Page 33 of Fractured Destiny

“Aye.” He leans toward me. “I took hair from your brush.”

I shake my head. “Meaning, you stole my DNA.”

“No.” Linus’s voice is firm. In charge. “I protected you from a claim I had no intention of bringing to you until I could verify it. She’s not the first woman to claim you as a baby daddy and won’t be the last.”

“My son isn’t a claim.” My fist hits the table.

The sound echoes hard enough to change the air.

Noa’s eyes close and she does everything in her power to retain her composure.

Linus doesn’t flinch. He’s seen me furious before. Never seen this. “No. He’s not.”

The fight drains from his voice. Manager gone. Father in the room. He has four kids with his famous husband and wife. He does a good job of pretending it doesn’t soften him because he prefers everybody thinking his heart’s carved from Irish granite.

“If someone had kept one of mine from me,” he pats my shoulder, “I’d be halfway through the wall by now.”

My jaw locks because none of this is right. “Don’t try to handle me.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“Lake. I’m staying close enough to stop you from doing something you’ll regret and far enough away to let you feel what you’re entitled to feel.” Linus flicks his eyes to Noa.

I hate him for being good at this.

Noa says nothing. She observes with shrewd eyes.

I glare at her. “You should’ve told me.”

“I know.”

“Don’t…” I bite my lip to stop myself from screaming. “Don’t sit there and agree with me like it fixes anything you’ve done.”

“I don’t think it fixes anything.” She sighs and places her palms on the table. Gone are the red talons. Now her nails are short. Manicured, but natural.

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s a long story.” There’s sadness behind her eyes.

I don’t give a fuck. “Great. Start now.”

“No.”

A pulse beats in my throat. “No?”

“At some point, you’ll know everything,” she clasps her hands together, “but not before I tell you about Levi.”

The sound of my son’s name in her mouth does something to me.

Levi.

The boy in the picture. My boy.

A child I don’t know.

“You don’t get to decide the order.” I cross my arms in front of myself.