She tugged at the seatbelt across her chest.
Melody hadn’t yet said a word to her, but the professional veneer had rubbed off a bit. She kept glancing at her phone, the rearview mirror. Her anxiety was going to rub off on Yvonne.
“Are we sure they won’t have seen me get in the car?” she asked.
“It’ll look like you went for a walk. When they can’t get you back on camera, they’ll call you and you can tell them you went back to the house. Your tracking device will support that claim. They’ll spend the rest of the day doing tests to figure out the blind spot we don’t have.”
“Oh.” Yvonne slid down in her seat a little bit. “Thank you for doing this.”
The bubble of tension in the car seemed to pop and Melody glanced at her.
“I hope you get the news you want today,” Melody said softly.
“I don’t know what I want.”
“Are you sure I can’t track anyone down for you?” She asked the question slowly, the words carefully selected.
Nolan had told her that his team was aware they’d been in Vegas at the same time. Melody was a smart woman. Yvonne had to assume that Melody was perfectly aware that if Yvonne was pregnant, Nolan was the father. Then again, Melody could assume that Yvonne slept with everyone, so maybe it was only obvious to Yvonne.
If Nolan had knocked her up, he shouldn’t find out in a doctor’s office. She should break the news to him personally and not waylay him with the shocking information. Plus Yvonne wanted to wrap her head around whatever the news was on her own. The truth was that Nolan had a choice whether or not he wanted to be in the child’s life. She didn’t.
“No, thank you,” Yvonne replied after a pause that stretched across minutes.
Her phone rang.
Yvonne froze looking at the number she’d recorded as Lepta Team in her phone.
“That’s Grant. Tell him you’re at home,” Melody said.
Yvonne cleared her throat.
Grant was a trained body guard and badass. There was no way she’d get away lying to him.
She hit the answer button. “Hello?”
“Ms. Krieger, would you mind sharing your location with me?” Grant asked.
“I’m in my room. What do you mean?” She swallowed down her nerves.
“Thanks. We had a blip in our system. Nothing to worry about, just wanted to confirm everyone is safe and sound.”
“Thank you.”
She hung up and blew out a breath.
“See? Easy,” Melody muttered.
“Again, thank you,” Yvonne said.
Melody didn’t respond.
Yvonne leaned her head back, her mind strangely blank as they made the rest of the drive to a small medical practice. Melody parked in a garage and escorted Yvonne into the building as though she’d been there many times before. When they got to the clinic Yvonne hung back, letting Melody handle the details.
Yvonne turned to study the walls. Photographs of families and babies stared back at her on the feature wall of the waiting room. They weren’t arranged, more like tacked up there by patients sharing bits of their lives. She ambled closer, peering into the eyes of sleepy babies.
For the first time in her life she didn’t recoil at the idea of a baby.
She’d always been about the vision and her goals. Maybe she’d had it all wrong.
“Mrs. Kim?” a woman called out.
Melody prodded Yvonne in the arm. “That’s you.”
“Oh. Right.” Yvonne whirled to face the tall, dark skinned woman with a thick braid trailing over her shoulder. “That’s me.”
“This way.”
The woman confirmed basic information before giving Yvonne a cup and leaving her at a bathroom.
Melody had assured Yvonne that if she was unhappy with another urine test, she could have a blood test run. An internet search had given Yvonne another alternative.
She was six weeks along if this was really happening. That meant there would be a heartbeat.
If the doctor said she really was knocked up, she wanted to hear that baby’s heart. That was about the only thing that would make this real.
Yvonne delivered her sample to the cubby hole in the bathroom then let herself out. The same nurse escorted her to a patient room and there Yvonne waited, perched on a chair, to find out her future.
It was all rather routine. In her mind this visit was bigger, scarier. Instead, it was like any other doctor’s visit so far.
Yvonne checked the time. Tabby had said she would try to get to some place with better signal by now, but so far Yvonne had no messages. She was doing this alone.
Tabby had listed out half a dozen options for Yvonne last night from termination to adoption. The one memory that kept playing over all those ideas was that night two—or was it three?—years ago. Yvonne and Tabby had been at some cocktail thing and after a few glasses of bubbly Tabby finally opened up about her recent breakup. Yvonne had been prepared for her friend to spill her guts, but she hadn’t been prepared for the direction the conversation took. One statement stuck in her mind now.
My biggest regret, Vee? I wish I still had my baby.
It was the last thing Yvonne had expected to hear from her best friend.
The clock continued to tick.
Would Yvonne regret it if she didn’t have this child?
Some part of her was already attached to the idea of it, and that alone was enough to tell her she needed to think long and hard about what she did.
When Yvonne began to think she’d been forgotten, a brisk knock sounded at her door.
“Come in.” She clasped her hands together.
The door opened and a middle-aged blonde woman stepped inside.
“Mrs. Kim, nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Smithson.”
“Hello.” Yvonne shook the woman’s hand.
“I understand you’re visiting us today to find out if you are pregnant. Hop up on the table for me?”
“Am I or aren’t I?” Yvonne didn’t budge.
Dr. Smithson glanced at her tablet. “You took four home tests?”
