I hear it more than I see it, the faint thud of boots against gravel, and the crash of a body hitting the ground.
Someone is clearly fighting back, and for a second, a spark of hope flicks to life.
Kieran?
But then the sounds cut off, one by one, and silence settles over the estate once more.
Ahead, a waiting SUV is parked just beyond the fence with the passenger door already open as if waiting to devour me.
Once I’m in, the chances of Kieran getting to me in time are almost none, and I choke on a sob as I try to glance back at the house, hoping that someone is at the window.
“Please…”
The hand around my wounded arm tightens, and the pain is so severe that my vision swims.
“Get in, now.”
I stumble into the car, and the door slams behind me, sealing me in.
But I’m not alone. Sitting across from me with eyes like ice is Sean O’Keefe.
His cruel smile has my skin breaking out in goosebumps, and suddenly, my world, the one that revolved around Kieran andthis baby, is narrowing to nothing but the sound of my heartbeat ringing in my ears.
“Hello, Riley.”
My throat closes as his smile widens, exposing his yellowing teeth and making his eyes glitter with pure malice.
“Miss me?” He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, so that I catch a waft of his aftershave.
It’s nothing like the musky, leather scent that Kieran wears that makes me want to bury my nose in his shirt. No, this one makes me gag as my throat burns with bile.
“Tell meyeweren’t sitting out there all night waiting for me.” Sean’s eyes flick over my body.
Recoiling into the seat, I clutch my robe tighter around myself.
I may not be naked underneath, but the feral look in Sean’s eye has me feeling stripped bare.
It seems the blood pooling down my arm isn’t enough to put him off. If anything, it probably turns him on even more.
The thought makes me glad I passed on dinner; otherwise, I would be covered in puke as well as blood.
“What do you want?”
Sean doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he leans back in his seat and reaches into the pocket of his suit jacket for a packet of cigarettes.
“Right now? A smoke.” He flips open the packet and takes a cigarette between his teeth. “Want one?”
I say nothing as he lights up and takes a long drag.
“Oh, that’s right,ye’re pregnant.” He chuckles, tapping the cigarette against the edge of the ashtray built into the center console. “Though, considering what I have planned, a cigarette will be the least ofyerworries.”
Sean must see the surprise on my face as his lips pull up into a feral smile.
“That’s right, I know all aboutyerlittle secret. Makes me sick.”
“How do you even?—”
“People like to talk for the right price, princess.” Sean chuckles, though he sounds anything but amused.
