Over the Edge (Bridge #3)(69)

Then she looked to Will, and a fresh wave of worry came over me. Something wasn’t right.

She swallowed hard and dropped her fork on the table. “We need to talk to you, Ian.”

The worry grew, spreading cold down my limbs.

“What’s going on?”

She chewed relentlessly on her lip and stared silently at the table.

“Liv, talk to me. What is it?”

Finally, she lifted her tearful gaze to mine. “Ian, I’m pregnant. Please don’t be angry.”

Time seemed to stand still while my brain stuttered, struggling to catch up with what that truly meant.

Pregnant? She’d been with both of us. But I’d always been safe. I’d never been with a woman without protection. It wasn’t worth the risk, and I sure as hell wasn’t ready for fatherhood.

“How?”

Will spoke up, his expression rigid, like he was bracing himself. “It’s my fault.”

All I could hear was my heart beating furiously. The breath seemed to squeeze out of my chest as I absorbed his admission. I stared at him in disbelief.

“You did this?”

Suddenly, every overprotective and insanely possessive thought I’d ever had about sharing Liv with another man forced into the forefront of my mind.

I’d been willing to fight for her at every turn, but ultimately, I’d bought into the notion that we could, truly, both be in her life in a healthy way. How could I have been so f*cking wrong?

Will avoided my gaze, betraying his discomfort. “I was careless. She didn’t know.”

She didn’t know… That meant he’d f*cked her bare without thinking of the consequences. She’d told me she wasn’t on birth control. Had he known? Had he taken her the way he wanted to anyway? Suddenly I wanted to f*cking throttle him.

I pushed up from the table and came to him. “You couldn’t have her to yourself so you had to knock her up?”

He rose to stand, his stance and his shoulders wide and defensive. “That’s not what happened.”

A fierce jealousy tore through me, and I tightened my fists. “How could you do this to her? To us?”

“I wasn’t thinking straight. It’s no excuse, but that’s how it happened.”

“You weren’t thinking? You think I believe that for one second? You could get your dick hard, but you couldn’t think about covering it up to protect her?”

“It was the middle of the night—”

“Bullshit!” I shoved my finger at him. “You’re a f*cking cheat, like your father.”

He narrowed his eyes. Rage and a searing pain sent a rush of adrenaline to my muscles. Before I could talk myself out of it, I lunged for him, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. I pushed him across the room and slammed him against the wall.

“How could you do this to her?” I seethed through gritted teeth.

His face twisted into a grimace, and he shoved me back hard. I came back, ready to wind up and knock the living shit out of him, when Liv’s voice rang out.

“Ian, don’t!” She was suddenly beside me, a dangerous place to be. She circled my wrist, halting my advance on Will.

She wasn’t strong enough to hold me back, but she had the power to pull me out of my emotions long enough to consider what I was doing. I looked over to her, feeling wild with rage.

Slowly, she moved between us. Placing her hands on my chest, she stilled me. But my heart wouldn’t slow, and nothing she could say would lessen the hatred I felt for Will right now.

“Please don’t fight. I know it’s a lot to take in. It’s going to be okay though,” she whispered in a watery voice, pressing her forehead against my chest.

Her touch hurt. Everything f*cking ached inside me right now.

I took a step away, sparing Will the physical punishment he sorely deserved.

I didn’t know what to say. My hands wanted to do the talking. The urge to dole out justice was fierce. I had to get away from everyone before I did something truly stupid.

Without another word, I left the room and headed toward mine. I sat on the bed and let my head fall into my shaking hands.

She was pregnant. With Will’s baby.

The pain was so raw, lancing through me. The anger singed like fire through my veins.

Liv was there a moment later, standing before me. She stroked my cheek and squeezed my shoulder, as if she could ease what had my body strung tight like a bow.

When I looked up, I saw my pain reflected in her vibrant eyes—two blue diamonds. Priceless, perfect, and slowly slipping out of reach.

“Why, Liv?”

I knew she didn’t have the answer, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking for it.

Why now, when I’d fallen so hard? I’d allowed Will into my social life as an assurance that any relationship would be impossible. Then stupidly, I’d fallen in love, and here we were. We wouldn’t get past this. I couldn’t.

“It was an accident. This is my fault too.”

I shook my head, unwilling to believe it. “It’s not.”

“I know you’re angry, but it’s not the end of the world. I was devastated when I found out, yes. But I’m coming to terms, and you will too. We can get through this. I know we can.”

I rose, stepped away from her painful touch, and paced the room.