Ty had always liked August in New York. He liked the bustle. He liked the fuss. He liked the energy, and he even liked the smell of hot asphalt. He’d never been pregnant in New York in the summer, and he kind of hoped he could avoid it in the future. Not that pregnancy was a thing that could be timed, of course.

He wasn’t even heavily pregnant. He was barely far enough along to allow for his new favorite hobby, Resting Things On The Baby Bump. He was still pregnant enough to sweat through his clothes. He was still pregnant enough to feel like he was fighting his way through a sauna every time he stepped out of the air conditioning.

The doctor said it was hormones. So did the middle-aged office manager at work. He didn’t care what was causing it, he just wanted it over. He’d waited a long time to get pregnant, and he was still happy to be pregnant, but he would have been lying if he tried to pretend this part didn’t suck.

Right now, Carter was away on a West Coast road trip. It was a long one. He’d been away for two weeks already and he wasn’t due back for a good while yet. On the one hand, Ty hated sleeping alone in the new place they’d bought together. It felt too huge for one person. On the other hand, if Carter was off in Oakland or Seattle or Houston or Colorado, he wasn’t in Seb’s path. Ty would rather have Carter alive and on the road than in New York and in harm’s way.

Or was he just being paranoid? He’d read pregnancy could do that to a guy.

He stood up and stretched, and then he headed over to the courthouse. Today he had closing arguments in the case of the omega trying to get custody of his children from their alpha father. He wasn’t sure what to expect. He thought he had all of his ducks in a row. The alpha was definitely using his kids to get back at the omega for having the temerity to leave him. He also seemed to be lashing out at his children as his business dealings went south. None of the nannies would talk, but Ty was pretty sure the financial records did the work for him.

He got a car service to the courthouse. Everything was running on time, so he didn’t have to wait long. His client sat beside him, chewing on the end of a pen and fidgeting. “Chew all you want,” Ty whispered to the red-haired omega. “That’s fine. But you have got to sit still. You’re still making a final impression on the judge, and you don’t want him to think you’re on something.”

The omega glared, but he slumped his shoulders. “Seriously?”

Ty put a hand on his client’s back. “I know. It’s hard. Believe me, it took a long time for me to train myself out of that kind of thing. Once we get that verdict you can express yourself as much as you want.”

The judge walked in, and everyone stood.

Ty went first, since his client was suing for custody. He stood before the court. There was no jury here, and no observers. This was Family Court, and the privacy of children was supposed to be the primary concern. Ty still treated the room like he had a full audience. It wouldn’t do to get sloppy.

“Your Honor, my client has come here before you to ask for custody of his children. When the divorce was first finalized, custody was given to the alpha father. While my client was disappointed, he accepted the decision. He wanted his children to have stability, and he didn’t want to subject them to a long court fight.

“As the year progressed, however, he noticed changes in those children. He noticed behavioral changes. He noticed bruises. Those changes have also been noticed by the children’s teachers, as we heard in their testimony and saw in the evidence. The children have visited the emergency room on multiple occasions during the year, going to a different ER on each occasion and never going to the ER near their home. They’ve burned through four caregivers in one year. The defendant’s financial records will show significant losses in his business that coincide with each spate of injuries.

“My client,” Ty continued, not looking at the omega in question, “is a good man. He wants what’s best for his children. When the courts deemed that going with their alpha father was what was best for them, my client acquiesced. When my client saw that the alpha father was not living up to his end of the bargain, he reached out to the courts yet again. He was willing to trust the courts to do what is best for the children. We ask the courts to validate his trust in them by proving that they do, indeed, have the children’s best interests at heart.”

Ty sat down. His opponent tried to rebut his argument with talk of “family matters.” The children’s trips to the ER were “family matters,” and it was absurd for a man to have to document his reasons for choosing a specific ER every time he needed to take his kids to the doctor. Surely it would be better to get treatment for the children? And surely it was better for the alpha father, as the moneyed spouse, to have custody over the children since he was better able to provide for them? To send the children to the omega parent would be to attack the very cornerstone of family law - keeping families together.

Ty expected the judge to dismiss them, to retire and go to his chambers to consider the case. He did not. Instead he favored both parties with a stern glance. “Don’t go anywhere yet, gentlemen. I’ve reached my ruling. You could probably have been spared the effort of closing arguments, but I knew you’d both worked hard on them and I’d hate to deprive the court of your oratory.” His grin was cold, almost cruel. “I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a little concerned that the omega father didn’t go to DSS or the police with his concerns about abuse to the children. That said, I find more than ample cause to begin an investigation. Custody is awarded to the omega father with the caveat that he check in periodically to ensure the children’s safety.” He trained the full weight of his steely gaze onto the omega parent.

