and he almost fell. "Now?"

Court bit out, "She sent me away. Why would they send me away?"

Hugh responded, "Again, I canna imagine." To Ethan, he said, "Annalía's been in labor for about ten hours now. You're just in time to help me hold Court and keep him out of the way."

"Annalía'sin labor ," Ethan said, stunned. He'd never been anywhere near a birth before.

Court swung his frenzied gaze on Ethan. "Doona even start with me, Ethan. That baby is mine. Iknow her and Ifeel this. Any comment to the contrary, and I'll kill you."

Ethan put his palms up. "I'm no' making any comment about anything."

Court looked confused. "You're no' going to berate me or throw that bloody book at me?"

"No, I just…I wish you well."

Now Hugh frowned, too. "Fiona's here," Hugh said to Ethan. "She wants to talk to you."

"She's here? In my house?"

"Aye, she's—"

A scream louder than the rest sounded, and the blood left Court's face. He barreled toward the front door, but Hugh collared him and hauled him back, cursing and swinging. "A hand here, Ethan?"

"Oh, aye. Calm yourself, Court," Ethan said, helping to drag him back outside. "Women do this all the time."

Court grated, "If I hear that bullshite another bloody time…"

"This is killing him," Hugh explained. "He never wanted Annalía to have a baby."

"Why no'?" Ethan asked, baffled. That's what men always wanted. Wasn't it? He'd tried to get one on Maddy with a feverish intensity.

"He dinna want to risk her. And he dinna want to share her. If he'd known he could get her with child, he'd have tried no' to."

"They made me leave," Court said again, his tone miserable.

"How about helping me distract him?" Hugh muttered.

"How?" At Hugh's shrug, Ethan said, "Do you have, uh, a name prepared, then?"

Absently, eyes still on the door, Court said as if reciting, "If it's a boy, we have to name him Aleix, after Anna's brother, Aleixandre. Because I put him in jail and stole his house and all that. If it's a lass, we're naming her after Fiona."

Naming his daughter after their mother.Has everyone lost their bloody minds?

"Why have the screams stopped?" Court demanded, struggling to wrench free of them.

"I'll go check," Hugh said. "Keep him down here." He crossed to the stairs. A few moments later, he called down, "They're ready for Court."

Court stormed past Ethan and bounded up the stairs. Ethan hurried to follow. Fiona was there at the entrance to Court's rooms. "You're lucky she's ready this time, Courtland. You have a son. A beautiful boy." She glanced past Court. "Hello, Ethan. Glad the letters got to you in time."

He scowled, uncomfortable with this situation on so many levels. "I dinna get any bloody letters."

"Language, Ethan!" Fiona snapped.

"I have no' spoken to you in a dozen years," Ethan began, tone seething, "and you think you can scold me like that in my own home?"

"Aye," she said easily. "Because I'm still your mother."

Court stormed in and went straight for the bed. When Hugh entered to stand near Jane, Ethan entered as well, struggling to remain outwardly calm.Jane was here?

"Jane," Ethan said with a cool nod.

"Ethan," she replied, then added, "excellent work there with Grey. You really slowed him down for me to kill him."

Ethan raised his brows at her nerve.She's friends with Maddy , he told himself, biting back a scathing retort.

"Sìne," Hugh said warningly, using the Gaelic form of Jane. In turn, she slipped her hand in his and cast him a sunny smile; grave, stony Hugh was obviously helpless not to be charmed by it.

Court dropped to his knees beside the bed, taking Annalía's hand. "Mo chridhe, vow tae me that you'll never want another. We canna do this, no' ever again."

She gave him a drowsy smile. "I know this was hard on you. Oh, Courtland, what has happened to your hands? You poor thing…"

If Court could get a babe on Annalía, why had Ethan failed with Maddy? A quick flare of panic—what if Ethanhad succeeded? Maddy was smaller than Annalía, who looked like she'd barely gotten through this.

Fiona said, "Courtland, do you no' want to see your son?"

Court scowled up at her, having no interest in the boy. Instead, he put his face against Annalía's neck. Poor bastard couldn't seem to get close enough to her. "Can I pick her up?" Court asked.

Jane said firmly, "No, Court. Not yet. She needs to rest."

After another minute of sneaking her closer to him, Court turned back to them. "I'll be gentle with her."

"No, Court!" Fiona and Jane said at the same time.

Fiona added, "But you can pick up Aleix."

Ethan watched in amazement. Court hadn't even glanced at the babe.

"Since he is no' interested for now"—Fiona brought the infant to Hugh and Ethan—"perhaps you'd like to meet your nephew."

Hugh muttered, "Never touched a baby."

"Never?" Jane asked with a light laugh. Ethan said nothing, though he hadn't either.

Ethan was beyond cynical, yet he took one look at that boy and knew he was a MacCarrick. Felt it down to his bones.

The curse was proven utterly wrong—but even with that shadow dissipating from his life, Ethan still had another. The secret that weighed on him constantly….

"When I sleep," Annalía said then, smiling sleepily up at Court, "you must look out for Aleix for me." When he finally nodded, she dozed off.

Anticipating his panic, Fiona said, "Court, she's been awake and in labor for hours. Let her have some peace and quiet." He began to protest, but she spoke over him. "You want what is best for her. Sleep is what she needs. She's been more worried about you downstairs than for herself. Now, take your brothers and your bairn outside for a bit." When Fiona tried to hand over Aleix, showing Court the correct way to hold a babe, he went wild-eyed with panic, but eventually took his son with an audible swallow. "There, that's perfect," Fiona said. "Now, keep your hand behind his head…."