SAFEHOUSE

Something about it was drawing me nearer today though, and I found myself bunching up my long skirt in my fists, trying to make it so that I wouldn't trip over my feet as I went down the small hill to the building. Julien tried to warn me now and then about sticking to the path, especially in areas that weren't usually mowed that often.

The landscaping company did a very good job and had a specific place around the château to keep neatly done, but I had gone outside that scope. Where I was the grass grew tall and in bunches, easily hiding a snake or two. For some reason though, I didn't really feel like sticking to the path, and found myself carefully picking my footing over the small mossy rocks along the short hillside.

A bigger breeze swept past me, managing to ruffle shorter pieces of my dark hair from my headband. I had finally made it to the building, not even needing to hold my nose as I went past.

Something about this whole thing… about the way Julien had been acting… it wasn't settling well with me. I mean, of course he was stressed out. He was getting ready to be a father. No one could begrudge him for that—certainly not me.

This was something different, though. I almost felt like he was keeping something from me, and in the face of his family probably disliking me and wanting to disown him for our "little indiscretion,” that didn't really bode well for me.

And the way he had been so intense on all things baby related… that kind of made me wonder, too. Was he being genuine about his excitement?

Even with Julien's loving and charming personality it was hard to believe he saw no obstacles in our situation. I saw plenty of them, myself. I didn't want to think that would make me a bad mother, because I felt like I was being realistic, if anything. I knew I would love this baby more than anything else in the world —heck, I already did. Maybe that's what he was keeping from me. Maybe he didn't feel the same...

And now I see why people have such a rough go with it when they have kids—whether they were married or not married, or not even together anymore. Babies change everything.

Too much had happened too soon. Maybe he couldn't handle it, and his working overtime was his way of getting out of it. I hated doubting him, and doubting everything that had been going on. I wanted to believe it wasn't true.

I leaned up against the side wall of the stables, facing towards the château. From the pocket in my blouse, my phone began to ring, startling me.

When I saw who it was, I felt fear creeping through my body.

"Hi, Agent Wilson."

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Chapter 29

"Miss Jackson, it's been a while. Are you alone?"

I rolled my eyes, from the sheer irony of what he just said. "I'm all by my lonesome, what's up?"

His heavy sigh chilled me. This didn't sound good.

"Well, I don't really like to give people news like this, but there's an issue. You might want to sit down."

I knitted my brows together, already my fingers going to the bridge of my nose.

"Well, I don't have a seat to take, so just go ahead with it."

There was no delaying the inevitable.

"The Verdicci family is on the hunt for you. There's a price on your head underground, but they want you alive. I think they're looking to get information...”

“I don’t have any information! I don’t know any of those people…”

“It doesn’t matter. You might have seen faces or heard names. Don’t worry, we wont let them find you… Of course I'm sure you already knew some of this…"

“What are you talking about? You haven’t called me once!” I shouted into the phone. “Why would I know about this?”

The answer dawned on me and I was filled with the kind of anger I’d only seen in my momma growing up…

He couldn't… could he? He couldn’t have known this whole time that I might be in danger? That our baby might be in danger? I couldn't even entertain the thought. There was no way he would keep something like that from me.

And what Agent Wilson said… that was going to be hard to compress, too. I steadied my breaths, counting backwards from five, before rejoining our conversation.

"Are you saying that I'm in danger?" It was all I could do not to cry.

I heard the hesitation in his voice before he answered me. "I wouldn't exactly say you're in certain danger, no. But I would definitely be more aware of your surroundings."