Ty’s client didn’t shrink. He just nodded his head, and Ty spoke for him. “My client doesn’t have a problem with that, your Honor.”

“Mine does, your Honor. We resent the implication that my client would harm his children in any way.” Ty’s opponent spoke calmly, almost like he was bored. His client, however, had gone so red in the face he was almost purple.

“Resent away, Counselor. You just make sure your client pays his annual child support, and make sure he gets anger management counseling as well. He can have supervised visitation every other week, which we can revisit in a year. If he’s gotten his temper under control, we’ll see if he can have unsupervised visits. Defendant is to pay all court costs incurred by the plaintiff. Until then, court is adjourned.” He banged his gavel.

Ty shook his client’s hand. “Congratulations. I’m very happy for you.”

The red-haired omega sagged with relief. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“That’s my job.” Ty grinned at him and headed out. He was, after all, getting paid for this.

He intended to go back to the office, but strong fingers wrapped themselves around his wrist and pulled him off to the side. Ty broke free of their grasp and turned to face his assailant, only to come face to face Seb Britton. “Seb.” He didn’t smile. He didn’t want to encourage his ex in any way at all. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see why you told Scotland Yard that you’re not my lawyer.” Seb’s gaze fell and froze on Ty’s baby bump. “You’re pregnant.”

“Yes. Yes, as a matter of fact I am pregnant. I’m not your lawyer. Mr. Clarke called and spoke to you about that. At great length, if his notes are anything to go by.”

Seb curled his lip at Ty’s belly. “Some old windbag called and babbled at me for a while. I muted him. Look, maybe we should talk about this someplace. Your house, maybe?”

“Like Hell.” Ty snorted.

“Fine. There’s a coffee shop around the corner. It’s the middle of the work day so that brother of yours shouldn’t be able to come and pester us.” He grabbed Ty’s arm again. “I absolutely insist.”

Ty considered fighting. He decided not to, only because he couldn’t afford a scene here. Seb knew that, of course. That was why he did it.

What had Ty ever seen in him?

Ty let himself be led to a coffee shop near the courthouse. It was a small, independently owned place that charged an arm and a leg for coffee. They could afford to around here. Ty got a decaf mocha and sat down to text the office while he waited for Seb. Got dragged to Garibaldi’s Coffee by Seb Britton. Tell Clarke.

Seb sat down across from Ty with his own coffee. “So,” he said, in an artificially casual voice. “You’re actually pregnant.”

“Yep. Actually pregnant.” Ty didn’t give him more information than that. Seb didn’t need it, or deserve it. Besides, who knew what he would do with the knowledge? Would he go after Carter?

“I suppose you’re going to tell me that idiot with the club is the father.”

“I hadn’t planned to tell you anything, Seb.”

Seb slapped his hand down on the table loudly enough to draw the attention of several nearby patrons. “I have a right to know. You’re my omega, and my lawyer.”

“I’m neither, Seb. I’m married, to someone else. You left me years ago, and that turns out to have been the absolute best thing you could have done for me. And I’m sure as hell not your lawyer.”

“You are if I say you are.” Seb waved a hand dismissively.

“That’s not actually how it works.”

“That’s exactly how it works!” Seb yelled. A nearby woman flinched. “You’ll do as you’re told.”

Ty sighed. “Do you want to get kicked out of here, Seb? Because the owner just came out of the office, and he’s looking right at you.”

“People like us don’t get kicked out of places.” Seb returned his voice to normal. “You’ve been spending too much time with your jumped-up trailer trash to realize it. Look. I could overlook it when you married that guy in a fit of desperation. I can get it. You’re over thirty, and it’s shameful for an omega to get that old and still be single.”

Ty pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maybe you’d be ashamed, but I had a good and fulfilling career. Which is what I wanted, if you’ll recall.”

“Whatever. I can understand why you’d take any offer that came along, just for appearances’ sake, but you let him… touch you.” Seb screwed up his face with distaste. “I mean that is how you got pregnant.”

“That is how pregnancies generally happen, yeah. But Seb, I didn’t just let it happen. I loved every minute of it. And so did he.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re awful in bed, Ty.”

