Protecting Their Baby

by Sheri WhiteFeather

  “Oh, no,” she said. “My phone is starting to beep. It’s going to go dead.”

  “Call me back on your mom’s cell.” He didn’t want to lose the connection, not just yet.

  “I can’t. She didn’t bring her phone. I’ll see you at home.”

  Home. She’d said it, too. But it was her home. It made sense coming from her.

  They hung up, and he gave himself about thirty minutes to clear his head before he left his condo and got in his car. But he didn’t leave the parking lot. He sat there for another minute or two. Anxious, he considered calling Lisa at her house, but he refrained.

  Besides, she might not even be there yet. She hadn’t told him where they’d gone to look at baby goods. At this hour, they could’ve hit traffic.

  Finally, he started his engine and took off.

  Halfway there, his phone rang. Foolishly, he hoped it was Lisa. It wasn’t. He checked the screen. The caller was Special Agent West, who was back in Virginia where he and his wife lived.

  Rex pushed the hands-free button. “Ian?” He assumed the other man had come across some information. “What’s up?”

  “It’s Olivia. She just got this strange feeling, and I wanted to check on you and Lisa. Is everything all right?”

  “Strange in what way?” Was Olivia sensing the discord in his emotions? Was this a personal call?

  “Did you and Lisa visit the bombing victims’ graves?”

  His heart slammed his rib cage. “Yes. Why?”

  “That’s part of the feeling Olivia got. She thinks that Tim and Maggie saw you at one of the cemeteries. That they followed you. Is that possible? Could they have been nearby and gone unnoticed?”

  “There was a burial the second day. Lots of cars. Lots of people. It didn’t even dawn on me that…” The heart slamming continued. “What else is Olivia feeling?”

  “That they’re angry that you brought gifts to the victims. She thinks today might be the day.”

  “For them to act on the threats? Oh, God. I have to go. I have to call Lisa. She’s on her way home.”

  “Tell her to stay there. No, wait.” A woman’s voice sounded in the background. “Olivia said for her not to stay there. If something happens, it’s going to be at Lisa’s house. Did you hear me? Don’t let her stay there.”

  “Yes, I heard you.”

  Edgy, Rex ended the call and dialed Lisa’s landline. Her voice mail answered. He left a frantic message. His mind was spinning like a disoriented top. He was speeding, too, changing lanes, trying to fight the traffic and make it to Lisa’s house in time.

  In time for what?

  What did Tim and Maggie have planned? What were they going to do?

  He called Detective Bell and got his voice mail, too. Where the hell was everyone? He left a message for the cop, telling him that he’d gotten a tip that something was going to happen at Lisa’s house. He didn’t mention that it had been a psychic tip. He doubted that Bell would have taken him seriously. Bell was the practical sort.

  Maybe Olivia was wrong. Maybe this wasn’t the day.

  Lord, he hoped not. He’d never been so ill-prepared. All this time he’d been staying close to Lisa, and now she’d fallen out of his grasp. He called her landline again and got the voice mail. He left a second message.

  Was she there? Were she and her mom having a snack on the porch and unable to hear the phone?

  He finally made it to Lisa’s neighborhood and when he attempted to turn onto her street, he was unable to proceed. Two cars had collided and were blocking his path. There wasn’t enough room to get around them. It looked like a fender bender to him, but the drivers, two grumpy old women, weren’t budging. They were arguing in the road.

  He rolled down his window and yelled at them. “Move your cars!”

  The older of the two rounded on him. “We’re waiting for the police to arrive to take a report.”

  He didn’t tell them that he’d called the cops, too. “You can still move out of the way.”

  “Not a chance,” she said. “I want them to see how the accident occurred. That she hit me when I was trying to turn into my driveway.”

  He didn’t need this. Not now. He was tempted to push them out of the way, but he pulled over and jammed his car into Park, leaving it at the curb.

  The women looked at him as if he were mad.

