“Holy shit,” I whispered. Sinner hopped out of the passenger side of the truck with a big grin.
“Freckles, your chariot has arrived,” Sinner said gleefully.
“That truck isn’t going anywhere,” I said, staring at the wreckage.
“I hear the train is quiet at this time of night,” Hunter replied.
Sebastian walked around the truck and eyed me. He had a gash on his forehead and his right hand was in a brace, but he looked more handsome than ever.
“Freckles, are you okay?”
I nodded, a little tongue tied by the sexy man in front of me. All I could see was the way his arm muscles bulged from his shirt and his pecs pushed his nipples against the fabric of his t-shirt. Good Lord, this man was so yummy. Why couldn’t I stop staring at him? I felt hot all the sudden and had to fan myself to keep from passing out. Sebastian took a step toward me with a look of concern.
“Maggie, are you okay?” He asked slower this time, like the last time it hadn’t gotten through. I cleared my throat and stopped acting like I was seventeen with my first crush.
“I’m fine. Just warm.”
“It’s winter and you aren’t wearing a coat.” Sebastian stepped forward and placed a hand to my forehead, wrinkling his brows when he felt my cool skin. “Well, you don’t have a fever.”
Sinner rolled his eyes and laughed. “Dude, she’s totally fan-girling all over you. Chill, Cap.”
“Fan-girling? What the hell is that?”
“It’s when a chick gets all swoony and shit because she just saw the hottest guy in the room.”
Sebastian raised his eyebrow at me and I quickly looked away. “Shouldn’t we leave before someone sees us?”
“Derek is on his way. I called him a few minutes ago to pick us up.”
We waited in uncomfortable silence for Derek to show and Hunter kept shooting daggers my way. This was not the time for a pregnancy discussion with Sebastian. I narrowed my eyes at him, but Sinner caught me and gave me a questioning look. Luckily, Derek showed up and we all got in the SUV. I was sandwiched in the back between Hunter and Sinner, while Sebastian sat up front to talk logistics with Derek.
“It’s a shame I missed all the fun,” Derek said from the front seat. “I hope you took care of her, Hunter. Especially now.”
I glared at Derek in the rearview mirror.
“Why especially now?” Sebastian asked.
“You know, just because we’re getting closer to catching this guy. It would be a shame for something to happen to her so close to the end.”
Sebastian gave him a strange look, but didn’t say anything. “We’ll need to work out the sleeping arrangements and a schedule when we get to the safe house. Maggie, I was thinking that you could share a room with Becky so that we don’t have an empty bed.”
I nodded, but Hunter interrupted. “No, I think she needs the master bedroom because it has the attached bathroom.”
“Why would she need an attached bathroom?”
He shrugged. “You know how women are. They always have to get up at odd hours to use the bathroom.”
I sighed and tried to look out the window, but I had two men on either side of me that were taking up all the space.
“In that case, Becky should also have rights to the master bedroom,” Sebastian said with an eye roll. “Maggie, I’m going to need you on kitchen duty while we’re there.”
I nodded and started thinking of meals that I could cook that would be big enough for all the people that would be there. I could make chicken and potatoes..ugh. Chicken, that sounded so disgusting right now. I could make burgers with..my stomach turned when I thought of meat. Crap, I was going to be sick. I took a deep breath as sweat broke out on my forehead. Oh, God. I felt so sick. I was going to be sick in a minute. We hit a bump and Sinner bounced into me, jostling me enough that I felt the vomit rise.
“I’m gonna throw up,” I moaned as I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breathing. Derek pulled over quickly, kicking up gravel as he skidded to a stop. Hunter quickly jumped out and pulled me out of the truck just in time for me to throw up in the ditch. By the time I was finished, I was shaking and weak. I just wanted to sit down and lean against the truck for a few minutes, but I didn’t think the guys would be okay with sitting out in the open when we knew people were after us.
“How much further?” I asked.
“About fifteen minutes.” I looked around to see that we were well out of the city and there were no cars in sight. Maybe they would be okay with sitting here a minute. “Can we just wait a few minutes?”
“We can’t, Freckles. We have to keep moving. I think we have some garbage bags in case you get sick again,” Sebastian said. At some point, he had gotten out and started rubbing my back. I really didn’t want him to be nice to me right now. “Come on. Let’s get back in the truck. Hunter, give her the window.”
Hunter climbed in ahead of me and I slowly got back in the truck with assistance from Sebastian. As soon as Derek pulled out on the road, I groaned as my stomach started swirling again.
“Are you sure you don’t have a concussion? Maybe you need a doctor.”
“Oh, she needs a doctor alright, just not the kind you’re thinking of,” Hunter grumbled. I elbowed him in the side and immediately regretted the sudden movement. Hunter handed me a bag quickly, obviously seeing on my face how miserable I felt. We pulled onto another road that was filled with potholes. Every bump had me threatening to spew again.
“Can you try to avoid the potholes, Derek?”
“I don’t think avoiding potholes is going to get rid of your problem. At least not for the next few months.”
