I left to meet Teagan in the area I'd asked her to go to. I picked a place I hoped she knew but was still far from either her place or mine. I wasn’t sure how good she was at getting away from a tail, but hopefully, no one would follow her. I was prepared either way.

But what if she didn’t come?

I bit back such thoughts, even though they did worry me. I didn’t like lying to her, even though I knew it was the safest route for a lot of the people involved. I could have told her no and made it sound passably honest, but the tone in her voice held me back. She trusted me, enough to let me in on her pain, to let me see her so vulnerable, and the last thing I wanted was to lose that.

But more than anything, I felt bad. Not only because I knew that Quinn was not her dad, but because her mom had just died and he was responsible. Knowing I couldn’t just tell her all that killed me, but even if she could believe me, I wasn’t sure how she would react. I didn’t know if Quinn could hurt her, but he shot his own wife after learning his daughter wasn’t his. Teagan's emotions had gotten a bit erratic and I didn’t need her doing anything that could get us all killed.

I was confused, too, about how fucked up that family was, and just how deep the drama ran. Seamus had told me more than he ever had before, though I knew he was keeping something back. I wasn’t sure what he owed Quinn that he felt he had to follow the man's orders, and considering the shaken state he was in, it hadn't felt right to ask.

Then poor Teagan stuck in the middle of all of it. I wondered just how clueless she was. She knew enough to be suspicious of me. I knew she was smart, but did she suspect her own father of keeping secrets?

Getting close to where we were supposed to meet, I picked up my speed to an almost jog, looking around until I saw her. She was dressed simply in jeans and a hoodie with the hood down. For a second, I was relieved that she'd actually showed up. Then I got a good look at her face and my steps stuttered.

I could see the devastation in the lines on her face that hadn't been there not that long ago. I knew she had trouble sleeping and eating, but seeing her outside in the sun, properly dressed, just made me realize how much of her I wasn’t seeing during the past few days while I worried about my own hide and Seamus. I gave her emotional support just by being around, but I wasn’t really there for her, was I? I could feel more guilt coming on, and I stopped a few feet away from her, not wanting to get close unless she wanted me to. By the way her arms were wrapped protectively around her body, I didn’t think she did.

"Teagan."

"Where were you, Ronan?"

I paused a bit at the bluntness, but I couldn’t exactly blame her for being less than welcoming. She just wanted answers. Like I had when I learned of my parents' death. I couldn’t fault her for it, but there was no way I could give her any, even though I had most of the answers. They were just the wrong ones, none of them anything she wanted to hear.

"Nowhere important, I was out taking a walk."

"Why didn’t you want to meet at the apartment? Why did you want me to hide it from my dad?"

"I like keeping my private business private, Teagan. I'm pretty sure your dad has people watching my place since you practically moved in. This isn’t the kind of thing I want, or need, anyone overhearing."

Unless she'd already told the police her suspicions or mentioned them to her father. My body tightened in sudden tension. But then, if she had, would she still be meeting me?

"Ronan, be straight with me. Do you know Seamus? Because not only are the police looking for him but my father's men, too."

I rolled my eyes. We'd both suspected, but the confirmation was nice to have. "I'm not surprised."

She scowled at me, likely because I wasn’t answering any of her questions, not really. She was probably debating on whether she should insist on asking, or wondering just what to ask. Whatever question she came up with, I likely wouldn’t answer, and that might be why she wasn’t saying anything all.

"Ronan."

I braced myself for whatever she was going to say.

"I'm pregnant."

… I had literally expected anything but that.

I blinked for a moment, then felt my eyes widen and my mouth drop open. I wanted to ask her to repeat herself, but she looked dead serious. It wasn’t a look I saw on her often, so I knew she wasn’t just messing around, or making educated guesses. She was sure.

It just added to the confusion and the already fucked-up situation. It was one of the worst things that could have happened with Quinn practically declaring war. I wasn't sure how I was felt about it. Just then, I didn’t feel anything. But I did know it complicated things in a way I hadn't looked at before, added to the urgency of completing the plan.

"I thought you were on the pill."

Her arms tightened around herself, her scowl turning into a defensive look. "I am, I didn’t lie about that."

"I'm not saying you lied, just…"

"I've been on the pill since that first time we were together. But then sometimes, when I stayed at your place... I didn’t have any there, and a few times I forgot to take a pill the next day. I didn’t think this would happen, and I probably should have told you sooner."

I frowned. Sooner? "Just how long have you known?"

"Not that long. I started suspecting about a couple of weeks back, but it took me a while to confirm it. Things were weird and I wasn’t sure what to do, so I thought it would be better to keep it to myself until things settled down. If you're mad, it's fine."

It was my turn to scowl at her. "I'm not mad, Teagan. I can't exactly blame you. It takes two people and I could have been more involved in the details of your birth control."

I also could have held back my libido instead of jumping her every chance I got.

Fuck it. How the hell was I supposed to explain to Seamus that I knocked up his daughter?

"I have to go." I held up a hand when panic suddenly washed across her face. "I will be in touch. My phone is staying on and I'm not going far. You shouldn’t worry about a thing, okay? If you ever need me, I'm just a phone call away."

She was still worried, I could tell, and I wanted to stick around and reassure her, but I didn’t think I could just then. The last thing I wanted was to leave her, with too little space between us that neither of us was crossing, but with the new information, everything had to be stepped up. I wasn’t sure how her father would react if he found out the news, which meant I had to get her away from him soon. I had to focus on the plan without distractions and get it over with already. Although I wanted to go to her, I wouldn’t.

So, I turned around and left.