“Maybe if Zoe hadn’t been in the middle of an episode, I would have.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, and Rose’s heart thumped hard. Damn him, how did he do that to her with just a smile? She hated him. It didn’t make sense that she could feel anything else for him, especially not this longing.
“Don’t get cocky,” she told him. “I still might slap you if you don’t get to the point and then get out.”
“I’ll start with an apology then,” he said.
She snorted. “Little late for that now.”
“It’s offered anyway.”
“Why?”
He paused before saying, “I have reason to believe I was mistaken when I left.”
She gave him a deadpan stare that would have shriveled a weaker man. “Really? What led you to this epiphany?”
“Discovering I had a half sister I didn’t know about. Seeing the state Zoe was just in confirmed my suspicions.”
“How does you having a sister have anything to do with our past?”
“I was telling you the truth when I said we couldn’t have kids. At least, the truth as I knew it. You and I should not have been able to conceive a child. Because of that, I was left with no alternative but to think you’d been with another man.”
“We did have a child. I didn’t cheat on you. And if you’d truly loved me, you should have trusted me enough to believe me.”
“I believe you now.”
“Why now? Why were you so convinced back then that we couldn’t have kids?”
All those years ago, he’d been very clear about the fact that they wouldn’t be able to have children naturally. He’d always seemed sad when he talked about not having kids, and she’d really wanted them, too. But he’d been clear—if she wanted them, she either needed to find someone else, or they’d have to consider alternatives like adoption. She’d been prepared to adopt. So long as she and Vlad were together, it didn’t matter how they built their family. At least not to her.
When she’d realized she was pregnant, she’d been thrilled, thinking whatever Vlad had been told about his inability to reproduce had been a mistake. She’d expected him to be as excited as she was, and she’d even deluded herself into thinking he’d propose the moment he heard the news.
But he hadn’t proposed.
He fisted his hands against his thighs. “You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you. But for Zoe’s sake, you need to know the truth. Then we need to go somewhere safe for a few weeks.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you talking about? Why would we need a ‘safe’ place?”
“I’m pretty sure my brothers have figured out…about Zoe.”
“Vlad, you are as clear as mud right now. What the hell?”
“Okay. The truth.” He braced his feet a little farther apart and met her gaze. “I’m a tiger shapeshifter. Tigers and humans aren’t supposed to be able to have children. That’s why I thought you’d cheated on me. Then I learned about my sister. Her father is human, but her mother—my mother—was a tiger. Turns out it is possible for me to have children with a human woman. And if my brothers learn Zoe is my child, they will try to kill her.”
Rose pointed to the door. “Out. Now. I won’t have a crazy man around my daughter. Out!”
“Rose…”
“No.” She flexed her hands, making fists and releasing them in an attempt to keep her anger in check, but her entire body was stiff and ready for a fight. “No. This is nonsense. I can’t believe I even let you in my home.”
“I know this is scary and hard to understand.”
“Not hard. You’re insane. Have you always been insane? Is that what’s wrong with Zoe?”
He held his hands at his sides, loose and open. “Rose, I’m pretty sure Zoe can shape shift, too. No, not pretty sure. I’m certain. That’s what’s causing her pain. Her body is trying to do something…well, something that’s natural for my kind.”
“That’s even more ridiculous. Vlad, get out of my home now or I’m calling the cops. No, first I’m going to kick your ass. Then I’ll call the cops.”
“And then what? How will you help our daughter? How will you keep her alive if my brothers come after her? They’ll kill you too, Rose. I can’t let that happen.”
“Why the hell would they want to kill us? No, this makes no logical sense.”
But a small, ever-worried part of her thought, what if some of this was true? What if his brothers were insane, too, and they came after Zoe? Could she protect her daughter against a bunch of crazy people?