by Reus, Katie
“Of course. Did you need anything while I’m still here?”
“I’m good. Dylan’s already gone down to grab us food from the cafeteria. We’re both going to stay the night if they’ll let us. Thanks though.”
Adeline looked as if she might respond, then a doctor waved Mac over. He said a quick goodbye before hurrying off.
“You want to hang out for a while?” Autumn asked. “The hospital cafeteria food is actually pretty good here.”
“No, he’s okay, and that’s all I really needed to know.”
“Are you sure?”
Adeline picked up her backpack. “Yeah. It’s not like I’m family or anything. I’m just his tutor.”
Autumn fell into step with her friend as they headed into the hallway. “Serenity said that you rode in Mac’s boat today. Kinda seems like you’re more than just a tutor. Is he who you’ve been dating?”
Adeline shot her a sideways glance. “I actually haven’t been dating anyone,” she murmured. “I’ve been doing a lot of tutoring lately. Just to save money—I’m hoping to buy a house next year. And… I have a bit of a crush on Mac, which is probably obvious to everyone. Every time I think about that man, I swear my cheeks heat up.”
“I didn’t know, I swear.” Adeline was so good at masking her emotions.
“Really?”
“I promise. Look, have you eaten at all today?”
She shook her head. “I had some coffee and a muffin this morning. But I haven’t left the waiting room since we rushed here. Mac asked me to hang out for a while and I didn’t want him to think I’d left.”
As they stepped through the sliding exit doors, Autumn was surprised by the cool breeze. There was a shift in the air, telling her that fall was starting to creep in. Not that Florida had a real fall season, but at least it wasn’t as sweltering as August.
A big man moved past them, nearly knocking her down. He gave her a hard look, almost as if he was surprised to see her. But that made no sense—she didn’t know him.
“Excuse me,” she murmured, frowning at him.
He gave her a strange look, or maybe that was her imagination. After the day she’d had, she was simply on edge—and in need of some kind of sustenance. Her little peanut wasn’t happy she hadn’t eaten since lunch. She was borderline nauseous at this point.
“This way,” she said to Adeline. “I parked across the street. And I’m going to take you downtown so we can get some pie—or we can do a drive-through so you can get easy food. It looks like you might need a shower. Did you jump in the water?” Adeline hadn’t said much in her texts.
She nodded slightly, looking exhausted. “Yeah, it was…terrifying. I thought he was dead,” she whispered.
“I didn’t realize you guys were the ones who found him.”
She shoved out a breath as they reached Autumn’s car, parked under one of the huge lights. “I saw his shoe and recognized it. I didn’t think, just jumped in. But when I got to him…” She shook her head.
“All right, you are definitely getting some pie tonight.”
“Are you sure?” Adeline asked as she slid into the passenger seat and lay her head back against the headrest. “I know you’ve got a class at the cultural center in the morning.”
“It’s fine. It’s only seven o’clock. We’re not eighty.” As she pulled out of the parking lot, Autumn felt those eyes on her again and cursed herself for the fear welling up inside her. She hated that it affected her life, her moods, and tried to shove it back down into that little box in her head. She wished she could see Lincoln right now—or go home to him. Which was a ludicrous thought, but there it was. She wondered far too often what it would be like to have him come home to her every night or vice versa.
Adeline snorted. “Speak for yourself. I love being home and in bed by eight.”
Autumn rolled her eyes as she took a left turn. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe so. And I’m pretty sure I’m going to eat pie and only pie for dinner tonight. Maybe I’ll eat a whole one.”
“I would say you’ve earned it.”
Chapter 19
When she spotted a familiar vehicle in her driveway, Autumn automatically tensed, her shoulders bunching up. Talking with Adeline had been cathartic and she was so damn relieved that Joe was okay. But at the sight of the vehicle in her driveway, she didn’t think she had the mental energy to deal with another blow today. This entire day felt like it had been a decade. Her classes, that confrontation in the school parking lot, her tire blowing out so violently. She was flat out done at this point. At least it was Friday, the only silver lining right now.
She pulled in next to Erica, glad it was her handler and not Erica’s partner. Not that she didn’t like Derek, but Erica had been with her from the beginning.
By the time she got out of her car, purse in hand, Erica was out as well. In khakis, a blue polo shirt, and sneakers, she looked the same as she always did. Her short hair was pulled up into a tiny ponytail—Autumn knew she kept it just long enough so she could pull it off her face.
“I tried calling,” Erica said.
“I’ve been at the hospital—just picking up a friend. I had my phone off and,” she glanced in her purse, “I never turned the volume back up. Sorry.”
Erica lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t sound sorry.”
“I already told you guys, I’m not moving.” She really tried to keep the attitude out of her voice, but wasn’t sure she succeeded.
Erica held up a hand. “I know. I just wanted to talk to you, and we need to have this conversation in person.”
She couldn’t read Erica’s expression, had never been able to really. The woman was damn good at her job—she’d been good at convincing Autumn to join WITSEC and she’d always kept tabs on her. Even after the so-called danger zone time had passed. Technically the danger would never be gone. Not while Rand Coventry was alive.
