“Shit.” This isn’t good. It’s not like the FBI goes around to the local precincts and lets them know that there are undercover operations going on in the area, especially when we’re bouncing around from place to place. Not to mention we don’t know how far Cal and this cartel’s influence goes. We can’t risk notifying someone who ends up being an informant.

Her face is going to be plastered on every major news outlet. If someone recognizes her and reports it, the cops will have no idea what’s really going on and will notify Cal that they found her. “This just keeps getting better and better,” I mutter to myself as I rub the bridge of my nose.

“I just want this to be over.” Her hands cover her face. She sounds so defeated, so exhausted that I know I can’t lose my shit right now. I have to be strong for the both of us. Give her hope that this will all be worth it in the long run and that we just have to keep moving.

Walking over to her, I pull her hands away and cup her cheeks. “It will be. We just have to hang in there a little longer. Do you think your mom will tell Cal she talked to you?”

She shakes her head. “No, but I kinda feel bad I just blew up on her like that. I don’t want to put my unhappiness off on her. I had choices and I chose to stay, but it’s just something I’ve been holding in for so long and it all just came to a head when she asked me why I left him.”

I pull her into me and hold her. “I’m sure she understands you were speaking out of frustration. She’s your mother, she’ll forgive you.” My lips find the tip of her nose, making her smile.

“You’re probably right.” She sighs while letting go of some of the tension in her body.

“You ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

I drape one arm around her shoulder and we walk to the car. She looks up at me and gives me a tight smile that doesn’t reach those beautiful eyes of hers. I squeeze her tighter, silently showing my support. The conversation with her mom must be weighing on her mind and I just want to be there for her.

About an hour or so later, we’re pulling into the parking lot. If I didn’t need to stay close to the area, I’d have us halfway across the country by now. Being this close to Cal and his goons doesn’t make me feel better in regards to Elizabeth’s safety. I want nothing more than to run far, far away with her, but I have to see this through first. As long as Cal is out there, she’ll never truly be safe no matter how far we run. He has the resources to track her down.

On the way here, we stopped at a Goodwill store. We both needed some more clothes and figured the people in there wouldn’t pay us much attention. After grabbing a few things haphazardly, we went through the checkout and were out of there in ten minutes flat, so I’m confident no one recognized us.

“Do you want to get in the shower first?” I ask her.

“Uh, no, you go ahead.” Ever since she got off the phone with her mom she seems distracted, distant even. I keep telling myself that she’s just processing everything that has happened over the last several days, but my gut tells me it’s more than that. She’s either not being honest about their conversation, or there’s something else bothering her.

“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” I kiss her on the cheek and walk back to the bathroom. Reaching over my head and grabbing the back of my collar, I pull my shirt over my head and then turn on the shower. I’m about to take off my pants when I realize I forgot shampoo and soap. This isn’t the type of hotel that gives out tiny complimentary bottles. When I walk out of the bathroom, I see Elizabeth sitting on the edge of the bed with her face in her hands. Her body quietly shakes and I know she’s crying.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I rush over and kneel in front of her, concern clear in my voice.

She wipes her face quickly and looks up at me. The sorrow filling her eyes just about breaks me. Shaking her head, she says, “Nothing, I’m just being emotional.” She sniffles and tries to laugh it off, but we both know she’s not convincing.

“What have I told you before? You can’t lie for shit. I know you’re hiding something from me.” I cup her cheek to ease the sting of my words, but I’ve let her off the hook a lot. Never pushing her to talk to me when she doesn’t want to. Hell, I didn’t even force her to tell me the whole reason why she was trying to commit suicide. That ends now. We’ll sit here all damn night if we have to.

She pulls her face away from my hand and looks down at the ground. Her lip trembles and she bites it to steady it. “I just can’t. It hurts too much.” Her throat is clogged with emotion making it difficult to hear her clearly.

“Please, talk to me,” I plead. “I can tell this is eating away at you.”

“I’m afraid,” she whispers. Bringing her gaze back to mine, I see the truth in her words. She’s terrified. Of what, I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.

“Of what?”

She closes her eyes. “What you’ll think. What you’ll do.” She pauses and opens them up. “How you’ll look at me.” Her voice cracks on the last word.

“God, Elizabeth. There isn’t anything you could tell me that would make me look at you differently. I love you. Nothing is ever going to change that. Ever.” My eyes never leave hers as I tell her this with every bit of confidence I feel. The fact that she thinks I’d judge her or love her less hurts. My feelings for her are unwavering. I thought she knew that.

She sniffs again and looks up at the ceiling seeming to collect herself. The anticipation is driving me fucking insane. “Soon after you were taken, I found out I was pregnant.”

Pregnant.

The one thing I never expected her to say. The shock of it hits me first. I forget how to breathe as I lose my balance and land on my ass.

I’m going to be a dad.

It slowly sinks in and a big grin spreads across my face. But as I look up at Elizabeth, she’s not sharing in the same happiness as me. My eyes travel to her stomach and see that it’s as flat as ever with no sign of a baby bump at all. I’m not an expert, but I’d think she’d be showing by now. That observation puts a lead ball in the pit of my stomach. I have a bad feeling about this. I’m terrified to hear what she’ll say next.

Her bottom lip quivers and she swallows hard before continuing. “At first I was completely stunned. I couldn’t believe this was happening and I didn’t know how to process it. I had just lost you and now I was carrying your baby. It felt like a miracle that God was giving me a piece of you that I’d be able to hold on to for the rest of my life. But then I realized I’d have to tell Cal.”

It suddenly dawns on me. “That day you had to be helped off stage . . .”

She solemnly nods. “I found out that morning. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts on what I was going to do that I completely zoned out. I didn’t have a clue what was going on around me, so I made a fool of myself and Cal. When we got back to the bus, he was furious. Saying I’ve fucked up his campaign and that I’m so worthless that I can’t even sit and smile like I’m supposed to.” My fists clench hearing of him disrespecting her again.

“He kept yelling and banging things around.” Her eyes close as if she’s remembering the moment. “I finally caved and told him.”

“What did he do?” My heart picks up its pace.

I know it’s coming.

The part that I don’t want to hear.

Her eyes come back to mine. Her sadness and apprehension meets my fear. “At first he just looked at me. It was like he was trying to decide if he heard me right. But after he recovered, he made it very clear what I was to do. He—he told me I had to get an abortion.”

Abortion?

No.

My whole body goes rigid, turning to ice. She couldn’t have. “D-did you—”

“No,” she cuts me off. “Cal knew the baby wasn’t his. The only explanation would be that I was unfaithful. And, well, we can’t have people knowing that I’m a whore, is how he put it. He was adamant that I terminate the pregnancy, but I refused. I finally had something in my life that was made out of love. I wasn’t going to give that up,” she chokes out.