“Maybe I was just awful when I didn’t have anything to inspire me to feats of greatness, Seb.” Ty beamed. “That’s not the point. The point is yes, our marriage is real, and yes, I’m pregnant. No, it’s not any of your business, and yes, you need to go away now.” He ticked off each point on his fingers as he spoke, feeling the weight of Seb’s eye on his hands as he did.

“On the contrary. This guy is taking you for a ride. It’s obvious to anyone with a brain that you need someone to take care of you. You need someone to help you make these decisions, because you’re doing crap on your own. This guy, this Carter Bowman? He doesn’t love you, Tyler. He’s using you for your money.”

Ty rolled his eyes so hard they hurt. “We’ve been through this. He’s not.”

“He is. What exactly is it that you think you have to offer him, Ty? He’s famous. You’re not. He’s hot. You’re a six at best. He’s got an exciting life in a different city every week, while the highlight of your week is a hairball on the carpet. You’re not capable of thinking critically of these things. Your head is all romance and love, and you just think everything is sweetness and light. You’re just not capable of thinking long term and that’s leaving you vulnerable.”

Ty scoffed. “I was more than capable of thinking clearly and critically when I refused to go to England with you, wasn’t I?”

“If you had, you wouldn’t be in this situation right now.” Seb’s teeth were clenched, and a vein stood out on the side of his face.

“Or I’d be at the bottom of the Thames myself.” He met his ex’s eye.

“Wow.” Seb sat back and made a pissy face. “You’d throw my dead husband in my face?”

“Give it a rest, Seb. We both know you’re not exactly mourning. The thing is, when you go around telling people someone’s your lawyer, and a law enforcement organization has something to say to you, they send it to that attorney.” Ty held Seb’s gaze as his words sunk in.

“I chose you for my attorney because I trusted you,” Seb hissed.

Ty smirked. “More fool you. I don’t trust you, Seb. And I wouldn’t have taken the job on anyway, because of the conflict of interest. I honestly think you should get a British criminal defense attorney, one who can look at your case with a neutral eye —”

“No!” Seb spat the words out with a spray of mocha and whipped cream. “You are my attorney!”

“I’m not going around and around with you, Seb. The answer is no. The answer will always be no.”

“Did your precious alpha tell you not to?” Seb sneered at him. “You know he’s off with some younger, prettier omega right now, right?”

“Basic ethics told me to say no, Seb. And what Carter does is between me and Carter. It has nothing to do with you. You’re not my alpha. You’re not my friend. You’re just some guy. “ He stood up. “I’m going back to work now. You should do the same thing, if you don’t want to get canned.”

He headed out into the hot August sun and hailed a cab before Seb could chase after him. Seb seemed to really be losing it. Was there anything Ty could do to keep Carter safe?

* * *

Carter heard about Ty’s meeting with the eternally charming Sebastian the day it happened, although Ty waited until he was in the middle of the game to text him anything. He knew Carter didn’t check his messages until after the game. According to Ty, he didn’t want Carter to worry. He probably just didn’t want Carter getting on a plane and rushing back to New York. Carter had an overwhelming urge to do exactly that anyway, but he held off.

If he had to see Sebastian face to face, though, all bets were off.

The team was in Seattle when the whole thing happened. Carter had Ty write the incident up and email it to him and Tracy. He wasn’t sure if anything would come of it, but he wanted the whole thing documented if it did.

The team was finishing up week two of a three week road trip. They headed to Colorado from Seattle for a four game series, which didn’t exactly fill Carter with joy but what could he do? He would get through it, the same as he always did, and at the end of it they’d have a couple of days off in New York to rest up. He was definitely looking forward to that. All of his things were still in boxes, for crying out loud.

They got in to Denver late on Sunday night and played their first game on Monday afternoon. They took the loss. Carter didn’t even mind. He felt like a zombie out there, between his personal exhaustion and the time changes. The elevation out here was a killer, too, and he hadn’t had a chance to get used to it yet. The team rode the bus back to the hotel in silence. Most of the guys headed up to their rooms, ready to call it a night or maybe order room service. Carter was ready to join them, but a bulky man with silver hair and an outlandish mustache blocked his way.

“Ed Cunningham.” Carter tried to muster a smile for his father-in-law. All he could come up with was a grimace. He decided it would have to be good enough. “Are you in Denver on business?” He felt Tracy pause beside him and thanked the universe for sending him such a supportive coach.

Ed curled his lip, just a little bit. “Actually no. I came out here specifically to see you.” He flicked his gaze over to Tracy. “Privately, if at all possible.”