“Yes.”
“Two of those were positive?”
“Yes. One was negative. The forth was a dud.”
The doctor’s gaze focused on her face. “According to our test, you are expecting, Mrs. Kim.”
You are expecting.
Expecting, such a pleasant word to mean pregnant.
Yvonne opened and closed her mouth.
Where was the rush of surprise? The oh-my-God moment?
Her insides were still in knots, but they were no tighter than before.
Had she already accepted this reality? Was it merely a formality to confirm it for the rest of her head?
“I want to hear the heartbeat,” Yvonne blurted.
“Mrs. Kim—”
“Dr. Smithson, I know I’m tramping all over your normal process, but the fact is I live in California. I’m probably never going to see you again after today. Whatever exam you do, my doctor is going to insist I go through again. I’d really like to hear the heartbeat for myself so I can be certain. I need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m pregnant so that I can plan.”
The doctor’s lips pursed together, but she showed no irritation. “Are you taking vitamins?”
“Not religiously.” Yvonne winced. That would have to change.
“How’s your nausea?” Dr. Smithson tapped her screen.
“Really bad.”
“What brings you to the area?” The question was innocent, but the doctor’s voice changed a tiny bit.
Yvonne went still. “Visiting family.”
“I’ve lived here my whole life. I might know your family.”
Shit.
This was what she’d been hoping to avoid.
She licked her lips, trying to come up with something.
Dr. Smithson glanced up, her gaze locking with Yvonne’s. “I hope yours supports you in this new chapter, Mrs. Kim. I’ll have a
prescription for prenatal vitamins and something for the nausea waiting for you when the tech is finished. It’ll take a few moments to get the ultrasound ready.”
Yvonne was left staring at the door. That woman knew who Yvonne was. It had been a long shot. Now she just had to hope that she could make it out of here and find Nolan before word got out. The first person to know after Tabby should be Nolan. He deserved to know they were having a baby.
A pang spiked through her.
I wish he was here.
But that would have meant telling him before she was certain. There was no reason to distract with possibilities when they were dealing with a very real threat.
The nurse returned and showed Yvonne into another room for the ultrasound. The whole thing was a formality. The tech spoke, Yvonne made the right sounds, but mostly she listened to the thrumming heartbeat of her baby.
Yvonne was pregnant.
But she seemed to have known that. Today was merely about gathering the facts.
Now she could formulate a plan.
Yvonne was handling her bill and where to send the prescriptions when her phone began to ring.
Mom.
She ignored the call.
No sooner had it stopped ringing then it began again.
Yvonne ignored that one, too and marched out to the waiting room where Melody stood by, phone in hand.
“Finished?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Once more Yvonne’s phone buzzed.
“Something wrong?” Melody zeroed in on the phone.
“My mom’s stalker calling me.”
“You should answer it. We don’t want anyone going looking for you.”
Yvonne grimaced.
Did Mom already know? Had the doctor called to tell her?
“Fine.” Yvonne sighed and tapped the screen on the next call. “Mom?”
“There you are, darling,” Mom gushed.
Yvonne followed Melody out of the clinic.
Mom pitched her voice quieter. “I need to talk to you right away.”
“Can this wait?” Yvonne would need at least half an hour to get home.
“Remember that thing we talked about?”
Yvonne taking the fall for her brother’s poor decisions? How could she forget?
“I’ve lined up someone to talk to us in an hour. I need you to come downstairs now so we can make the appointment.”
She stared at the back of Melody’s head. The nausea was back, but for a whole other reason. “I can’t do that, Mom.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course you can.”
“No, Mom. What I mean is that...I ran out to do a few things. I’m not at the house.”
Melody turned eyes wide, brows arched, moth set in a line.
Yvonne shrugged. Either she fessed up or Mom went and found out, blowing their cover. Besides, a plan was beginning to form in the back of Yvonne’s mind.
“Really?” Mom’s gasp was tinged with excitement. “Meet me at Lou’s. We’ll handle this. Women always do.”
Yvonne dropped into the car.
“What was that?” Melody demanded.
“My mother. I’m trying to keep her happy so she doesn’t make us all even more miserable. We need to make one more stop and I need another favor.”
“This isn’t what we agreed to.” Melody snapped her seatbelt on.
“I know and I’m sorry. I’m just trying to do the best I can.”
Melody’s shoulders relaxed. “I can’t leave you alone. I’m your only protection. I’m not leaving your side.”
Yvonne wasn’t going to push.
She knew what her mother wanted. Today their goals aligned in a way, but after this Yvonne had a new priority in her life.
THURSDAY. SURVEILLANCE Van, Chevy Chase, MD.
“Someone get eyes on her. Now,” Lee snarled into the radio.
He’d been playing catch-up ever since one of his warm bodies had reported the Krieger girl slipping off the property.
Yvonne Krieger was his second pick. Her role in the company was more operational and focused on number crunching. She wouldn’t have the information his clients needed, but she was at the top of the food chain. There was no doubt in his mind she had access to the codes he was after.
“I see her.” That was one of Lee’s men. The ones he could trust.
“And?” Lee bounced his knee.