  He was. He started running toward Lisa’s house, and not knowing what to expect put him in a panic, fear-drenched adrenaline slamming through his veins.

  Lisa’s house came into view and he saw her mom’s car parked in the driveway.

  He never made it to the door. The unexpected hit first.

  The front of the house exploded in a sudden and violent burst. The pressure propelled him backward, even as he tried so desperately to keep running, to reach them, to save them.

  Debris flew toward him, and he landed on the ground in a shower of glass and wood.

  Tears rushed his eyes. He could hear chaos all around him. People running out of their houses. Voices screaming.

  He looked up through the haze. The back portion of the house was still standing, and although the car in the driveway was covered in debris, it hadn’t exploded.

  Were they still alive? Rex climbed to his feet and ran toward the ruins, mindless of his injuries.

  He tore through the wreckage, calling their names, but no one answered. He couldn’t find Lisa or her mother.

  Sirens shrilled in the background. Help was on its way, but Rex wasn’t going to stop searching. There was a lot of rubble, a lot places they could be.

  Dead or alive.

  Time passed, but he had no concept of it. Was it seconds? Minutes? He stumbled over what appeared to be one of Lisa’s shoes. A red high heel. He picked it up and held it achingly against his chest.

  A masculine voice sounded behind him. “Son, I think you should come with me. What if there’s another bomb set to go off?”

  Rex spun around. He didn’t recognize the man. He was short and round with graying hair. He didn’t behave like a plain-clothes cop, and he wasn’t wearing an ATF vest or fireman gear. He was probably someone who lived nearby and saw Rex run into the shattered building.

  “I don’t care if there’s another bomb.” Rex couldn’t think beyond Lisa’s survival. “I need to find the woman who lives here. Her and her mother.”

  “Lisa and Rita Gordon are safe. They were at my house when the bomb went off. My wife invited them over to pick lemons. We have a tree that—”

  Rex didn’t listen to the rest. “Where are they now?”

  “Outside. Lisa’s hysterical. Especially when I told her that a young man was here. She wanted to come after you, but her mother wouldn’t let her.” The neighbor looked around, anxious for the authorities to arrive. He didn’t like playing the hero. “Can we go now?”

  Hell, yes.

  They left the wreckage and dashed into the sun. Rex scanned the crowd that had gathered.

  “I don’t see her.” His heart was pounding so hard it sounded like a drum in his ears.

  “Over there.” The man pointed.

  Rex turned, and Lisa broke free of her mom’s hold and ran toward him. He ran, too, until they were locked in a tight embrace.

  A throng of emergency vehicles arrived. Cops controlled the crowd, and a bomb squad headed for the house. Rex and Lisa ignored everyone but each other.

  He spoke first. “I was so afraid you were…”

  She gazed up at him. Watery streaks lined her pretty face. She was shaking in his arms. “Look at you. You’re hurt.”

  “It’s nothing.” Cuts and bruises, tiny shards of glass under his skin, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was keeping her close, keeping her safe.

  “They destroyed my house.” She kept shaking. “Did they even care who they might’ve killed?”

  He told her about Ian’s call. “Olivia said they were angry because they knew we went to the grave sites. I guess it didn’t matter to them if you were in
the house nor not. Either way, they made their point.”

  “What about next time?”

  “There isn’t going to be another time.” He reminded her about the hidden cameras. The units closest to the house would be gone, but not the one from across the street. “Whoever set the bomb will be on tape. The police will have the evidence they need to arrest them.”

  She put her head on his shoulder. “Almost everything I own is gone. What am I going to do?”

  “Move in with me,” he responded instantly.

  Lisa lifted her head. “It would be better for me to go to my parents’ house.”

  “No, it wouldn’t. You belong with me. I’ll take care of you. We can get married.”

  She went still, frozen like a statue, staring at him as if he were crazy. Maybe he was. He hadn’t expected to propose. Not now. Not ever. But he’d said the words, and he didn’t want to take them back.