“I can call Cole’s cousin and see if she can come take a look at you. I don’t like this. You fell earlier and now you’re puking. You probably have a concussion.”
“I’m pregnant!” I shouted. The SUV went silent as Sebastian slowly turned to look fully at me.
“You’re what?” His voice was quiet but deadly and his eyes held the promise of murder. I leaned forward and threw up in the plastic bag I was holding.
“Should have told him sooner,” Derek said with a sigh.
“You knew? Before me?” Sebastian questioned.
Derek’s mouth hung open and he scratched his jaw. “I, uh.” He cleared his throat and glanced quickly at Sebastian. “I only found out today when she fell at Aggie’s.”
“You knew since before the hospital?”
“Well, only because Aggie and Harry were talking to her about it.”
“Jesus, does everyone know but me?”
“I didn’t know, Cap.” Sinner said with a grin. “Congrats, by the way. Do I get to be the Godfather?”
Sebastian glared at him.
“What? It’s not like you can be pissed at me for this. Little Sinner wasn’t even working, so you can’t put this on me. Besides, you should be glad. Now she’s tied to you forever.”
“Unless she gets rid of it,” Hunter mumbled.
“Why the hell would she get rid of it?” Sebastian’s voice rumbled through the truck like a freight train.
“Oops, did I speak too soon on the Godfather thing?” Sinner gave me a sidelong look to which I just shook my head in annoyance.
“Maggie, are you thinking of getting rid of the baby?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about this in a truck full of men,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Why? They apparently all knew anyway.”
“Again, I didn’t know,” Sinner said, raising both hands.
“How did this even happen?”
“If you don’t know that, maybe you’re not the father,” Sinner supplied not-so-helpfully. I glared at him and he shrugged. “Hey, maybe you were on a break.”
“You know as well as I do that Sebastian’s the father.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you’d go all caveman, growly bear on me and I needed some time to think!”
“Thi
nk about what?”
“If I wanted it.”
“Hunter was serious? You want to get rid of it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe?”
“Why? This should be good news for you. It’s a baby.”
“Oh, sure. From a man’s perspective, a woman should always be in want of a baby. In fact, according to men, when we go on a date, we’re instantly looking for the man that has the perfect sperm to impregnate us. We couldn’t possibly want a career or just a man to enjoy life with. No, we’re supposed to want it all. Well, what if I don’t want it all?”
We went over another pothole and I gripped my stomach so I didn’t dry heave all over the back seat.
“You’d rather have a career than a family? How did I never know this?”
“I don’t know, Sebastian. I made it pretty clear when we met that I love my job. How could you think that I would want to give everything up for a family?”
He looked at the other guys for help and then back to me. “I guess I just assumed you’d want that someday.”
“Why would you assume? We’ve never talked about it. We’ve never talked about anything in the future.”
“Every woman wants a baby,” he said more to himself than to me.
“No, every man thinks that every woman wants a baby. You get to keep your job and continue to work the hours you want and climb the corporate ladder.”
“I’m already at the top of the ladder. I own the business,” Sebastian said like I was the dumbest person he’d ever met.
“That’s besides the point. Nothing about your life has to change. I’ll be the one responsible for the baby. I’ll be the one to use my boobs as feeding devices. I’ll be getting up to change diapers, and when there’s a night out, guess who’s going to be staying home with the kid? That’s right. Me. Because it’ll be considered my responsibility, and I’m telling you that I don’t want it!”
The truck was silent by the time I finished my rant. Sebastian turned around and the other guys all faced forward, refusing to look in my direction. Seriously, men were so clueless. Not one of them tried to consider what this would be like for me.
We pulled up to the safe house and each of us got out of the SUV and walked inside. I was exhausted after such a long day, not to mention throwing up practically everything I was eating. I walked toward the kitchen, every step taking more energy than the last. When the room started to go black, I stopped and closed my eyes to regain my balance, putting my hand on the wall.
“Freckles. Maggie.”
Apparently my vision wasn’t the only thing going because my hearing seemed to be going in and out also. My hand slid from the wall as I tried my best to keep myself upright, but I just couldn’t do it. I’d had enough of this day and this pregnancy. Maybe I would wake up and it would all be a bad dream.
CHAPTER NINE
Sebastian
I WAS TERRIFIED when Maggie passed out downstairs. I just kept thinking that she was pregnant and I hadn’t even had time to process any of this. What if she lost the baby? It couldn’t be good to keep passing out like that. I carried her upstairs and Hunter went for his medical bag that was kept at the safe house. As I laid her on the bed, my heart sank at the thought that she didn’t want my baby. Did I even have a choice in whether she kept it? I had always thought I would have that someday, but she didn’t want kids. Shit. Why hadn’t I ever asked her before?
“Watch out, Cap. I’ll check her over.”
I moved from the bed and paced the room as Hunter looked her over. I didn’t know where to go from here. What was I supposed to do? Did I let her make the decision or did I fight for the baby that was growing inside her?
“Do you know how far along she is?”
