Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,59

soon. I didn’t know much about pregnancy other than watching what my sisters-in-law were going through, but she did seem larger than I expected. And if for some reason, Greg didn’t already know about the baby, he would now. There was no hiding the baby bump.

When I looked at Danielle, it was like a hand clenched my heart inside my chest. The pain was unlike anything I’d felt before. My protective instincts kicked into high gear, and I knew that I would step in front of a bullet to save her and my child.

“Eli’s right behind us,” I said as we pulled onto the street where Greg lived.

Danielle nodded. She tensed up as we pulled up to the address she had given me. “We’re here,” she said slowly.

The house was about as large as Jim King’s, and likely just as gaudy. I didn’t know why rich people wanted to flaunt their wealth. Even though my brothers and I had the money to live like this if we wanted to, we never saw a point in gaudy grandeur and McMansions.

The street was lined with cars - several black BMWs that looked identical. A white Mercedes stood out amongst the bunch, as if someone was intentionally trying to be different.

“Do you see his car anywhere?” I asked.

She shook her head. “He parks in the garage, never on the street.”

Eli’s truck pulled up behind me, and I waved at him to let him know we were ready to go. “Stay here,” I said, unbuckling my seat belt.

“No, I’m going with you,” she said.

She was her own woman, and I knew from the look she gave me I wouldn’t be able to keep her confined to my truck.

“Stay behind us then, at least a few feet back,” I muttered, even though she was already getting out of the truck and slamming the door. There was no controlling her. She was a wild one, an independent spirit. She was a mother who would do anything to protect her child.

Eli and I walked faster than her, however, and I was able to lead the way up the delicate stone walkway. The grass on each side of us was so perfectly green and cut with precision, I thought it might be fake.

We walked up the stairs to the porch, and I knocked on the front door without even checking for a bell. I assumed Greg, like Jim, would have a butler or doorman, so it surprised me when Greg himself opened the door.

Danielle, who had been standing behind us until that moment, rushed forward.

“Where’s Skyler?”

“She’s inside, Dani,” Greg said, his gaze moving over her body. He sneered at her. “Where she should be.”

“You lied to me,” Danielle said, calmer than I expected. “I talked to your brother. I know your mother’s birthday isn’t until February. There’s no party this weekend.”

Greg shrugged and rolled his eyes, sighing deeply as if Danielle was nothing but an annoyance. “Fine. Yes, I lied. Because I wanted to see my daughter on a weekend that wasn’t my own. Is that so wrong?”

There were voices inside. Adult, male voices. I stepped closer to the doorway, trying to get an idea of who might be inside with Skyler, but Greg stepped in the way, blocking my view. “Excuse me, this is private property. Please leave before I call the police.”

“Give me Skyler first, then we’ll leave,” Danielle said.

“I have a right to see my daughter whenever I damned well please, Dani,” Greg growled, turning his hateful look toward her.

“You get her every other weekend, and we have a schedule for holidays and special events, as agreed upon in court,” Danielle said, her voice barely raising. She seemed braver than before, and I was proud of her for standing up to him. “This is not your designated time with her, and you were not allowed to take her from her friend’s house. If I were to call the police—”

Greg scoffed, interrupting her. “You know what will happen if we go to court, Dani. You’ll lose the rights you do have, and I’ll make sure you go broke in the process. Is that what you want?”

Those words were like a slap to her face. She stepped back, but only temporarily. After taking a deep breath, she said, “You are not allowed to threaten me.”

“It’s not a threat when I have serious concerns about the woman raising my daughter,” Greg said. “I mean, look at you - you’re a whore, Dani. Single and pregnant, and are you