by KB Winters
As I straightened, the necklace Chase had purchased for me fell against my skin and an overwhelming urge to kiss him swept over me. I rounded the bed and took him by the hand. It was time to tell him the truth about the baby, about the way I was feeling about him—and us.
Halfway down the hall, Chase stopped cold. “Shit,” he hissed under his breath.
I whipped around, my heart rate skyrocketing at the alarm in his tone. “What’s wrong?”
He dug at his pocket and retrieved his cell phone. I saw the light on the screen and my heart ticked even faster. “Is it Matt?”
Chase nodded and went back to the living room so he didn’t disturb Jackson’s sleep. Although, with the way he’d conked out so fast, I doubted anything would wake him. I followed Chase at a distance.
“Chase,” he said, his tone clipped. All business.
He listened, nodding and I tugged at his arm.
“Right. Hey, Matt, hold up a second. Melissa’s right here. I’m going to put you on speaker.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and clicked a couple keys on the brick like cellphone—I’d originally teased him about being stuck in the 90’s before he revealed that it was a little bulky because it was a super spy phone like they used when out in the middle of nowhere back in his SEAL days. “Okay, go ahead.”
“Hello Melissa,” Matt said.
“Hi Matt. Long time no chat…” I said, forcing a chuckle. That last visit to his office seemed like ages ago. Almost another lifetime ago.
“Yeah. How are you holding up?”
I glanced at Chase. “I’m good. We’re good. Jackson loves it here on the—”
Chase shook his head. “Not too many details.”
“Right.” I licked my lips. “We’re good. Thank you for everything.”
“Of course. I’m glad you guys are all right. I hope Chase has been taking good care of you.”
I grinned up at Chase and he set his jaw. “He’s a complete gentleman.”
Chase dropped his head back and I laughed softly at his silent theatrics.
Completely oblivious to what was going on between Chase and me, Matt continued, “Listen, there’s something that I have to tell you.” His dark tone caught my attention and sent my systems back on high alert. “It’s never easy to deliver this kind of news to a client and Melissa, by now, you know you’re more than just a client to me. You’re a friend.”
Chase reached over and wrapped an arm around my waist. He held my gaze for a moment and then cleared his throat. “What’s going on, Matt?”
I sucked in a sharp breath and held it tight as if I could somehow freeze time. To keep him from dropping whatever bomb he was holding on to.
“Henry’s legal team has filed a kidnapping report on Jackson. He’s claiming you stole him under the cover of night, without a trace, and ran off to Mexico.”
I released the breath in a huff. “That’s absurd!”
“I know it is. And trust me, I’m battling with everything I have. But at this point Melissa, I’d be doing you a disservice to not tell you my advice. From a legal standpoint, it would be better if you came back. You need to come back to California, with Jackson, and we need to fight this inside the court room. If you continue to hide, it’ll only strengthen Henry’s case and then when you do come home—which is inevitable—you’re going to be walking into court with a red mark on your case. I can’t imagine you’ll find a judge who won’t question where you went and why you ran off with a bag of cash, your son, and disappeared without a trace.”
“I’ll tell them the truth!” I boomed, before remembering Jackson was sleeping a room away. I took a deep breath and started again. “I’ll tell them what happened. That Henry was going to have me killed.”
“But we don’t have any proof of that yet. It’s all circumstantial at best. The phone call you overheard will be thrown out as hearsay and the bag of money with the tracker can’t be considered anything more than a security measure.”
The room started to spin and then shrink in, like I was standing in a vacuum and the air was being sucked out of the small space. “What are we going to do?” I asked, pressing my eyes closed.
“You’re going to come home and we’re going to fight this.”
I shook my head. “I can’t, Matt. We won’t win. I’ll lose Jackson and I can’t let that happen. I can’t…” my voice broke into fragments as tears flooded my eyes. I swallowed hard, trying to regain my voice, but it was pointless. The darkness of the situation had dragged me under.
Chase tightened his grip on my waist. “How long do we have to decide? I mean, this isn’t something you can expect Melissa to decide right now. She needs some time to think and consider her options.”
Matt sighed. “There aren’t options, Chase. Melissa, I’m sorry but if you stay wherever it is that you are, not only will you risk losing custody of Jackson but you’ll be risking criminal charges.”
I shook my head violently, wishing away the awful words as soon as he said them.
“Criminal charges? She’s Jackson’s mother,” Chase argued.
“I know, but Henry is petitioning the court for full custody once the divorce is final. Eventually, with no contest, he will be granted everything he asks for. If Henry has full custody and Melissa keeps Jackson away, that’s kidnapping.”
“Son of a fucking bitch,” Chase whispered. He retracted his arm from my waist and scrubbed it over his face with a groan. “Okay. We’ll need a few days though.”
“That’s fine. I can hold things off and line up a safe place for Melissa and Jackson to stay while we wait out the trial process. I’ll arrange for round the clock bodyguards, top notch security, and location in case things go sideways.”
Chase nodded and I felt a stab of betrayal. He was really going to take me back to California and drop me off on Matt’s doorstep? After everything we’d been through together? Why wasn’t he arguing to stay with me?