I stopped and turned to him. “What? How would I know? I just found out.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “I just need an approximate date. When was the last time you fucked?”
I clenched my jaw and took a few deep breaths, vowing not to kill the man that was taking care of her. “A little over two months ago.”
He nodded and stood. “I think she’s fine. She’s had a long day and I know she hasn’t eaten a whole lot. I can give Cole’s cousin a call if you want. She can examine her more thoroughly if you want.”
I sighed and ran a hand over my face. “Let’s wait until she wakes up, see how she feels.”
“Alright. I’ll see what we have to eat in the house. Also, she needs to be taking prenatal vitamins.”
I huffed and looked at the ceiling. “What’s the point? She doesn’t even want it.”
“Until she makes up her mind for sure, she needs to do it. Development happens early on and you want her to take care of herself and the baby.”
“How do I..” I looked at the ground, completely lost in this whole mess. “What do I do?”
I looked at Hunter, but he was looking at me confused. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Do I let her take control of this?”
Hunter grabbed my arm and pulled me into the hallway and then down the hall where we were out of earshot. “I can’t tell you what to do. You have to work this out with her.”
“How? How do I work it out with someone who doesn’t want her own kid?”
“I don’t know. Look, if it were my kid, I know I’d be fighting like hell for it. That kid only has you in his corner right now. You need to decide if you really want that kid and what you’re willing to do to have it.”
“What I’m willing to do?”
“You could make an agreement where you take the kid after it’s born, but then you lose Maggie. Either way, someone loses. You need to decide what you want most, Maggie or the baby. She may not change her mind about not wanting the baby. This may not end up in a happily ever after for you.”
I took a step back and ran a hand across my beard. “Christ, just the other day we were working our way back to each other and now we’re miles apart.”
“Just give her tonight. Let her sleep on it, then sit down with her tomorrow and have an honest discussion about what you both want. Just keep in mind all the things she told you on the way here. Those are real issues for her and telling her she should want her kid isn’t going to help you any.”
“Thanks, man.” I looked back toward the bedroom, but I couldn’t go be with her now, no matter how much I wanted to. I had work shit to deal with and that took precedence at the moment.
“I’ll grab some food and water for her. You go deal with whatever you need to.”
I nodded and headed downstairs to find Becky and Chance. Becky was the easiest to find since she would have set up in the study. Walking in, I saw that she had set up a whole bank of computers and was linking with Cazzo at his house.
“How are we doing, Becky?”
“Good. I’ve got most of our information uploaded and I have the footage pulled up from the Reed Security building. They didn’t get into the basement, so the panic room is still secure.”
“That’s good. Did you watch all the footage?”
“Most of it.”
“Anything they were particularly interested in?”
“They were trying to get into our files, but once they realized the files were gone, they gave up.”
“Any identifications?”
“No. They were all masked, but I did find this.” She started clicking keys and moving video feed around until she was able to pull up one image that had me stopping in my tracks.
“No shit.”
“I know. I thought that would be of interest to you.”
“Crap. Keep me up to date with any more developments and let me know as soon as Cazzo’s set up.” I motioned for her to stay silent and act normal.
“Gotcha, boss man.”
I walked out of the study and went in search of Lola. She was bringing in weapons and Burg was cleaning them at the kitchen table. I signaled for them to do a sweep of the house and clear out any listening devices. Lola signaled back in the affirmative and then if they
should set up scramblers. I nodded and they both took off to get the job done.
I made my way back to Becky and signaled for her to search the system for anyone that could have hacked into the system. She looked at me like I was insane, but got to work.
Three hours later, Lola and Burg confirmed that they found over fifty listening devices in the house. They had recruited Hunter, Derek, and Sinner to help out since it was such a large house. Chance was in the kitchen getting the sensors on line with the study. All the sensors and cameras ran continuously whether or not anyone was in the house, but we hadn’t ever had our whole system moved to this house and we had to rearrange a few things.
“Almost set, Cap. Gabe and Jackson are out checking out all the sensors, making sure nothing’s been tampered with. We’ve done perimeter checks and installed extra sensors to be sure we’re secure. I also had Gabe put sensors down the road. I had him set them every quarter mile for five miles in both directions. I couldn’t get a better range without compromising quality. At least we’ll have a heads up if someone’s coming.”
“What about our backroads exit?”
“There was a washout. No access right now. I can work on getting some road work done, but it’s going to take time.”
“Alright. Get the guys in here when they’re finished. We have a lead.”
He nodded and got back to programming the sensors. I found Derek in the sun room spread out with a map of the property. He was placing markers around the map in different colors and then making notes on a pad of paper.
“Scheduling?”
“Well, I had started on this when we got here, but then we found all those mics around the house. You want to tell me who’s listening in on us?”
“Becky reviewed the footage from Reed Security. One of the men that broke in had a tattoo on his wrist.”
Derek set down his pen and leaned back in the chair. I sat down across from him and sighed. “It was a tattoo of a snake wrapped around a cross on his right wrist.”
Derek cursed and ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s him.”
Cap_A Reed Security Romance Page 11