“I got this, bud.” Slate’s familiar voice sounds from behind me and I throw him a grateful look knowing he’s already called Patten’s lawyer.
The detective clears his throat, not at all daunted by my evil eye. “Is the gun registered?”
She juts out her chin, her tone a bit defiant. “It’s all legal and I’m trained, too. I go to the shooting range every week. Well, except for recently.”
I didn’t know she was skipping practice so frown until she whispers in my ear, “It’s too loud for the baby.”
Hell, I never would’ve thought of that. I place my hand on her stomach.I wasn’t there sweetheart but no one will ever get close again.
“Do you want to hear the rest or not?”
Diamond nods curtly, lips pursed, nowhere near as friendly as before as Blake continues with her harrowing escape. “So, I scraped my tie wraps against a drill bit and got my hands free. Philip’s, as well.”
A walkie talkie blares to life. “One of the suspects is dead…” The speaker squeals. “blood. In pursuit.”
My wife pales. “Oh my God. Did the Asians get away?”
“Asian? Like in Chinese?” My gut clenches.
“Okay, twenty-questions is over. I’m bringing my wife to the hospital. You can send a sketch artist as soon as a doctor gives her permission.” I push Diamond toward the back door until Blake sits up and grabs my arm. “Wait. Let him talk. Did they find Philip?”
Diamond’s right-hand cups his ear as he listens for over a minute. Then, he turns to us and says, “The repair center was empty when ESU arrived. What else do you know about this guy?”
“He said he was a whistleblower for some chemical company. I can’t think right now. It started with a J.” She closes her eyes and curses under her breath.
I squeeze her hand. “You’re doing real good, hun.”
“Did this Philip say what he discovered?” The detective squats to her height with eyebrows raised high.
“Don’t you know?”
He shakes his head.
“He said he has proof the flu shot is pure bullshit.”
“Fuck. We’re done here.”
“No. She needs to come to the station and- “
I point out the back of the truck to where my billionaire boss exits a limo. “See that guy over there? He’s Grayson Patten III. You fuck with her and we’ll slap a suit on you so fast, you’ll shit. She’s not saying another fucking word.”
My fist pounds on the ambulance roof. “Time to go.”
After the doors close and the sirens squeal, I kneel, and give her a kiss.
“You truly are intimidating.”
“Damn right, I am.”
At the hospital, her GYN does a few tests, then gives Blake and our baby a clean bill of health. Now, she sleeps soundly while I pace the living room, occasionally putting a branch in the stupid fake tree. Ho. Ho. Ho.
When I’m not making merry, I sip my scotch, and tamp down the urge to pound the fucking blackmailer through the earth and back to China. Dollars to doughnuts, he’s somehow connected with Blake’s abductors. I swear I’ll put my fingers around his neck until he spews out every name he knows, including his great-grandmother.
I’d already be out searching, but Slate insisted I cool down first, which probably is the right move. Besides, when she wakes, I need to be there, make love, and cum with her warm sheath clutching my cock.
She should be pissed. My job almost got her killed. Instead, she fussed over me all night until I said I’d tie her to the bed posts. Pregnancy finally won over stubbornness and she fell asleep with her face tucked into my chest.
I figured she’d sleep better in her own bed so tucked her in, my fucking heart about to burst with love. There was another unfamiliar emotion. Fear. What if I had lost her?
