by Terra Little
* * *
Scared out of her mind, Olivia sent up a silent prayer that Cooper had answered his cell and was listening in right now. She hadn’t had a chance to check her own cell because, as unpredictable as Shannon clearly was, she hadn’t taken her eyes off Olivia for longer than five seconds at a time since the entire ordeal had begun. There was no way to know for sure if help was on the way or not, but she couldn’t afford to think about what might happen if it wasn’t. In just a few hours’ time, Harriet would walk through the door and then Shannon would have two hostages. Another life would be in danger, and Olivia would never be able to live with herself if Harriet got hurt because of her.
Well, technically Shannon would soon have three hostages, if you counted the eight-week-old bun in Olivia’s oven, but Olivia couldn’t think about that right now, either. She couldn’t think about the stash of parenting magazines that she’d hidden upstairs in her bedroom so Harriet wouldn’t find them and make fun of her cluelessness; the crib and changing table that she’d picked out of a specialty catalog just this morning; or the fact that she had already decided to breastfeed, because it was better for the baby. She couldn’t give in to the tidal wave of emotions that swept over her every time she let herself think about the new-mommy class that she had signed up for or the names that she’d already picked out.
She was hoping for a girl.
Stay focused, Olivia. Keep her talking.
Right. Focused. “How did you get out of jail, Shannon?”
“I made bail, Olivia. Are you surprised that I have other friends to bail me out?”
“Nothing surprises me anymore. I have to use the bathroom.”
“You just went to the bathroom a few minutes ago.”
“Well, I have to go again,” Olivia said, grimacing when the knot on the back of her head thumped. “And I need a cold compress for my head. It’s bleeding, remember? And food,” she added and sighed forlornly. “I need something to eat, Shannon. I’m starving.”
Shannon stopped pacing the floor in front of the sofa that Olivia was sitting on long enough to aim a disgusted look at her and shake her head sadly. “God, how did I never notice how much you talk? You haven’t shut up since I got here. Why won’t you shut up?”
“Because I’m your friend and I want to help you.”
Shannon looked skeptical. “You’re my friend?”
“Yes, I’m your friend. Wasn’t I your friend when I bailed you out of jail and took you into my home?”
“Yes, you were and I’m returning the favor by not duct-taping your mouth shut and tying your ass to a chair. You see?” She spread her hands and smiled beseechingly at Olivia. “Now both of us have officially broken the rules of friendship.”
“Broken the rules? What rules? What are you talking about?” The gash in her head hurt like hell, but thankfully the bleeding seemed to have slowed.
“I’m talking about you and that know-it-all FBI agent, sneaking around together behind my back and plotting to send me to prison!” Shannon exploded. “That’s what I’m talking about! If I had done what I was supposed to do weeks ago, I’d be on a beach down in Mexico somewhere right now and none of this would be happening!”
“What were you supposed to do?”
“You have money,” Shannon spat at her. “Lots of it. You’ve got this big, fancy house and loaded parents. And you’re pretty loaded yourself, aren’t you, Olivia?”
“Is that what this is about? Money?” Feigning surprise, Olivia lifted her hands and let them fall back to her lap noisily. “If so, then you’re right. I do have money. I’ll give you whatever you want. All you have to do is put the gun down.”
“You must really think I’m an idiot.”
“No...no, I don’t. I think you’re scared and that’s okay, because I’m scared, too.”
“Scared?” Shannon laughed hysterically, maniacally. “What’s got you scared, Olivia? The gun? Is that why you’re scared? You think I’m going to shoot you?”
“Are you?”
“Maybe. After I get what I want. You have to be punished for setting me up. That wasn’t cool.”
“Look, I don’t know what you think you know, but whatever it is, it isn’t true. I’ve been nothing but a friend to you.”
“Oh, is that right? Well, I’ll tell you what, friend. You and I are going to take a little trip to the ATM and you’re going to withdraw money for me. I need money to repay some very scary people for bailing me out. I’m also going to need a couple of those shiny little credit cards in your purse and every piece of jewelry you own. Get up and let’s go.” She stepped back and pointed the gun at the center of Olivia’s chest. “Now. Where are the keys to your car?”
“Um...” Think, Olivia! “M-my keys are in the k-kitchen but I need to change clothes first and get my shoes.”
“What you’re wearing is fine,” Shannon said, eyeing Olivia’s red tank top and flare-leg pajama pants critically. “Leave the robe, though.”
“No.”
Shannon’s eyebrows shot up. “No?”
“No,” Olivia repeated, hating the slight tremble in her voice. Scooting to the edge of the sofa cushion, she got to her feet slowly, wobbling only a little bit when the room tilted on its axis. Squinting against the pounding in her head, she pulled her robe tighter around her and met Shannon’s cold glare as she shook her head. “Unless we’re going to a flea market, I refuse to leave the house wearing pajamas, with my head bleeding and animal sounds coming from my stomach. I’ll go to the ATM with you, but first I need to use the bathroom, change clothes, tend to the gash in my head and eat something, because if I don’t I’m going to either pass out or throw up. Worst case scenario, I’ll do both and then you’ll never get the money you came here for.”
