At the club that night, Fiona stuck to seltzer water. With the way her stomach had been acting up lately, and the confusion over what she’d seen earlier, she didn’t need anything else messing with her. She searched the patrons to see if Mark was there, yet she couldn’t decide if she wanted to see him. Last night, she would have said no. He was a cloud of creepiness hanging over her good time with Gavin. But, after the mysteries of Gavin grew…

Did Mark have any answers or not?

Fiona found a spot at one of the tables in the back where she could sit and watch the show. Her body rebelled with the exhaustion of the last couple of nights catching up with her. No jumping freely up near the stage for her tonight, even if it was her last night with Gavin.

The past few days had been more exciting than any she could recall. The sex had been phenomenal, but she enjoyed spending time with him even when they weren’t in bed, like making breakfast together. She liked him, which was something she hadn’t truly been able to say about a man in a long time.

He was leaving tomorrow. Where would that leave them? Would he come see her whenever he was in town? Did he have other women in other cities? She shook her head, ridding herself of that offensive thought. He owed her nothing. She shouldn’t wind herself up over something she couldn’t change.

Sure, she’d miss Gavin when he left, but he was still with her now.

At least until tomorrow. She pushed that melancholy reminder aside to focus on the moment.

The Knights of Stone took the stage and the crowd cheered. She wolf whistled. Gavin laughed and winked, a gesture she now looked forward to as he only seemed to do so for her. At least, here in Inverness. After a few songs had passed with no arrival of Mark, she figured he wouldn’t come.

She was wrong.

While the band played the crowd pleaser, The Hunt, Mark sat next to her.

“You’re back.” She had to raise her voice to be heard above the music.

She glanced at the stage. Gavin had noted Mark’s arrival as well as evidenced by his grim expression and hard glare.

“As I said I would be. Have you thought about my offer?”

She raised her brows. “To spy on a friend?” She grunted. “No, thank you.”

“Friend,” he repeated with a suspicious laugh. “If that’s what you want to call it. At any rate, I have information that might change your mind.”

“Oh, and what’s that?”

“I’ve been looking into things. I have connections, you know?”

She didn’t know. “And?” she snapped.

He fixed a stare on her. “I know what happened with your friend when you were younger.”

Fiona turned away. That wasn’t what she was expecting to hear. “What do you know?”

“What it was that attacked her.”

Fuuucckkk. Her gaze fell to her glass, fixing on the cubes of ice. Her quest to discover all she could about the supernatural had been driven by that event. What had attacked Angie that night? She’d been searching for answers but, as of yet, what happened had remained a mystery.

“Tell me what you know,” she prodded.

Mark snorted. “Ah, that isn’t something I’m just going to reveal to you. You want information, and so do I. It seems like we’re better off making a deal, don’t you think?”

Fiona cleared her throat. She lowered her voice, although no one would be able to hear them over the rock music. “It also sounds like blackmail.”

He cracked his knuckles, and she grimaced. She hated that awful sound.

“Call it what you will,” he said. “You want something, I want something. We can help each other out.”

She debated her options. The more mysteries that shrouded Gavin, the more intrigued she became. She could never resist a good puzzle, and he was a complicated one. She stole a glance at him, and he still eyed her with speculation.

Her stomach roiled with discomfort. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and faced Mark. “What do you plan to do with the information?”

“That’s not your concern.”

She leaned back in her chair and placed both hands on the table. “I’m not going to agree to anything if it will lead to somehow hurting Gavin or any of his brothers.”

“I don’t plan to hurt anyone. I want answers, the same as you. We’re no different that way.”

She gave him a once over. She could see several reasons and how they were different as well, but now wasn’t the time to nitpick.

Was there a way to get the information she wanted without compromising Gavin’s safety?

“I want to make sure you actually have this info that you claim to have. Which of my friends are you talking about? And what situation?”

He gave her a pointed look as if he was aggravated with her questions. “Your friend, Angie.” He leaned forward and pointed to his scar. “I was also attacked.”

She gasped. Fuck. He knew. “Okay, I get it. What happened?”

“Do we have a deal?”

Fiona tried not to stare at his scar as she considered his offer. She’d finally have the answer to the question that had haunted her for years. She avoided glancing at Gavin, afraid to meet his gaze.

“Fine. What do you want me to find out?”

Mark’s victorious smile repulsed her.

“You have close access to Gavin. Very close,” he added in a lewd tone.

“Whoa.” She raised her hand. “Sexual details are off-limits.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Well, what is?”

“You need to get a close look at his body. Specifically, his back.”

“And look for what?”

“Protrusions.” He nodded with self-satisfaction. “Indicative of wings.”

