I got to town without any incident and parked in the parking lot of the first drugstore that I found. Moving as quickly as I could without going at a flat-out run and calling attention to myself, I weaved through aisles until I found the display of pregnancy tests. There were far more of them than I anticipated. The sheer variety of options available was shocking, and for a brief moment, I stood there staring at them, feeling overwhelmed and unsure of which one to choose.
There was no way I could deal with it being wrong. Or too difficult to read.
I found myself glancing over my shoulder a few times while I scoped out the tests. It felt like there were eyes on me, but that wasn’t something new. That was what I felt like almost all the time. If I wasn’t with Aiden, I could feel someone staring at me.
And it was entirely possible someone at the store got their attention piqued by me scurrying in and was watching to see what else I was going to do.
I finally chose one and hastily paid for it. Armed with my receipt, I moved as fast as possible to the bathroom at the back of the store. I read the instructions to make sure I was doing everything right and took the test. The next couple of minutes while I had to wait was excruciating, but finally it was time to check the little screen.
And then check it again. Then read the instructions and check it again.
No matter how many times I checked it and then read the instructions waiting for something to be different, it didn’t change. The test was positive. I was pregnant.
My thoughts were rushing through my brain at a million miles an hour. I didn’t know how to slow them down or what I was supposed to do next. Even though I was pretty sure this was going to be the outcome when the thought first crossed my mind, actually getting confirmation was something totally different. I felt like my heart had gone still and the breath had stopped in my lungs.
I didn’t know how long I stayed there in the bathroom, staring at the test and trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I forced myself to throw the test away and walk out of the bathroom. Not looking at anyone as I made my way through the store, I left, trying to plan my conversation with Aiden in my head as I went.
Trying to decide what I was going to say to him distracted me enough that I wasn’t paying enough attention to everything around me. I never saw it coming.
Just before I got to the truck, I felt something hit me in the back, a hand clamp down over my mouth, and my feet leave the ground. I tried to scream, but the hand muffled the sound. Trying to thrash out of the grip was futile. Whoever had me was far too strong for me to fight out of his arms.
I couldn’t see their faces, but I knew there were two of them, and I knew exactly who’d sent them. Only a matter of seconds after they grabbed me, they threw me into the open back of a van, slammed the door, and jumped into the driver and passenger seats to drive me away from the store.
27
Aiden
I knew it was a bad idea for me to have Brett bring my truck back to his place. The cabin had been empty when he went by, under the guise of coming to check on me after being visited. He said it had been left relatively untouched from what he could see, so he grabbed a few things I asked for and tossed them into my truck, driving it back to his place while one of Al’s men drove his. It seemed harmless enough and gave us an extra vehicle if we needed to escape.
Now Desiree was in town, driving a truck that was already known by the people who were looking for her and in tremendous danger.
She had been acting weird since I made that joke about her being pregnant, and my mind immediately zeroed in on that fact. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened. Was she pregnant? Or worse, maybe she had a medical issue that prevented her from getting pregnant and I insulted her or hurt her. It was a flippant comment, and I shouldn’t have made it. Now, all I could do was worry and put all the blame on myself for her leaving with my truck.
“She’ll be back soon,” Brett said from the living room as I stood by the window in the dining room, watching the road intently.
“I hope so.”
“Al sent somebody down after her,” he said. “She’s just stir-crazy, man. She’s used to New York City, and since she’s been in Tennessee, she’s essentially been in lockdown with people she didn’t really know the entire time. Give her a minute.”