“Pass out? When did you get so freaking fragile? Are you sick?”
“No, Shannon. I’m not sick. I’m eight weeks pregnant, and right now you’re pointing that goddamn gun of yours at my unborn child. That makes me very nervous, so will you please put it away?”
Chapter 18
Cooper’s eyes bugged. Pregnant?
Had Olivia just said what he thought he’d just heard her say? She was pregnant?
Pregnant? With his child?
Cooper’s heart dropped into his stomach and he sucked in a shaky breath. Who was he kidding? Of course she was pregnant with his child. If he thought about it long enough, he could almost recall the first time that he had slipped inside of her unprotected, right down to the exact second. She’d been in the shower and he had sneaked up on her like a thief in the night, sucking on her engorged clitoris until her walls were pulsing so hard that she was coming, and then lifting her up and impaling her on his throbbing cock while she was still convulsing violently, so that she could take him to heaven with her.
The second time, she had gifted him with underwater fellatio in the pool and, in exchange, he had gifted her with a quick, hot and hard underwater fuck. After that he’d lost count, and now in hindsight he realized that he was really no better than the driver who had picked him up from the airport earlier. Neither of them could keep their hands off the women they loved.
But...damn, a baby?
The woman of his dreams was having a baby?
His fingers tightened around the Camaro’s steering wheel. Easing his foot off the gas pedal, Cooper allowed himself a moment to let the fact that he was going to be a father sink in, and then he quickly changed lanes. According to the GPS, the turn-in for Olivia’s subdivision was just up ahead, and he didn’t want to risk missing it. There was too much at stake.
He found the street he was looking for and burned rubber turning the corner. The Camaro was powerful and fast, but it was also loud, which was why he parked it down the street from Olivia’s house, switched his cell over to his Bluetooth earpiece and hurried the rest of the way to her house on foot. The last thing he
wanted to do was alert Shannon to his presence and lose the element of surprise. He didn’t want the gun that she was waving around to be anywhere near Olivia when he aimed his Glock at Shannon.
* * *
“This complicates things.”
Olivia looked up from the heaping plate of food on the table in front of her and caught Shannon’s eyes. “What? The fact that I’m pregnant?” she said around a mouthful of pot roast. “Honey, you don’t know the half of it.” She bit into a roasted potato and moaned. “You really should have some pot roast. Either it truly is the best I’ve ever tasted or it just seems that way because it’s my last meal. I’m not sure which, but either way, it’s delicious.”
“You’re keeping the baby?”
“Of course. I mean, at first I was all like, what the hell? But after the shock wore off and I thought about it, I realized that not keeping it was never an option.” Her gaze fell on the gun that Shannon was still holding. “I was going to tell Cooper later today and everyone else after that, but I guess my secret’s out now, huh?”
“Cooper? The FBI agent with all the bow ties and pocket protectors? That’s who knocked you up? How in the world did that happen? He’s not even your type!”
“I know, right? But somehow I managed to fall in love with him anyway, so, okay, yes, you’re right. There, I said it. I’m guilty. I was sneaking around with Cooper behind your back,” Olivia said. Then she thought about the situation and set her fork down to show Shannon an inch of empty space between her thumb and forefinger. “Somewhat. But I wasn’t plotting against you, Shannon. What I was doing was having the best sex of my life. The man’s a beast in bed.”
* * *
That’s right, baby. Keep her talking.
“The man’s a beast in bed,” he heard Olivia say and damn near swooned. If he was a beast, it was only because she brought it out of him.
Praying that none of her neighbors were peeking out of their windows just then, Cooper ducked into the shadows alongside Olivia’s house and crept around to the backyard. The privacy fence was locked from the inside, so he backed up a few steps, got a running start, and climbed it as quickly and quietly as possible. Once he had cleared it, he flattened himself against the side of the house and slowly edged along the brick wall until he reached the kitchen.
A couple of months ago, he had lectured Olivia about her tendency not to close the blinds or draw the curtains at the tall bay windows in the kitchen. Now he was relieved to find that she hadn’t listened to him about that any more than she’d listened to him about anything else. Both the curtains and the blinds were still standing open and he could see her clearly.
“Hurry up and finish eating,” Shannon instructed. “It’ll be daylight soon. I have to go.”
“Where are you going and how are you planning to get there?”
“I thought you said you had to use the bathroom?”
“I do, but—”
“Then stop asking so many questions. You’ve eaten enough for three people already. Now let’s go to the toilet.” He watched Olivia push back from the kitchen table and stand. The gun pointed at her chest made her motions slow and deliberate, and caused his lungs to twist in his chest. One wrong move, one wrong word and his life would never be the same. “Leave the robe.”
“Why? It’s chilly—”
“I said take it off!”
Even with a gun trained on her, Olivia hesitated, and in that instant Cooper understood that that’s where her cell phone was hidden. If she took off her robe, he would no longer be able to hear them. “Take it off, baby,” he whispered to the chilly night air. “Just take it off.”
She did, and a few seconds later, both she and Shannon disappeared from sight. Cooper uttered both a prayer and a curse.
Then he heard a gun cock behind his left ear and froze. “Turn around. Slowly.”
