“When did you find out?” Stephen asked softly.

My body tensed against his. Stephen hasn’t said a word on the drive home or when we got home. He had silently led me up the stairs and into his room. Stephen left me in his bedroom while he ran a bath. He had surprised me by getting in along with me. That’s where we were now; sitting in the bathtub. He was using the sponge to drop water on my upper body.

“That day Kate showed up,” I whispered. “When I was in the bathroom I took them.”

“Are they accurate?”

“Yes. I got the best on the market.”

We fell silent again. I wasn’t sure how to act around him. He wasn’t yelling at me or throwing me out of his house. Stephen was sitting with me in the bathtub. He was holding me.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you baby?” His arms wrapped around my waist. “As far as I’m aware it takes two to tango. Beside it was my responsibility to take care of you.”

“We always used protection,” I muttered with heated cheeks.
“I’m aware,” he paused. “I would’ve noticed if the condom broke when I took it off.”

“Do you expect me to get an abortion?” I questioned. “I-“

“No,” he cut me off. “I don’t expect that from you nor would I ever ask you to get one. I’ll understand if you want to.”

My hands moved to my stomach. I stared down at the bump that was just starting to show. Just imagining out baby growing inside me made my heart swell with love. I blinked when Stephen covered my hands with his. He pressed a kiss against my shoulder.

“I won’t allow you to do this alone. I’ve seen firsthand what raising a baby alone could do to a woman when my mother tried to raise me herself.”

“What do you mean? You said your mother died in child birth.”

His body tensed against mine. I was waiting for him to push me away and clamp shut. Stephen pressed another kiss against my shoulder.

“I lied,” he said softly.

I turned to glance at him over my shoulder. His eyes were closed but he opened them as if he could feel me looking at him.

“Why?”

“I didn’t want you to know that I grew up in the slums. My life was shit and I knew that if I told you then you would want to know more. I wasn’t ready to tell you about me.” He smiled and then reached up to stroke my cheek. “We barely knew each other.”

“We still don’t Stephen,” I reminded him. “You know more about me than I know about you.”

“Mmm,” he hummed.

I narrowed my eyes at him when his hand trailed up my stomach to cup my breast.

“I know every inch of you.”

My body instantly reacted to his touch. A moan slipped past my lips when he started massaging my sensitive breasts. He nibbled the skin of my neck and shoulder.

“Stephen,” I whined. “You’re only doing this to change the subject.”

“Is it working?” he questioned softly.

The words died down when his hand slipped between my legs. One finger instantly started stroking my clit. I moaned as I spread my legs a little wider. It didn’t take long for me to orgasm. Stephen gripped my hips and raised me slightly. My head fell back against his shoulder when he slowly sank into me. When my ass settled on top of his thighs, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest.

“I fucking love feeling your pussy clenching around my dick,” he groaned. “I love feeling every inch of you.” 

I opened my mouth but slammed it shut before the words escaped. Telling him that I loved him now wouldn’t be the best thing to do. He had agreed to help me raise the baby. Stephen hadn’t made any promises.

“I can’t wait to watch my baby grow inside you,” he said hoarsely.

His hands on my hips started to raise me up and down his dick. Every time he lowered me he would thrust up. I gripped the sided of the bathtub. Moans fell from my lips as I lost myself in pleasure. A loud alarm suddenly filled the house. Stephen reacted instantly. He pushed me away from him as he climbed out of the bathtub.

“Stay here,” he ordered.

The door slammed close behind him. Shock washed through as I sat there. After a few seconds reality settled in. I climbed out of the bath and rushed to the door. Ripping it open, I pulled on the first piece of clothing I found. The alarm was still blaring loudly. My hands shook badly as I opened the bedroom door. Deadly silence suddenly filled the house. With cautious steps I crept down the stairs. I tried to keep my breathing as even as possible. It was hard to do with the panic filling me. A sound to my left made my eyes snap towards it.

My mouth fell open. Stephen stood at the sliding doors with his gun in one hand. He was aiming at something. I jerked when he suddenly fired. The sound made my ears ring. Curses fell from his lips as he span around. His eyes fell on me. I winced. I could feel the anger radiating from him. Stephen dropped his gun on the table and the stormed towards me.

“I fucking told you to stay in the bathroom,” he growled.

“I-“

“I wish that you could just fucking listen to me.” He gripped my arms and gently shook me. “Someone was in the house Alia. You could’ve gotten hurt!”

“I’m not stupid,” I muttered as I raised my hand.

The pocket knife he had given me the day we went to the music festival always stayed with me. He muttered something under his breath as he walked into the kitchen again. Grabbing the phone he typed something before slamming it down on the counter. Stephen turned to me again.

