I’ve got enough worries without adding to them. “What are we going to do when it comes to having the baby?”
“What do you mean?” Our side glances catch, and I’m surprised by his confusion.
“Well, I have a baby inside me, big man…” I make a point of rubbing my belly. It feels big, and compared to what it used to be—it looks big. However, in comparison to other bumps I’ve seen, it’s small. “You put a tiny human inside me, and it’s going to come out. I’m going to have to push this kid out of my vagina. Like a grape through the eye of a fine-stitch needle…and let me tell you, the thought is terrifying. It’s going to hurt.”
“Ermm…”
“Ermm, what?” I turn to him as we start down the hill towards the house. He side-eyes me with a grimace, going slow so that we don’t slide down the hill. “Listen, Mr Sniper, we have to figure this out because I want all the pain relief I can get. Stick all the needles you want into me, pump me full of chemicals…so long as it stops me from going crazy with pain, I don’t give a shit.”
He’s looking a bit green in his silent state.
“Come on, you’re a killer, you can’t be that squeamish.” Casper rolls his eyes at my statement. “On a serious level…”
“Now you’re being serious?”
“What if something goes wrong or…or…”
“Or?”
“Or she doesn’t want to get out? What if I need to get my water broken? We have six weeks to figure this out. I’ll be forty weeks and good to go.”
Stopping the car abruptly, he turns to me with a scowl darkening his gaze. I think he’s going to rip into me, but instead he orders, “Stay in the car.”
Without another word he gets out, slamming the door. I follow his trajectory to the familiar black Defender parked outside our little hideaway. My heart starts hammering in my chest as I lean across to get a better look.
He’s parked around a bend of shrubbery. I think if anything happens, I can slip out of the car and into the woods.
Ryan steps out first, and there’s so much rage emanating from Casper that when he grabs him by the collar, I don’t flinch. Casper’s taller than Ryan, not by much, but enough that in the current situation, it makes a difference.
They’re having a full-blown argument, looking as mean as the other. I’ve seen Casper get physical with Freddie and even Christopher, but this is different. There’s no holding back. None of the restraint or control he normally holds on to.
Ryan just manages to escape from Casper’s hold when the back door opens, and I’m recoiling back into my seat when Arabella joins them. I wait and wait for Christopher to follow with my heart swelling in my throat.
As they continue arguing, she looks around, the wind whipping about her. I sink as far into the shadow of the shrubbery as I can, but our eyes meet through the windscreen and while they’re too busy fighting, she walks towards me.
What do I do?
Stay in the car. Casper’s order reverberates around my head.
Maybe I should run?
Before I can make a move, she’s slipping into Casper’s seat.
“How are you?” she asks.
No smile. No lightness to her voice. She’s pissed, and I can feel it in the way she’s assessing me.
“Fine,” I tell her as dryly as she asked.
I look her over, an ache blooming in my chest. I take as much of her in as I can, given that she’s the only link to the life we’re running from right now.
She looks well. Her short hair has grown out some in the last couple of months. It brushes past her shoulders with the blonde tips copperier than I remember.
“You’re making a mistake.” She tugs on her scarf, and a wince pinches her face.
She doesn’t look like she’s hurt though. I keep looking for any injuries or a reason for her reaction. Especially when she rubs at her neck lightly.
“What happened to your neck?”