Anger flooded my veins, overriding the desperate sense of helplessness. I snatched the phone from his hand. “And what if I say no? What if I decide not to risk it? I can stay in hiding.”
“Melissa,” Chase reached for me but I took a step backwards, out of his range.
“Melissa, you can’t stay on the run forever,” Matt said, his tone gentle. “That’s no kind of life for you and it’s not what you want for Jackson either.”
I glanced down the dark hallway, thinking of my precious baby sleeping through the night. He would be peaceful and dreaming of the day spent exploring the city or maybe dreaming about the fish he’d seen out snorkeling the day before. He was oblivious of everything going on around him and I wanted to keep it that way. But could I really keep this up for a year? Or five? Ten? It would only get harder as he aged. There would be more questions. Harder questions.
“I know this is difficult, Melissa, but you have to trust that I can fix this,” Matt continued, his voice like a hostage negotiator on a cop drama TV show.
My whole body went numb and I handed the phone back to Chase right before I slid down onto the couch. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m too tired.”
“Matt, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Chase hung up the phone and came to sit beside me on the couch. He wrapped his arms around me and coaxed me into laying my head against his chest. As soon as my head hit the wall of muscle, I broke apart, and a river of tears escaped from the dam I’d tried so hard to hold together.
“What am I going to do, Chase?” I sobbed against his shirt.
He squeezed me tighter. “We’re going to figure this out, Melissa. I promise.”
Chapter Seven
Melissa
At some point, Chase carried me off to my bed, just like he had with Jackson hours before. He tucked me in beside my son and brushed a silent kiss to my forehead before leaving the room to go to his own. My tears were dried on my face but as soon as my head hit the pillow, a new flood started. I clung to Jackson and forced myself to be quiet so I didn’t wake him.
I lost track of time but after a long stretch, I got out of bed, giving up the battle to try and fall asleep. Jackson was getting restless, and I knew he’d wake up if I kept tossing and turning. I tiptoed out of bed, slipped into a pair of sandals, and grabbed a light sweater from the closet. The walls of the cottage were closing in around me. I needed fresh air.
As quietly as I could, I went outside and started down the beach. The moon was bright and high in the sky, illuminating the sand with a soft glow of light, so I didn’t need a flashlight to find my way. I walked at a slow pace, taking deep breaths in an attempt to clear my head and tame the wild thoughts that plagued me after the conversation with Matt.
The idea of going to California and facing off against Henry in court was a nightmare in and of itself. Matt had some strong confidence that I couldn’t fathom. I knew I should trust him. That was why I’d hired him—well, that and the fact that his office was in the same office as my doctor and therefore less likely to raise a red flag when I visited—but that was back when I just wanted a quiet divorce. Now, not only was a quiet divorce an impossible dream—but I’d blasted the one shot I had at getting full custody all to hell by running away with Jackson. To Mexico no less.
Fuck.
Me.
All logic told me it could have ended up worse. I could be six feet under right now and Jackson would be without a mother. I cringed at the thought of one of Henry’s whore’s taking care of my son.
I wondered if Henry would have hosted a lovely funeral for me. Would he have made a speech in my honor? What would he have said to the other guests? To my friends and extended family? Would he have stood there and cried at my gravesite? Knowing full well that he was the one responsible for putting me in the ground? I shivered at all the questions and shoved the morbid curiosity from my mind.
If Henry had gotten his way, I would’ve never even met Chase. I wouldn’t have ever had the chance to experience something other than the controlled, possessive life Henry had constructed around me.
And I definitely wouldn’t be having a second child. The fact I was pregnant was a small miracle. I’d spent years thinking I’d never have another child. I’d learned to come to terms with it and counted Jackson as all the more precious and special. But even after trying, maybe somehow, the universe or my body just knew that another child with Henry wasn’t right.
I smiled to myself as I turned and started back toward the cottage. Jackson was going to love the heck out of his new little brother or sister. The idea of watching him grow into the role of a big brother made me well up with happy tears.
I just hoped Chase would be there to see it as well. As much as we’d shared about each other, I really had no idea whether or not he wanted to settle down. His job as a high end security guard wasn’t exactly the kind of job that meshed well with a simple family life. If we decided to be together—or get married—would he find another career? Could he ever be happy as something normal after a life filled to the brim with heart-pounding, non-stop action, and a nomadic existence that allowed him to travel and explore the globe.
In contrast, my life with Jackson seemed boring. Would he think so too? For the time being, he blended seamlessly into a routine life that started with special pancakes and ended with a nightly bath and bedtime story. But how long would that simplicity hold his attention? Wouldn’t he eventually miss the adrenaline rush of his old life? And then what?
I shook my head, tamping down the new set of questions. They were just as impossible to answer as the ones I’d conjured up in regards to Henry.
It was beginning to feel like I knew nothing about anything.
I stopped and gazed out across the ocean and blew out a frustrated sigh. Powerless, clueless, backed into a corner, and scared to death. Not a good place to be.
“Melissa?”