  “You don’t really mean it,” she said. “You’re reacting out of fear. You’ll regret it later.”

  “Why would I regret it? You’re having my baby. People who have kids should be married.”

  “People in love should be married.” She stepped back, hugging herself instead of letting him embrace her.

  “We can still have a good life together.”

  She disagreed. “That makes no sense.”

  Yes, it did. Didn’t it? By now, he was confused and his injuries were starting to hurt. He didn’t know anything about being in love, but neither did she. He wanted to pour some sense into her. Having a baby should be enough.

  Fresh tears collected in her makeup-smeared eyes. “I think I should go to my parents’ house now.”

  “The police are going to want to interview us.”

  “Then afterward.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “No, Rex. You should get some medical attention, then go to your own house. This is too much for us right now.”

  “Don’t shut me out.” What in God’s name was he going to do without her, without the baby?

  “We can talk later. I can call you tonight.”

  He couldn’t believe this was happening. Her house blew up, right along with their relationship. “How am I supposed to protect you if we’re not together?”

  “You just said that Tim and Maggie will get caught.”

  “They will, but you still need me to keep you safe.”

  “I’ll stay close to my parents. Besides, you’ve got cameras at their house, too.”

  Her logic wasn’t working for him, but none of this was working. If she hadn’t been at a neighbor’s house, she would have been inside with the bomb. Rex hadn’t saved her. It had been fate or luck. Or lemons, he thought, recalling what she’d been doing when her house exploded.

  Detective Bell spotted them and came over, ending their conversation. The detective took one look at Rex and motioned for an EMT.

  “You look like hell, Sixkiller.”

  “Feel like it, too.” His heart had just been crushed. A heart that wasn’t in love. Now he was totally confused.

  “That was some tip.”

  “Yeah, and it took you long enough to get here.” Rex took his frustration out on the other man, especially when a no-nonsense female EMT started poking and prodding at him, treating him like the annoyed, rejected guy that he was. “Why’d you wait until the bomb went off?” he accused Bell.

  “You didn’t say it was going to be a bomb.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  Bell looked at Lisa. “You okay?”

  She nodded, but she still had tears in her eyes. “Can we make the interview quick? I need to get out of here.”

  “Sure.” Bell seemed to sense that Lisa didn’t want Rex around. He more or less told Rex to get lost, nudging him toward the EMT’s vehicle. “Go get patched up, and I’ll talk to you when you’re done.”

  Rex didn’t like that the detective was giving him orders. But staying near Lisa wasn’t helping.

  When this rotten day ended, he was going to call his mom, tell her about Lisa and the baby and ask her what he should do. Maybe his dad might even have some advice. He would take whatever wisdom they doled out, which was saying a lot, considering their crummy marriage.

  Regardless, they knew more than he did. They were still together after almost forty years.

  He gazed back at Lisa. Her mom was by her side now, but Lisa hadn’t stopped hugging herself. She stole a glance in his direction, and they stared at each other from across the chaos.

  Lost in a breakup he didn’t understand.

  Chapter 15

  Lisa sat on her parents’ stoop. She missed her porch. She missed her house. She missed Rex.

  Hours had passed, but she still hadn’t called him. She was nervous to hear his voice, afraid that she would cave in and agree to marry him.

  If only he’d said that he loved her. If only he did love her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said to the baby, apologizing for not giving her a full-time father.

  She glanced back at the house where her parents were. She’d told them that Rex had proposed. Her dad thought she should’ve accepted and her mom understood why she hadn’t.

  The difference between men and women, she supposed.

  Realizing she couldn’t avoid Rex forever, she reached for her cell and speed dialed his number.

  Her heart thudded with each ring.

  He answered. “Lisa?”

  “Yes, it’s me. How are you?”

  “I’m all right, I guess.”

  He didn’t sound all right, but she let it pass. She wasn’t doing well, either. “Where are you?”