“Surrounded by cops.”
“Fuck.”
Lee squeezed his eyes shut.
This job should have been easy.
Follow the family on their trip, assess the security, then do a snatch and grab absconding with both Yvonne and Theodore Krieger into Malaysia where they’d disappear as far as anyone else was concerned.
Lee wasn’t keen on doing a kidnapping on US soil with high profile targets. It wasn’t impossible, but it posed many more risks and complications. But for what he was being paid, those risks were worth it.
“How many cops? Where is she?” He’d spent too much time waiting for an opening that would allow them to move like ghosts, spiriting away their targets. The time to act was upon them.
“All of them. She’s at the fucking police station.”
“Christ.” Lee shook his head.
“Boss?” Another team member held out a phone to him.
Lee took the phone, but spoke into the radio first. “Stay on her. When she leaves, I want to know.”
“Yes, sir.”
He pressed the phone to his ear and prayed for good news. “What?”
THURSDAY. GRIMALDI Place Guest House, Chevy Chase, MD.
Nolan rubbed the heel of his hand against his eyes. Riley and Brenden were in the kitchen sorting out breakfast. A new pot of coffee was brewing.
Vaughn tabbed through the camera feeds once more, Nolan staring mindlessly at them.
Soon enough he’d get to collapse in bed. He’d spent much of the night walking the grounds, doing rounds in the chilly darkness with nothing but his thoughts for company. And he had a lot on his mind, but it had all taken a back seat since a few hours ago when Yvonne had seemed to vanish.
Grant bent over Vaughn’s chair.
“There are no blind spots in that area,” he said for the tenth time at least.
“There has to be.” Grant straightened. “If you don’t find it, I will.”
“I do not want you fucking with my set-up.” Vaughn growled more than spoke. He’d been in a foul mood all night, ever since answering his mother’s phone call. Even a non-update about his brother was creating strife now.
Nolan ignored the guilty twinge. His own mother was still calling, still leaving messages he hadn’t yet listened to.
When this job was done, he’d tackle his own problems. Not before.
Riley poked his head into their command room. “Anyone seen Melody? I thought she was picking up creamer.”
“No,” Grant replied.
What time was it?
Nolan glanced at his watch.
Melody had left shortly before Yvonne’s stroll. That was well over an hour ago. Two hours?
“It shouldn’t take that long to get creamer.” Nolan grabbed his tablet and tapped the screen.
The whole team had subdermal tracker implants. New tech they’d volunteered for.
Nolan brought up the tracking software and after a click the screen zipped much farther than Melody would have to go to reach a store.
At that same moment Grant’s phone rang.
The hair on the back of Nolan’s neck rose. “Something’s up.”
Yvonne’s walk.
The nonexistent blind spot.
Melody’s long trip.
“What?” Grant whirled, phone to his ear, and snapped, pointing at Riley then the main house.
Fuck that.
Nolan didn’t care if he was supposed to be off. Yvonne was up to something and he wasn’t going to sit back, waiting to hear about it.
“Send video of Yvonne to my cell. Come on.” Grant led the w
ay to the garage.
Nolan double checked the signal from Yvonne’s tracker. It showed that she hadn’t moved since the last time he’d looked in on her. All she’d have to do was slip it off or leave it behind. And then what? What had she gotten it in her pretty little head to do?
A few minutes later they pulled around to the front of the Krieger’s home. Both Robert and Theodore Krieger sprinted for the SUV and climbed in, squeezing the three of them across the back seat.
“Police station, now,” Robert barked.
“What the hell is going on?” Grant demanded.
“I thought you had eyes everywhere.” Theodore glared daggers at the back of Grant’s head.
“What is Yvonne doing?” Nolan asked over the three men.
Theodore met his gaze. “Making a mistake.”
Twenty minutes later, with no more answers, they pulled up in front of the local police station. Melody stood outside, chin up, her phone clasped in both hands. They parked illegally at the curb and got out.
Nolan might have felt sorry for her if this stunt hadn’t potentially put Yvonne’s life at risk. They were nearing the end of the first week since the incident and the sweet spot for someone half a world away to strike.
At exactly that moment Yvonne and her mother stepped through the doors, flanked by detectives in suits, badges hanging around their necks. Mrs. Krieger was all a titter, smiling and cooing at the men while Yvonne’s complexion was ashen, all the light snuffed out.
Was this what she’d mentioned last night?
Yvonne lifted her chin and her eyes locked with his as if she’d known he would be there.
“Fucking hell.” Grant did as he always did and moved to take charge. “Nolan, drive Mrs. Krieger’s car home. Take point. Melody, Riley, you’re the follow vehicle. Move.”
Nolan wanted to be near Yvonne, but he didn’t quite trust himself. The lines were too blurred. She wasn’t just work, she was his. And she’d possibly risked her life today. For what? To what purpose?
It couldn’t possibly be worth it.
So he didn’t look at her. He barely heard the words being spoken around him.
Grant thrust a set of keys at him and Nolan took off in search of the car. He found it a few rows back, unlocked it and dropped behind the wheel into the leather seat. Grant and the others were still speaking over each other in the comm unit.
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