Once they were inside and she’d disarmed her security system, she pointed at the kitchen as she petted Shadow with her other hand. “You want a drink? Or do you want to do this in the living room?”
“Water would be good. I’ve been drinking crap coffee the last few hours.”
As she headed down the hallway, Shadow stuck to her, dancing around her ankles and soaking up being petted, barely looking at Erica. She must have decided that the other woman wasn’t a threat or of interest to her.
“Who’s this little lady?” Erica asked as Autumn opened the back door to let Shadow out to do her business.
“You didn’t come to talk about my dog.” Okay, she knew she sounded like a bitch at this point, but she didn’t care. It had been a long day and if Erica was going to try convince her to move, they were going to have it out right now.
“You’re freaking cranky,” Erica murmured as she sat at the center island. “For the record, I’m not here to tell you to move,” she added.
“You probably should have led with that.” She slid an ice-cold bottle of water in front of Erica. “Are you hungry? I can rustle up some snacks.” Now that she knew her handler wasn’t here to harass her about moving, she was feeling a little better.
Erica’s mouth curved up slightly. “I’m good, thank you.”
A few moments later, Shadow ran back inside and Autumn shut the door behind her dog, locking it automatically.
After filling up Shadow’s bowls with food and water, she sat across the island from Erica. “Well?”
“Rand Coventry was killed in a prison transport. We’re still not sure what happened, the guards were killed, and so was the other prisoner they were transporting.”
“What? He’s dead? Are you sure?” Questions fired out of her one after the other as she tried to wrap her mind around this huge news. Something inside her snapped free in that moment, a pressure she hadn’t even known was there. It was as if she could breathe a little better.
“We’ve got a positive ID on his dental records, but we’re testing the DNA to be sure. Still, it look
s as if it’s him.”
She frowned. “Wait, why do they need to test the DNA?”
Erica wrapped her fingers around the bottle but didn’t open it. Her fingernails were short and neat with no polish. She never wore any makeup either.
She watched Autumn with bright blue eyes for a long moment. “We’re actually investigating the crash. It looks like they were forced off the road, maybe in a botched breakout attempt. The passenger with Coventry was the younger brother of a high-level… Well, I can’t technically say, but his brother is involved with the drug trade. And the bullets that busted up the grill and engine block are used with a very specific type of weapon his brother’s people have been known to use. From what we’ve gathered, the rescue went sour when the vehicle suddenly caught fire. A freak accident, it looks like. The bodies are mostly burned beyond recognition so we’re testing DNA to cross all our t’s and dot all our i’s. But the dental records for both men line up with what we have so the DNA is a formality at this point.”
“What about the guys who tried to help him escape?”
“They managed to evade the local cops. It happened in a desolate area where law enforcement is stretched thin.” Erica gritted her teeth, clearly annoyed with that.
“So… What does this mean for me?” A roller coaster of emotions swept through her. She wiped damp palms on her dress as her body went clammy. Could he really be dead after all this time? She was almost too afraid to hope for it.
“It could mean any number of things. If you want to go back to being Ana Diaz—only once it’s confirmed that Coventry is truly dead—there’s a slim chance you can. Or you can remain Autumn Perez. We still don’t know if his family was involved in putting that hit out on you ten years ago. Personally I don’t think he was smart enough to have done it himself—I hate that I could never prove it, but I think his father was behind it. He had the money and the connections. All that said, I think you should stay in the program.”
Autumn nodded slowly as another band around her chest snapped free. Even if Rand’s father had been involved, Rand himself had always been a threat in her mind. It felt kind of morbid to be glad that the threat was gone, but she couldn’t control her internal reaction.
Next to her, Shadow whined softly so she reached out and petted her head, stroking her soft fur. “Ana Diaz died a long time ago.” She’d made peace with that fact years ago, she’d had to in order to survive. She wasn’t that woman anymore. “I like where I live. And… I’m pregnant.” With a man who made her feel far too many things, made her want too many things.
Erica’s eyes widened in true surprise, probably the first time Autumn had ever surprised her.
She gave her handler a ghost of a smile. “Yeah, that’s about how I felt when I found out too. The father and I are…friends. I’m not leaving. I didn’t tell Derek because frankly it’s none of his business, but that’s why you need to understand that no matter what happens, I will never leave here. The father’s whole family is here, and I would never ask him to join WITSEC.” And she didn’t want that life for her child either.
A long pause stretched between them before Erica let out a low whistle. “Okay then. Noted. Look, nothing’s really changed. Not on your end, anyway. And if you’re not leaving the program, then just keep living your life the way you always have. With the exception of the one mistake you made, you’ve been an absolute model participant. I wish everyone treated the program like you did.”
Autumn wished that people didn’t have to go in the program at all, but that wasn’t how life worked. “When will you know if it was him? I mean, I’m not leaving the program anyway but… I still want to know.”
“Forty-eight hours maybe. It’s in the lab, but it’s not a priority given how old his case is. I’ll let you know as soon as I do. You’ll be my first phone call, I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, I’ve got this for you.” She slid an envelope across the countertop.
