His woeful sigh implied he agreed. “The Relic has experience with Breed pregnancy, so if she thinks you’re overstressed, let me know what I can do. Just keep in mind you’re getting closer to the due date, so I wouldn’t recommend too many trips to the city. If you go into labor in a department store, that could create quite the scene. Hospitals are no place for a Shifter. We’d either have to deliver the baby in a motel room or in the car on the drive back.”
I shuddered at the thought. “You know what’s stressing me out? All this talk about terrible things that could happen to me. I want to enjoy my day.”
“You can’t live in denial.”
I cupped his cheeks in my hands and searched his brown eyes. “Honey, I can live wherever I want. If denial gets me through the day, then that’s what I’ll cling to. Reality is only a train ride away, and I’ll be boarding soon enough. Don’t you understand?” As I let go, I wondered if he could ever grasp the trauma I carried. “I still haven’t processed what happened to me during those months—what happened to my wolves,” I said, lowering my voice. “I’m not sure what they endured—if theysuffered. It haunts me. And now this.” I stroked my belly for emphasis. “That’s not something I can just get over. The closer I get to the due date, the more scared I’m getting. And there’s no one I can talk to about it.”
“You can talk to me.”
Salem didn’t understand. He could listen to me from a clinical standpoint, just as Milly could, but not an emotional one.
Had Hope not been pregnant, I might have confided in her. But in her delicate condition, discussing my doubts about wanting a child and being able to love them was inconsiderate. It was terrifying enough knowing the baby was shifting inside me, but what other surprises awaited? What if the pup chewed its way out of me? Those fears inhabited my thoughts day and night, and I still hadn’t fully processed my trauma. Was it better to not remember? What had my wolves endured all that time? Was it one or both of them? Would they ever be the same once the baby was born? Would I?
Salem rapped his knuckles on the table. “We’ve had enough fun for one day. I think it’s time we head home.”
As we drove homefrom the Rabbit Lounge, which was only fifteen minutes away, I called Cecilia to tell her we were coming home. Virgil was behind the wheel, and the second I hung up, he sang an oldie called “Cecilia.”
“Are you sure you’ve never worked as a performer?” I asked him. “Your vocals are perfect pitch. Were you professionally trained?”
“Professionally trained.”He cackled and changed the radio station. “You’re a trip. How many famous singers of the past doyou think were professionally trained, sugarplum? Some of us are born with it.”
“Then why don’t you use it?”
“Lots of reasons.” He flicked his gaze up to the rearview mirror. “Someone’s following us.”
Sandwiched between Virgil and Salem on the bench seat, I twisted around and observed a car through the back window.
“Is that why we’re going the wrong way?” Salem asked.
Virgil had taken a different turn. We often explored or took scenic routes, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary.
Virgil glared at the rearview mirror. “I was testing them. Watch this.” He pushed on the gas, leaving the other car behind. But a moment later, the vehicle accelerated.
My stomach tingled with fear.
“Maybe they’re lost,” Salem suggested.
Virgil scoffed. “This isn’t how you ask for directions in the country.Thisis how horror movies begin.”
Salem leaned forward and gave Virgil a punishing stare. “Let’s just remain calm.”
It was obvious Salem didn’t want me getting hysterical.
Virgil turned down another back road, and I worried we might get lost or hit a dead end. With my heart racing in my chest, I clutched Salem’s arm and tried not to panic.
“Hang on!” Virgil slammed the brakes and spun the steering wheel hard.
The momentum knocked me against Salem as the truck spun around, dirt clouding the air. Virgil hit the gas pedal and headed straight for the vehicle. A man emerged from the passenger window and aimed a gun.
I shrieked when he fired at us. Virgil accelerated, then jerked out of the way and passed them seconds before a head-on collision. There were holes in the windshield, glass cracking in every direction.
“Oh fates!” I looked back to see if they were following us, but they hadn’t turned around yet. “We have to get out of here.”
“Joy! Joy!” Salem shouted.
I turned back around and saw the car was veering off the road.
Virgil was slumped against the door, his hand barely resting on the bottom of the steering wheel.