Her mouth fell open. She’d already performed a thorough examination of his body for anything different but wouldn’t admit that to Mark. He’d overheard the two women talking. Perhaps he didn’t know as much as he said.

But, he knew about Angie.

And the creature that had attacked her had been winged…

Before Fiona could pull her racing thoughts into a coherent question, Mark stood and said, “I’ll be in touch.” He spun around and walked to the exit.

She’d come here tonight to find out the truth about Gavin, yet Mark might have the answers to a different mystery, one that had haunted her for seventeen years.

Fiona could barely make it through the set. Although the music pulsed around her, she was quite certain if she rested her head on the table, she’d fall right to sleep—but, only if her mind would turn off the churning of questions that arose from her conversation with Mark.

During a break, Gavin maneuvered through the crowd of fans to sit at her table. “What’s wrong? You look tired.”

She forced herself to sit upright. “I’m sorry, I’m exhausted. Do you mind if I head on back to my flat? I’ll give you the key code, so you can let yourself in later.”

His brows furrowed with concern. “Are you sure everything’s okay? I saw that bloke chatting you up again.”

She shrugged. “Aye, you know—a familiar face and all. He stopped by to chat some more.”

“It looked like an intense conversation.” Gavin’s tone indicated he doubted her explanation.

“Right, we struggled to hear each other over the music.”

In the tense seconds that followed, Fiona wished the band was still playing to drown out the sound of her pounding heartbeat. Would Gavin believe her? Or, would he call her out as a liar? She wasn’t technically lying, was she? She just needed time to sort through what she’d seen and heard, and she couldn’t think straight being so drained.

Gavin nodded and let out a short laugh. “There I go sounding all jealous again.” He squeezed her hand. “Sorry, sweetness. Go on back to your flat and get some rest. I’ll see you later.”

After Fiona gave him the code, she rushed out of the club to hail a cab, both exhaustion and guilt weighing her down. No way was she walking to her place tonight. Her legs wouldn’t carry her across the street.

Back at her place, she rushed through the bed time preparations and stripped to her bra and underwear, too tired to find her usual pajamas of shorts and a tank top. As soon as she settled onto the pillow, she fell halfway to sleep.

She didn’t stir until the morning. Gavin was there, spooning her from behind. How had she not heard him come in? Usually, the slightest noise would wake her. The sound and motion of him climbing into her bed should have roused her.

Fiona glanced at the clock. It was after nine. What? She never slept in this late, especially on a workday. Mondays, she rose at six to get an early start on the day. Even on the weekends, she was typically up by eight. With the way she’d conked out last night, something was off.

When she climbed out of bed, Gavin stirred. “Where are you going, sweetness?”

She glanced at him. He looked devilishly irresistible with his hair mussed up. In her exhaustion, she’d missed out on a spectacular night with him.

With reluctance, she declared, “I have to go into the office.”

He curled his finger, beckoning her with a smoldering glint in his eyes. “Can I convince you to come back to bed for a few minutes?”

A tingling in her core followed. She yearned to agree, especially since he was leaving today. “I can’t. I have a meeting with my boss at ten.”

Gavin groaned. “Can I meet you here after work?”

She cocked her head. “I thought you were leaving Inverness today?”

“I am.” He rose. “But, no rush. I’d rather spend more time with you.”

She smiled. His words warmed her as she headed into the kitchen. She’d have to search for a quick bite instead of lingering over a breakfast with Gavin. When she opened her fridge, the scents hit her like a cold slap. She gagged and ran for the toilet. Dry heaves followed. How horrifying. Talk about killing the mood. What the heck was that about? Did the offensive orange juice trigger her gag reflex? No, she hadn’t even seen it in there.

She brushed her teeth and took a shower. Did she have food poisoning? What rotten timing. After she dressed for work, she found Gavin dressed in her living room reading her article on Nessie.

He put the journal down. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Her cheeks warmed at the horror of him overhearing her wretched gagging sounds. “Maybe it was something I ate.”

Events from last night returned to her. “Gavin, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“What?”

She shuffled and averted eye contact. “I followed you after you left here. Something seemed off, and I trusted my instincts.” She pulled her gaze up to meet his and assess his reaction. “You headed into an alley and vanished.”

He laughed as if she’d told a joke, but she caught the nervous edge. “Goodness, Fiona. You don’t seem like yourself. Following me? And seeing things disappear? It sounds like you’re hallucinating.”

Were hallucinations a symptom of food poisoning? With her exhaustion last night and illness this morning, something was wrong.

He kissed her. “I know you’re in a rush. How about I meet you here later?”

“Sure. Can we have dinner before you go?”

He gave her a devastating grin that left her unsteady on her feet. “Looking forward to it.”