Autumn recognized Hector’s bold handwriting and smiled. They’d kept in touch over the years, through Erica and the US Marshals. They were allowed to actually mail each other letters, but the marshals acted as a go-between—and they read every single correspondence. Hector was the only person she’d stayed in touch with after everything. In a way it sucked, because she couldn’t be fully honest about her life, couldn’t give too many details just in case. But he kept her apprised of her old neighborhood, of how his studio was doing, his life in general, and it helped her stay tethered to that other world. She was glad for it, even if she wasn’t Ana anymore. That was the first chapter of her life, or at least that was how she looked at it. And she liked holding on to the connection to that chapter even if it was closed.
Autumn stepped out onto the porch with Erica, a mix of emotions pummeling her as she watched the other woman leave. The bright lights of Lincoln’s truck flashed as he pulled into his driveway.
Making a split-second decision, she crossed her yard to meet him.
She was going to tell him the truth. Tell him about her past. It was pretty doubtful that Rand Coventry had managed to fake his own death—why wait so long? And even if he had, she was staying here, and she wanted Lincoln to know the truth about her. All of her. Hopefully it would also explain why she couldn’t be with him.
He pulled into his garage but instead of closing it, he strode out, his expression exhausted. “Hey, Autumn.”
“How are you?” she asked.
“Tired,” he said with a wan smile. “But Joe is going to be okay. He was damn lucky he’s got a big brother who was so damn worried about him. If we’d been even a little later getting that search party set up…” He shook his head.
As she watched him, she thought about what a truly good man he was, inside and out. For a moment, she wondered if she should tell him any of this, but…he deserved to know. “Do you have a few minutes to talk about something important? Well, maybe more than a few minutes? If you’re too tired, we can talk tomorrow though.” Yeah, she probably should have waited.
“Yeah. Let me take off my duty belt and change. I can be over in a few minutes?”
She nodded. “I’ll leave the front door unlocked. I was about to heat up some leftover Chinese food. Are you hungry?”
“Nah. I grabbed dinner from Momma’s Kitchen.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few.” Her heart raced as she tried to think of the best way to tell him.
She’d dropped a whole lot on him in the span of only a couple days. She had to give Lincoln credit, he was taking the whole pregnancy thing in stride, and in a way that she didn’t think most men would. She’d had a friend back in college who’d gotten pregnant and the father had completely wiped his hands of all responsibility, saying that he would pay child support but the kid wasn’t his problem. She didn’t understand attitudes like that, but unfortunately they were all too common. Which was why she’d been prepping for Lincoln to want nothing to do with her after her news.
He took longer than she’d expected, which ended up being a good thing because she had time to eat. And she’d discovered that she needed to eat fairly regularly or she got nauseous. Supposedly it was normal for the first trimester, and she was grateful that she hadn’t had any morning sickness yet. But she also knew that she wasn’t out of the woods.
As she was washing her dish, she heard the front door open and Lincoln call out. “It’s just me!”
Shadow perked up, her tail wagging as she looked up at Autumn.
Autumn shook her head down at the adorable collie. “I really think you’re part cat. What if that had been a robber?” she murmured, only to be licked on her calf before Shadow went down on her front paws and lolled her head to the side, watching her.
As Lincoln strode into the room, she dried her hands on the dishtowel and tried not to stare at him too hard. He was just so damn gorgeous. His hair was damp and he had on jeans and a T-shirt that molded to a hard chest and abs, leaving little to her imagination—and she didn�
�t have to imagine, since she’d kissed every inch of that chest. Ugh. Maybe part of being pregnant also meant being super horny. Every time she saw Lincoln, she wanted a repeat of what had led to said pregnancy.
“Sorry I took a little longer,” he said as he crouched down to greet Shadow.
For her part, Shadow jumped on him, licking his face excitedly. Shameless.
“No problem. I know you’ve had a long day so I appreciate you coming over. I have something big to tell you and there’s really no easy way to do it.” She motioned to the island countertop.
“You can tell me anything,” he said quietly as he sat across from her, watching her in that intense way of his that guaranteed she got all his focus.
It was kind of unnerving because she knew he was really, truly listening. “You want anything to drink?”
He shook his head, all his focus on her.
She shoved out a breath. Maybe it was a mistake to tell him, but screw it; she didn’t care what the marshals thought. She wasn’t going to tell Erica what she was doing anyway. She wasn’t a young woman alone in a new city who was scared of starting over and panicking by telling a fool she’d thought she loved. She was telling a man she trusted, the father of her child.
“When I was twenty-two, I saw a man named Rand Coventry dumping the dead body of a woman behind an art studio I worked at.”
His eyes widened in surprise but he remained quiet, letting her talk.
She was glad he was so patient as she tried to work through everything, to get it all out at once so she wouldn’t have to talk about this again. “I won’t go into all the details now but I was a witness to the dumping of her murdered body, and I managed to get some pictures of him. Though I wasn’t trying to get evidence or anything, I was terrified. I was taking the pictures in order to blind him with my flash so I could get away.