  “At the station with Bell. We viewed the camera footage. Tim was on the tape, leaving a package on your porch. He tried to disguise his appearance with a baseball hat and sunglasses, but it was him. Maggie was in the background, with her hair pulled back and wearing sunglasses, too.”

  “So the explosive was in the package?”

  “Yes. A pipe bomb with a timer. The bomb squad confirmed it.”

  “What’s happening with my house?”

  “When I left, the media was swarming around. It’s already been on the news.”

  “I haven’t been watching TV. Some reporters came here earlier, but my dad shooed them away. They haven’t come back.”

  “That’s good. Bell released Tim and Maggie’s names to the press. There’s also an ATL on them. An Attempt to Locate.” He paused. “I wish I could see you, Lisa.”

  She did, too. She itched to touch him, to soothe his bruises, but inviting him over would be a mistake. “I still need some time.”

  “I know. It’s been an awful day. I wish I could make it better for you.”

  “You tried.” By offering to marry her, she thought. He’d done what he’d thought was right. If only she could get past needing him to love her.

  “If you want, you can call me tomorrow. We can go over to the house, and I can help you salvage anything that’s left.”

  “Thank you.” She’d already contacted her insurance company and they were sending out an agent to assess the damage. “You’re my best friend, Rex.”

  “And you’re mine.”

  A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between them, and she battled the ache in her heart.

  He cut into the painful quiet. “I guess I should go. After I leave the station, I’m going to call my parents.”

  “Are you going to tell them about the baby?”

  “Yes, but I’m going to tell them all about you, too.”

  The woman who wouldn’t marry him. What would his family think? “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay.” He released a rough breath. “Take care of yourself.”

  “I will.” They said goodbye and hung up, leaving her with a lump in her throat.

  Soon Lisa’s mom came onto the porch, and they gazed at each other. Lisa was trying not to cry.

  “Are you hungry?” Mom asked sympathetically. “I made meat loaf.” />
  “Not right now. Maybe later.”

  “What about cookies and milk? Peanut butter with chocolate chunks?”

  Lisa tried to smile. On any other day sweets might have cheered her up. “I’ll take a rain check on those, too.”

  “Better get them before your dad does. They’re his favorite.”

  “I’ll come inside in a while. Maybe an hour or so. For now, I need to be by myself.”

  “Don’t forget the little one needs to eat, too.”

  Lisa clutched her tummy. Earlier she and her mom had been shopping for crib sets, and now she was without a home, without a nursery and without Rex.

  Was she crazy turning him down?

  “I’ll eat later, Mom. I promise.”

  “All right.” The older woman reluctantly returned to the house, leaving Lisa alone.

  About thirty minutes later, she heard a noise along the side of the house. Assuming it was Missy, her parents’ pesky tabby that always seemed to go missing—hence the name—she got up to collect the cat.

  And ran straight into Maggie.

  “Don’t scream,” the woman hissed. “Don’t you dare scream.”

  Lisa locked her knees to keep them from buckling. Fear shuddered through her. Why hadn’t she heard their car? Or seen it? Were they parked around the corner? Had they slithered onto the property like snakes?

  “Where’s Tim?” she asked, barely recognizing the sound of her own chill-laced voice.

  “He’s over there.” Maggie pointed to a shadow beside the front door. “He’s waiting to see if your parents come outside.”

  If she screamed, would Tim do something to her mom and dad? Another blast of fear shot through her. “I’ll be quiet.”

  “You better.” Maggie seemed so different, so unlike the woman who’d taught Lisa to garden. There was nothing familiar about her. She could have been a robot of her former self, only her former self had been a lie. Nothing she’d ever said or done had been real. “We underestimated your lover. He wasn’t supposed to figure out our connection to your past.”

  “The police are looking for you,” Lisa said, hoping to use it as leverage, to catch Maggie off guard.

  But her ploy didn’t work.

  The other woman responded, “We’re aware of the bulletin. We saw a report on the news. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.”