He did, coming face-to-face with a muscle-bound, brown-skinned man with hard eyes and a snarl on his mouth. They stood eye-to-eye and nose-to-nose, but since his Glock was still holstered and the barrel of the other man’s weapon was now hovering in the air mere inches away from his left temple, he kept his hands in plain sight and his gaze level.
“Who the fuck are you?” the man wanted to know.
“Cooper Talbot.” He ran his tongue around his teeth and swallowed. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Broderick Cannon. Now you. Why are you skulking around my sister-in-law’s house?”
For the first time in weeks, Cooper’s mouth curved into a genuine smile. “You’re Elise’s husband.”
Broderick sucked in a sharp breath. “You know my wife?”
Uh-oh. Careful, Cooper. “Only what I’ve heard about her from Liv.”
“Liv?” For several tense seconds Broderick stared at Cooper as if he could see right through him, and then slowly the gun in his hand lowered and a smile took over his mouth. “You must be the FBI boyfriend,” he drawled as he holstered his weapon, took a step back and visibly relaxed his massive shoulders. “What the hell took you so long to get here?”
Cooper’s eyebrows shot up. What?
“Just kidding,” Broderick quipped before Cooper could curse him out. “You have any ideas on how to get into this museum?”
“No, but—”
“Then I do,” Broderick cut in briskly. “Follow me. There’s a basement window up near the front of the house that we can climb through.” Pivoting, he took off, walking back the way that Cooper had just come. “Once we’re inside, we can take the back stairs up to the mudroom and move in through the kitchen. I disabled the alarm as soon as I got here and figured out what was up.” He stopped walking and looked back at Cooper over his shoulder. “You packing?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because if by some twist of fate I happen to miss when I pull the trigger, I’m counting on you to have my back. We need to gain control of this situation and rescue Olivia as quickly as possible.”
“That’s what I’m talking about. Let’s go.”
They worked together in the darkness for the next few minutes, breaking into Olivia’s house through a seldom-used basement window that Broderick had apparently discovered during one of his regular security sweeps, as quickly and quietly as humanly possible. Impressed with Broderick’s ability to move in silence, like a giant black cat, Cooper climbed through the window after him and dropped to the balls of his feet on the concrete floor. “They really ought to get that thing fixed,” he murmured to Broderick as they started up the stairs.
“Shhh!” Broderick hissed and put up a hand for silence as he appeared to listen to something that only he could hear. “They’re in the study.”
“What are you, psychic?” Cooper hissed back.
“No. I updated the security system not long after Elise and I first got married. Part of the updates included hidden microphones in every room.” He caught the look on Cooper’s face and the meaning behind it, and grinned. “Don’t worry. They can only be activated within so many feet of the house and, up until we got here a few minutes ago, I was the only one who knew they were there. Here.” He took a small earpiece out of his pocket and pressed it into Cooper’s hand. “I’m listening in with this. Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Blushing to the roots of his hair, Cooper snatched his Bluetooth earpiece out of his ear and replaced it with the one that Broderick had given him. It took him a second to adjust to the enhanced sound quality, but when he did he swore that he could hear Olivia blink. “How did you know what was going on?”
“Elise wanted to surprise Olivia by coming home tonight. Guess which one of them ended up getting surprised, though?”
“Elise is here? Where is she?”
“She should be in the attic by now.” Broderick reached up and touched a button on his earpiece. “Baby, are you there?”
There was a moment of silence and
then Elise’s husky voice filled his ear. “Yes, I’m here. I’m just...having a hard time right now.”
“Why?” Broderick’s eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes, something is wrong, Broderick!” Elise hissed. “My sister is pregnant and I have to hear about it from a psychopath? Really? What kind of injustice is that?”
In the basement, Cooper and Broderick shared a look and then simultaneously rolled their eyes to the ceiling. Silently Cooper tapped his watch and Broderick nodded. “Later. Okay, baby? We’ll deal with that later.” She sobbed into their ears. “Do me a favor and take out your earpiece for a minute, so we can hear.”
“We’re going to talk about those microphones, too, Broderick.”
“I know we are, baby. But we don’t have to do it now, do we? Take out your earpiece, please. Put it back in and check in with me when you reach your bedroom.” He then motioned for Cooper to follow him up the stairs. With Elise out of the mix, they tuned in once again to what was happening between the two women in the study.
“I think I might need stitches.”
“You’re fine,” Shannon droned. “I didn’t even hit you that hard. Let’s go find your purse and shoes so we can get out of here.”
“What if I refuse to go?”
“Then I’ll sit here with you until that bitch who works for you gets here in a few hours, and then you’ll be responsible for what happens next. Don’t try me, Olivia. Right now I don’t have very much to lose. If your baby’s daddy has his way, I’ll be an old woman when I get out of prison. When I think about it like that, death by lethal injection doesn’t sound quite so bad.”
“You’re insane.”
“And you’re starting to get the picture now. Good. Now let’s go find your purse and shoes before I change my mind and shoot you right now. Boy, that would certainly mess up your lovely little plans to get married and live happily-ever-after, wouldn’t it?”