I jolted at the sound of my name and whipped around to see Chase’s familiar form coming up the beach from the direction of the cottage. “It’s me.”
“What are you doing out here? It’s three in the morning.”
I shrugged as he came to stand beside me. “Couldn’t sleep.”
He brushed a hand up my arm. “Are you cold?”
I nodded. “A little. I was heading back.”
“Come here,” he said, opening his arm to me. I let him draw me against him and melted into his warm body. He was always warm and comfortable. We fit together like puzzle pieces. My shoulders fit snugly under his arm and there was a perfect place for my head to rest against his chest. That spot was more comfortable than any thousand-dollar pillow back at the mansion in California.
“Are you thinking about what Matt told us?”
I laughed. “Is there anything else to think about? This whole thing is like a really annoying song that’s stuck on repeat inside my head.”
Chase chuckled. “I bet.”
“What do you think I should do?”
Chase sighed and glanced down at me. “I know you don’t like it, but I think we need to get you two home. I’d hate to see O’Keefe spin this and make you suffer any more than you already have.”
I nodded and then dropped my gaze to my hands that were absently wringing together in front of me. I ran one finger along the nail bed of each finger on the opposite hand and then repeated the motion for the other hand. All the nail polish that had been applied by my manicurist a few days before we fled California was chipped away. Mostly because I kept picking at it when I got anxious. Which was all the time.
“I’ll keep you and Jackson safe,” Chase added.
I looked up at him and held his gaze. “You would stay with us too?”
He laughed, surprised by my question. “Of course! Where else would I go?”
“Well…” my voice trailed off and a flare of heat spread across my cheeks.
“Melissa?” Chase tipped my face up with a gentle push on the bottom of my chin. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“It’s just when Matt said he would have a safe house with guards and security you didn’t say you’d be there, so I wasn’t sure.”
“So, what? You thought I would just dump you guys off and wave goodbye? After all of this?”
“I didn’t know what to think. Everything is so mixed up right now. I can’t think straight about anything.”
Chase squeezed me tighter and pressed a kiss to my temple. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s really good to hear.”
We stood there in silence for a while longer, both lost in our own thoughts, but when a breeze kicked up the sand Chase took me by the hand. “Let’s go back to the house. It’s too cold out here.”
“I can’t sleep,” I told him even as we started back to the house.
“Then we’ll make some coffee and watch the sun rise from the porch.”
“That sounds nice,” I agreed. I followed him back to the cottage and we tiptoed inside. The cottage was small and had creaky floors that we had to navigate carefully. Chase made a carafe of coffee and I toasted some sweet bread in the small toaster over on the counter by the fridge. We took the simple breakfast out to the porch and after putting the coffee and mugs on the table, Chase went back inside to retrieve the two woven blankets from the couch and tucked one around me in the wicker chair I sat in before he took the seat opposite me.
We didn’t say much as we nibbled through the sweet bread and bowl of fresh berries I’d rinsed off. We drank our coffee and ate our breakfast and before too long, the sun began to rise with a breathtaking display of oranges and golden yellow flecks across the calm ocean.
Chase glanced over at me. “I can’t believe it’s morning already.”
“Me either. Jackson’s gonna run us both ragged today,” I said, laughing softly under my breath.
“Probably true.” Chase smiled at me. “Come over here.” He patted his lap and I got up and crossed over to sit on his leg. I wrapped my blanked around his shoulders and bundled up against his chest. He encircled me with his arms and I relaxed
into his embrace, wishing I could stay there forever. Warm, secure, and safe.
“Chase…”
“Hmm?”
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
He released me and pulled back to meet my eyes. “What is it? You can tell me anything. I hope you know that.”
I smiled and paused to get my nerves back under control. It was now or never. Jackson would be awake soon and I would lose this moment to tell him the truth.
“What is it, baby? You can tell me anything.” Chase said, before casually taking a sip from his coffee mug.
I drew in an unsteady breath. “Well, I wanted to find a good way to say this. To do this. But I can’t think straight anymore…”
Chase chuckled. “Melissa, just say it.”
“I’m pregnant.”
His second sip of coffee sprayed all over the table as he’d gone to set his mug back down. He hurried to swipe his arm over his mouth and darted a wide-eyed glance up at me. “What?”
I looked down at my lap and then back to his dark brown eyes. “I’m pregnant. I took a home test about a week ago. One of the days that you and Jackson went fishing. I went to the pharmacy in Manzanilla and purchased a test after the woman who worked there asked me about my symptoms. I thought I had a vitamin deficiency from the change in diet or heartburn…”
I stopped talking, realizing that I was rambling. Chase was still staring at me, open mouthed, with his eyebrows halfway up his forehead. “Pregnant?”
“Yes. Pregnant. You’re going to be a daddy.”
Chapter Eight
Chase
“Wow,” was all I could manage to say as the news simmered through my brain. “I mean—just—wow.”
Melissa couldn’t have shocked me more with the news than if she’d told me she was really an alien from some distant planet masquerading as a human. I thought back to the first time we’d made love. My head spun as I sifted through the nights we’d spent together.