Carter narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know Ed well. Ed hadn’t had much to say during their brunch meeting, and he hadn’t had anything at all to say since then. He did know that, given the way things stood between the two couples, there was no way he was meeting with Ed without witnesses. “Well, I’d already planned to grab dinner with my coach, Tracy Belmonte. Tracy, this is my father-in-law, Ed. Maybe we could all grab dinner together in the hotel restaurant or bar? Trust me, no halfway decent major leaguer has many secrets from his coach.” He slung his arm around Ed’s shoulders and guided him toward the hotel bar.

Tracy glared at him and muttered to him in Spanish. “You’re so going to owe me for this one, Bowman.”

“Oh, I know it.” Carter switched back to English. “When did you get in? Are you staying here?”

“Actually I am. I got here today. I’m planning to leave tomorrow morning and I hope I’ll have what I came for with me when I go.” Ed had clenched his jaw good and tight as he walked alongside the two ball players.

They got a seat toward the back of the dining area, where they weren’t likely to be easily spotted or pestered. They ordered drinks and meals, and they waited until both had been delivered to get down to business. Ed sat back and held his glass in his hand, staring at Carter for a long moment. “I feel a little odd, having this conversation in front of an outsider,” he began. “Then again, I suppose I should feel odd. You did say you had no secrets from him.” He sipped his drink and gave Carter a hard look.

“I’ve spoken with Seb Britton. He tells me you went and got my son pregnant.”

Carter shrugged. “As far as I know, Keegan’s an alpha. He can’t get pregnant.”

Tracy elbowed him. “Be nice, Carter.”

Carter huffed out a little laugh. “Okay. Yes, Ty is pregnant. I am the father, in case you had any doubts. He’s due in late December or early January. Congratulations on the impending arrival of your first grandchild, Ed. I’m sure you and Beau must be very excited.”

Ed curled his lip. “I’m not sure ‘excited’ is the word I’d use. If it were legal, and if I wouldn’t be the first suspect, I’d take you out and shoot you right now.”

“Tell me how you really feel, Ed.” Carter rolled his eyes.

Tracy wasn’t feeling quite so sanguine about Ed’s comment. “Excuse me, did you just threaten one of my players in front of me? Because I’m pretty sure that’s what I just heard.”

“I said I would, if there weren’t strong arguments against it. Don’t be vulgar, Belmonte.” Ed scoffed.

“If you want to see vulgar, I’ll give you vulgar.” Tracy put his fork down and moved to push his chair back.

Carter put a hand on his coach’s arm. “We’re all a little run down, I guess. Tracy, let’s hear what Ed has to say. That’s why we came out here tonight, isn’t it?” He emphasized the plural, hoping Tracy got the hint.

Tracy did. “Fine.”

Ed harrumphed. “This is exactly what I’m talking about, Bowman. You have no idea what you’re doing around people like us. You don’t belong. Ty should never have married you, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have if he’d been in his right mind. You’re uncouth. You lack anything resembling refinement. Seb Britton is rich, he grew up with Tyler, he knows exactly what Tyler expects and needs in his alpha. He’s a better match.”

Carter snickered. He didn’t bother to hide it. Tracy grinned openly too. “Buddy, I don’t know where you’re getting your information from, but your boy Seb has got plenty of issues of his own. He’s shady. He’s dishonest. One of the things he’s being dishonest about is his money and another is how his last husband died. Now you may not care how he treats his husbands. I don’t care much for your parenting style, but you know. To each his own.” Tracy pointed a finger at Ed and moved it in a circle.

“What in the hell gives you the right to sit there and criticize someone else’s parenting?” Ed’s face flushed tomato red. “You’re gone for three quarters of the year.”

“And yet look at me sitting here not trying to force my kid to marry a murderer. See how easy it is? You’re setting a low bar, there, Eddie.” Tracy patted Ed on the shoulder and went back to eating his dinner.

Carter smirked. He hadn’t intended for Tracy to say everything that was on Carter’s mind, but hey - he wasn’t going to say no, either. “Look. You can go on thinking that someone else would be a better fit, and I’ll go right on thinking I’m just fine for Ty, but at the end of the day Ty will do what Ty wants to do.”

Ed waved a hand. “Ty is going to do what Ty is told to do. He might dig in his heels, but he’ll cave in eventually. He understands that he doesn’t have the temperament to make these kinds of decisions for himself, especially not when they affect so many more people than just him.