“Go upstairs and stay there.”

“I’m not a fucking child or a dog you can order around Stephen.”

“No. You’re far from a fucking child but if I have to treat you like one I will.”

I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at him. “Do you want me to call you daddy too?”

His mouth fell open and then slammed shut again. He started muttering under his breath as he glanced around. My eyes dropped to his dick. I smiled. My words affected him more than I thought.

“Get upstairs Alia,” he paused. “Please.”

My mouth opened but slammed shut when he narrowed his eyes on me. I swallowed. Arguing with him wouldn’t get me any answers. With one last glance at him I walked up the stairs again. I changed into one of his clean shirts before getting onto the bed. Being inside the room meant that I had no clue what was going on. I heard when the police arrived but that was about it. To keep my mind from creating scary scenarios I focused on the humour. Stephen was naked. He didn’t come upstairs to pull on pants.

Was he still naked?

Two hours passed and there was still no sign of him. I was tired and slightly hungry so I decided to go downstairs. I paused at the top of the stairs to listen. The voices coming from the kitchen sounded angry. A police officer entered the house carrying a black bag. Uncertainty filled me as I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Nobody noticed me. My knees weakened as I stared at the wall. Pictures of Stephen and me decorated it. Some were taken at the beach house, and some were taken at my house.

The perfect slut was spray painted above it along with a few other crude words. Tears filled my eyes as I stared at the photos of me naked. There was even some with guys I didn’t even know.

“Alia. I told you to stay upstairs,” Stephen said.

I could hear the anger in his voice.  “I’m not a whore,” I whispered.

“I know,” he said softly. Stephen pulled me against his body. “Don’t touch anything.”

He pressed his lips against my hair before walking away. I turned to watch him. A few more officers entered the kitchen. Stephen stood by the island talking to a familiar looking guy. I felt extremely out of place dressed in only his shirt. With the pictures behind me it only made me feel worse. I took a step forward but froze when movement from the corner of my eyes caught my attention. I screamed then dropped to the floor as glass broke. Someone fell down next to me and pushed me under the table. I used my hands to cover my ears when they started shooting.

Glass broke. Men yelled at each other. I could hear the bullets hitting the table above me. The man in front of me used his body to shield mine. I heard a cry before I saw the body drop down a few feet in front of me. His head was turned towards us with his eyes wide open. A small hole was located in the middle of his forehead where blood seeped onto the floor. All sounds were suddenly cut off. Silence filled the house. My heart was beating loudly in my ears. I was shaking badly. The man on the floor held my full attention.

“Alia? Are you okay?”

“We are stuck under the table.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s unharmed, but in shock.”

“We have two men down.”

Silence followed the brief conversation. The man moved in front of me. I watched as he crawled forward towards the man. He reached out and pressed a finger to his neck.

“Dawn is down,” he called.

“Did someone call for backup?” Stephen asked.

“Yeah,” someone called out. “They are two blocks out.”

“Movement at two o'clock.”

That was the last warning before the gunshots started again.  I screamed as I dropped to the floor. It was like being stuck in a warzone. Please keep Stephen and our baby safe. My ears were ringing by the time it fell silent again. The man with me was speaking, but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying. He gripped my arm and pulled me onto my knees. I was pushed forward. A clear indication of what he wanted me to do. He crawled from under the table first and the pulled me out.

“Keep low but move as fast as you can.”

I sucked in a breath as I crouched. With one a last glance at the man I made a run for the island. The moment I rounded the corner my eyes fell on Stephen. He was pressed against the cabinets busy with his gun. The familiar man I saw earlier was next to him. He had his hands pressed against his abdomen. It did nothing to stop the bleeding.

“Alia.” My eyes snapped to Stephen. “I need you to keep pressure on the wound.”

I shook my head. I wanted to be as far away from here as I possibly could.

“Come on baby I need you to be brave,” he said softly.

“I- I can’t.”

“Look at me.” I looked back up at him. “I’m here with you. I can’t protect both of you if I have to keep pressure on his wound. He’s losing consciousness. Be brave for me baby. You can do it.”

Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I crawled closer to him. He took my hands with his and placed them over the man’s wound.

“You got to press down as hard as you can. No matter what, don’t move your hands.”

“O-okay.”

“It’ll be over soon baby, I promise.”

The words they said flew over my head. All I could do was stare at the blood that quickly covered my hands. Stephen sat to the left of the man with his back to us. This could’ve been him. He was a cop and that meant he placed himself in danger every day.

“Backup is here!”