by Kaylea Cross
Nothing she could say or do would change the inevitable, and she desperately needed to be with someone she trusted. Sierra was her best friend.
“Okay,” she finally agreed, dreading Sierra and Beckett’s reaction. At least she was warming up now, her teeth no longer chattering.
The few minutes’ drive to Beckett and Sierra’s house passed quickly. Jase turned down Salt Spray Lane and at the top of the hill stood the grand Victorian, its lighted windows glowing warm against the gray backdrop. Beckett and Sierra met them at the door.
Sierra immediately engulfed Molly in a big hug and ushered her inside and took her upstairs to give her dry clothes to change into. “My brother’s on the way,” Sierra said to her. Noah, the town sheriff.
Time passed in a blur for Molly as she changed and told Sierra everything. Including that she was pregnant. Finally dry and wearing sweater and jeans that were too big for her, she followed Sierra back downstairs to where Jase and Beckett waited.
She glanced at Jase, standing by the kitchen doorway. His powerful arms were folded across his wide chest, his expression unreadable, but to her it was full of a disapproval and silent judgment that made her squirm inside.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” she told him softly. From the beginning, he’d always been there for her and Carter. He was still here for her now.
That clear aqua gaze never wavering from hers, he shook his head once. “I’d do anything for you. You know that.”
She did.
Molly looked down, his words hitting her in the center of her battered heart. She’d had a chance with him years ago on the night they’d met at the bar just off base. He was good looking and funny, and she’d been interested in him for those first few minutes. But then Carter had walked in and the rest of the world had ceased to exist. How different might her life have turned out if she’d chosen Jase instead?
She shook the useless thought away. Playing the what if game at this point was stupid. Just as she’d been stupid to sleep with Carter almost three months ago. But she wanted this baby, was already fiercely protective of it.
Sierra’s sheriff brother Noah arrived to talk to her. Molly begged him not to arrest Carter, and to send him to a psych facility instead. He was mentally ill and needed help, and he wouldn’t find it in prison.
Except they’d already tried every type of therapy and meds and still his mental state had deteriorated to this extent. Noah explained it wasn’t his call. That was up to the judge who handled the case, once Carter was located and taken into custody.
Beckett and Jase left to look for Carter and she immediately felt on edge, wishing Jase had stayed. He calmed her, made her feel safe.
Anxiety continued to churn in her belly as she answered Noah’s questions, struggling to mentally process everything that had happened. It was still surreal. As an ER nurse she’d seen domestic abuse victims countless times over the course of her career. But it had always happened to someone else. She’d never dreamed she would wind up a victim of it herself one day.
Noah left. The storm continued to rage outside. Beckett and Jase hadn’t returned, and they hadn’t called. Had they found Carter?
Sierra’s phone rang. “It’s my brother,” she said before answering it. A moment later her gaze shot to Molly. “Yes. Hang on.” She held the phone out. “He wants to talk to you.”
A cold knot of dread formed in the pit of Molly’s stomach. Sitting up, she took the phone, her heart thudding. “Hello?”
“Molly. I…” He heaved a sigh and her insides clenched tighter. “There’s been an accident.”
Her lungs seized.
Carter. She knew it was.
“What happened?” she rasped out.
“His truck went through a barricade and over the cliff a few miles south of town.”
She swallowed. “Is he…” She let the question dangle there, unable to voice it aloud.
“I’m sorry. He’s gone.”
She closed her eyes, put a protective hand to her belly as tears burned the backs of her eyelids, loss and guilt all but smothering her.
Carter was dead. Leaving her to grieve for the man he’d been, as well as the tortured soul he’d become. And most painful of all…
That he’d just left behind a child he hadn’t even known about.
About the Author
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards, including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, and has been nominated multiple times for the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.
You can visit Kaylea at www.kayleacross.com. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please join her newsletter.
Direct link: http://kayleacross.com/v2/newsletter/
Complete Booklist
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Crimson Point Series
Fractured Honor
Buried Lies
DEA FAST Series
Falling Fast
Fast Kill
Stand Fast
Strike Fast
Fast Fury
Fast Justice
Fast Vengeance
Colebrook Siblings Trilogy
Brody’s Vow
Wyatt’s Stand
Easton’s Claim
Hostage Rescue Team Series
Marked
Targeted
Hunted
Disavowed
Avenged
Exposed
Seized
Wanted
Betrayed
Reclaimed
Shattered
Guarded
Titanium Security Series
Ignited
Singed
Burned
Extinguished
Rekindled
Blindsided: A Titanium Christmas novella
Bagram Special Ops Series
Deadly Descent
Tactical Strike
Lethal Pursuit
Danger Close
Collateral Damage
Never Surrender (a MacKenzie Family novella)
Suspense Series
Out of Her League
Cover of Darkness
No Turning Back
Relentless
Absolution
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Empowered Series
Darkest Caress
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
The Vacant Chair
EROTIC ROMANCE (writing as Callie Croix)
Deacon’s Touch
Dillon’s Claim
No Holds Barred
Touch Me
Let Me In
Covert Seduction