“It’s not like you care, anyway. You’re not really married.”

Carter snorted. “There’s plenty of documentation that says otherwise, sport.”

“I mean not for real. You’re using him for his money. You’re not really interested in him. If someone - anyone - was going to be interested in him it would have happened years ago. Now he’s well beyond anything of the sort.” Ed leaned forward, knife and fork in his hand. Carter had a moment of horror wondering if his father-in-law would cut right into his arm and try to eat him.

“And yet you’re sitting here trying to force him to marry someone who apparently wants to marry him over his own loud objections. Fascinating.” He made himself keep eating calmly, even though Ed was making his skin crawl.

“Sebastian is a good man. He’s willing to take him back. He knows Tyler’s been pining for him.”

“He certainly doesn’t seem to have been pining when we conceived our child.” Carter smiled and took a bite of his salad. “In fact, I’m pretty sure Sebastian’s name didn’t come up once.”

Tracy almost choked on his drink when Carter said that. “TMI, Carter.”

“You’ve deluded him into thinking you care. Soon he’ll realize you don’t and he’ll come running back to us. Only we won’t have anything left to offer him. Sebastian will be long gone, and he’ll be all alone. Is that what you want? You want to deny him the husband his parents know is right for him? Are you really that selfish?”

“I’m not leaving him. I’m not leaving him now. I’m not leaving him ever. He’s my husband. I think it’s kind of gross, really, the way all of you treat him. He’s a brilliant lawyer, a handsome man, and he’s got a good soul. You all treat him like a bunny with a head injury. It’s disgusting. At this point I wouldn’t let you near the baby with a ten foot pole. I can’t let them see anyone treat their dad that way, and I don’t want them to know they come from that kind of family.” He signaled the waitress. “I’m not leaving Ty. We’re having a baby, we’re in love, and we’re getting our happily ever after. Is that clear enough for you?”

“You’ll never be accepted by the family! You’re tearing him away from the people who care for him most. Is that what you want?”

“If tying him to a murderer is how you ‘care’ for him, then yeah. Yeah, I kind of do. Have a great night, Ed.” He stood up and sought out their server. Tracy hastened to follow.

They explained they’d had a bit of a disagreement with the gentleman with whom they’d had dinner, and they were going to head up to their rooms, but Carter wanted to make sure she got paid. He charged their meals and their drinks up to that point to his room, left a generous tip, and headed upstairs. Anything else that Ed might want, he’d pay for himself.

He and Tracy retired to his room. “Well, that was exciting,” Carter said, flopping down on the couch in his room when they arrived. “I kind of feel like I could have lived the rest of my life without another encounter with any Cunningham over forty, but you know. Everything happens for a reason.”

“Christ.” Tracy shook his head and took the chair. “You know, when I met those two, I thought they were just another couple of boring rich kids who came from too much money. Now I can’t even begin to guess how they turned out so well. Even Keegan.”

“Right?” Carter huffed out a little laugh. “I never thought boarding school was a good idea before I met Ed and Beau.” He sighed. “I mean you saw that, right? You saw me telling Ed that Seb’s a killer, and he just ignored it.”

“I don’t get that. Either he doesn’t get it, doesn’t believe it, or he doesn’t care. And I’m not sure which is worse.”

Carter shuddered. He didn’t know either. “The sooner we can put this Sebastian thing to bed, the sooner we can be safer. The Terrible Twosome might not want to have contact with us anymore, but I think we can probably live with that.”

“They’re your husband’s parents, man.” Tracy stood up. “Don’t forget about that. Most guys, until a major break happens, they’re going to want to keep up good relations with them.”

“Well, sure. But Ty’s not going to want to hang around with people who want him to leave someone he loves to hook up with a killer.” Carter couldn’t quite shake the discomfort, deep inside of him, that Ty might give in. He had to ignore it. He had to be bigger than it. “He knows better than that now,” he said, rubbing at his arm. “He’s learned. He said so, you know? He said he had no idea alphas weren’t supposed to act like Sebastian until he spent time with me.” He sighed. “I mean yeah I know I’m not what he grew up with, but I think he’s okay with that.”

Tracy glared at the door, since no one named Cunningham was within range. “He’d better. He’d damn well better.” He patted Carter on the shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

“You bet. God, I can’t wait to get back to New York.”

“Your lips to God’s ears.” Tracy managed half a smile and left the room.

Carter crawled into bed. He could only hope the night brought him some peace.