“I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Let yourself in if I don’t answer.”

After he left her flat, she walked to work. The sun peered through some clouds. A young boy darted in her path, and she stopped before she ran into him. The boy’s mother, who looked ready to pop with another baby, apologized.

That’s when it hit Fiona. Shite. When was the last time she’d had her period? Her cycle was unpredictable, and she often skipped months, so she didn’t think much of it. But, she hadn’t had one since Gavin was last in town.

With a nervous laugh, she pushed the notion aside. They’d always used a condom.

Yet they weren’t one-hundred percent effective…

Fuck!

Damn it. She glanced at her phone. She had time for a quick run by the pharmacy. She chose one closer to the office and not her usual one near her house where she was more likely to be recognized. Her business was nobody’s concern.

When she stood in front of the pregnancy test shelf, she swallowed. This couldn’t be happening. She wasn’t ready to be a mother. The only person who could be the father was Gavin, and he certainly seemed even less prepared to be a parent than she was.

What would she do if she was pregnant? The various options looped around inside her head; decisions with life-changing implications. It was too heavy.

Women found out they were pregnant every day, and they dealt with it. She couldn’t just stand and gape at the rows of test kits all day. First, someone might spot her. Second, hesitating wouldn’t change the outcome. And third, she couldn’t blow off her meeting with her editor over an inability to select a pregnancy test.

But, why were there so many damn options? She picked up a box and read the features. Then she checked another one. Ugh, this was not the time to compare benefits, a simple yes or no would do. She selected one and shielded it with her purse on her way to the register.

She greeted the cashier but kept her eyes averted. The last thing she wanted to do was make eye contact about her purchase and possible fate since she didn’t yet know how she’d feel about it.

Finally, after the uncomfortable purchase was made, Fiona walked to the office. The presence of the test in her handbag weighed on her, and she glanced at it several times throughout the day. Should she take it at work? No, it was too monumental to do so in the ladies’ room at the office.

When it was time to head home, the test in her purse seemed like a time bomb ticking down the seconds. It wouldn’t explode, but the news itself could be explosive. She played out the potential outcomes. Well, there were only two—either she was pregnant, or she wasn’t. That one fact would change everything.

After she opened her flat door, she called out a greeting. Luckily, Gavin wasn’t there. She needed to be alone. No witnesses.

“Ready?” How foolish to talk to herself, but she needed a pep talk. Her bladder was ready for the next step, so she couldn’t put it off too much longer.

“Dammit, just do it. Take the test and find out for sure. And when it’s done, deal with it then.”

She nodded and entered the loo. After the ungraceful act of peeing on a white stick, she paced across the tile floor awaiting the outcome.

Seconds ticked past. She counted them in her head for the requisite duration. And then, she added another excruciating minute just to be sure.

Or to delay the inevitable.

She glanced at the stick. The telltale symbol was evident, declaring the news:

Fiona was going to be a mother.

She covered her mouth and let out a strange cry, a mix of surprise and—delight. Her breath quickened, and she felt her cheeks flush. Sure, she wasn’t ready for it and might never be, but knowing that a child was growing inside her changed everything. Everything. She was responsible for a human life.

She put her hand on her stomach. It felt the same. The baby was probably not even the size of a pea.

Walking around her flat, she gauged whether it was even suitable for an infant. She could move everything out of her study and into the living room to make a nursery. Sure, it would be a tighter fit, but she’d make do. It wasn’t as if she could move into a bigger place, especially now that she’d have more expenses. Oh, there were so many things she’d need—a crib, highchair, diapers, and all those things that a baby required. Where would she put everything?

And, how would this change how she worked? She typically went into the office to interact with the staff or visited locations in Inverness to research or interview for articles. But, she did much of her writing from home. Perhaps she’d have to do more of that to accommodate raising an infant.

And childcare. What would she do about that? Babies were expensive and demanding and requiring so much. She didn’t have family around here, and she wasn’t close to anyone yet in this city. Would she have any support?

Gavin?

How would he take the news? Would he want to play a role in his child’s life?

No, no, no. Why would he? He was content as a bachelor with a rock star lifestyle. He’d never expressed any desire to settle down with a family.

What was she going to tell Gavin—congratulations, you’re going to be a dad?

What if he didn’t want to be one? No, he most certainly wouldn’t. Did she even have to tell him? Plenty of women raised children without a father.

But he deserved to know, right? It wasn’t something small she’d be keeping from him, but his child. What timing. They had one more dinner together, and then what? They hadn’t discussed a future beyond that. Could she delay the news until he was ready to leave?

Don’t be a coward. You need to do the right thing.

Fine. She’d wait for the proper moment.

Would there be one when it came to news as life-changing as this?