Wicked as Lies (Wicked & Devoted #3) - Shayla Black Page 0,7

he fell back, his unsteady gaze landed on Trees, whose eyes widened with horror. He seemed to be shouting, but Zy heard nothing. His panicked friend grabbed him, moved him. All Zy knew was that he suddenly had something solid at his back, something warm trickled down the side of his face, and he’d probably fucking die a failure.

Then…nothing.

March 16

Tessa Lawrence sighed as the doorbell rang. She set down the spoon she’d been using to stir her potatoes and kissed her infant daughter, cradled in one arm, as she lowered the heat on the burner. “Hopefully that’s your diaper delivery, sweet pea. You’re running low.”

Hallie slept on, blissfully unaware that being down to a handful of Pampers was something close to an emergency—at least as far as a new single mom was concerned. But it wasn’t the end of the world. Would she have liked to have an extra set of hands to hold Hallie while she cooked? To keep the baby calm while she took a few precious moments for a shower? When her daughter woke up for the third time between midnight and four a.m.? Of course.

But Cash Bennett apparently had better things to do than be a dad to the baby girl he’d unexpectedly fathered on one of their handful of dates last May.

No time to wallow now. Grab the diapers, stir the potatoes, make it through another day. Tomorrow will be better.

At least that’s what Tessa told herself.

As she neared the front door, she peeked out the peephole. No one. The delivery driver must have dumped the box on the porch and left. And honestly that suited Tessa anyway. She’d probably scare everyone but the blind right now. She was still wearing yesterday’s leggings. Her hair was piled on her head in a messy bun. The dark circles under her eyes attested to her lack of sleep. And since Hallie was a few minutes past due for her feeding, her breasts were leaking milk, which must be obvious on her blue shirt.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she opened the door and looked down for the box she so desperately needed. But it wasn’t there. Instead, a familiar man peeled away from the wall beside her front door with a groan and wobbled onto the mat as he faced her.

“Hey, babe.” He looked her up and down, then gave her a glassy-eyed frown. “You look like shit.”

This was just one of the many reasons she’d stopped seeing Cash. She’d mistaken him for someone attractive, kind, and marriable for their first couple of months together. As soon as he’d proven unreliable and irresponsible, she’d dumped his ass. Unfortunately, she’d realized she was pregnant after that.

“What do you want, Cash?”

“Shouldn’t I get to meet my daughter?”

“I gave you chances, and you didn’t take me up on any of them. I don’t want you here when you’re drunk.”

“Drunk? I’ve had a couple but…I’m not drunk.”

“Your words are slurred and you smell like a distillery. You’re drunk. You should go.”

“What? No. I haven’t seen my daughter yet.” He directed his unsteady stare at Hallie. “Is this her?”

How many babies did the idiot think she was capable of having at once? “Yes.”

Something on his face softened. “Can I come in and hold her?”

She held back. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen or heard from you in two months. I called the day she was born. I called when I left the hospital. I called when I set a baptism date.”

“I know, babe. I’m sorry. If you’ll just let me in, I’ll explain.” He tried to step inside, staggered, and ended up pushing the door open as he lurched.

When Hallie started, Tessa guided him back onto the porch and blocked the entrance. Thankfully, the baby settled back down. “I already said I don’t want you here. You couldn’t be bothered to go with me to childbirth classes. You couldn’t be bothered to show up when Hallie was born or when I needed you after I came home from the hospital. You definitely haven’t bothered with child support.”

“C’mon, babe. You know too much responsibility freaks me out. And before the baby was born, you were beginning to look like the side of a barn. Big ol’ pregnant.” He made an exaggerated gesture, showing a rounded belly, and grimaced as if he found it all horribly distasteful.

Apparently, he didn’t grasp that he’d been the one to make her big ol’ pregnant. “It’s time for you to go, Cash. Next time you want to