Meow Or Never: BBW SEAL Shifter Surprise Pregnancy Romance (Chicago Catastrophe)

by Anya Nowlan

  They’ll get over it.

  Troy and Rogers shared a look before both clamping a large hand over their victims’ mouth. Marie’s eyes flew open immediately, alarm spreading across her face when she realized what was going on.

  Her husband, a thin, lanky man with bushy eyebrows, took a bit longer to wake up, as he shook his head and mumbled against Rogers’ hand. But he shot up as soon as his eyes opened enough to see Rogers standing over him.

  Pushing the man back down, Rogers gave Mr. Solomon a warning growl, stilling him almost immediately.

  “We’re not going to hurt you,” Hailey whispered urgently, looking from Marie to her husband.

  Marie’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her, probably trying to place where she’d seen her before. She didn’t seem particularly convinced by Hailey’s words. The D.A. was taking this far better than her husband was, though, unflappable even in a dire circumstance. She was impressive, to say the least.

  “Don’t scream and we won’t hurt you,” Troy amended, an edge to his voice.

  He looked downright scary, a sharp coldness in his voice she hadn’t heard before and his eyes burning with something dangerous and barely-contained. Hailey felt uneasy, seeing this side of him, but she understood why the threatening demeanor was necessary. They needed to get control over the situation before they could have a calm discussion with Marie.

  She could easily see why The Firm trusted him with missions as difficult as infiltrating the Claws, now. He was not only physically capable, but deadly sharp and dangerous to boot when he switched into work-mode.

  And damn sexy, too, her treacherous mind rushed to add.

  “Be quiet or my friend will snap your wife’s neck,” Rogers warned before removing his hand from the husband’s mouth.

  That was taking it a bit too far, but since this was Hailey’s first misdemeanor, she decided to keep her mouth shut and let the professional take the lead.

  Rogers got out some rope from the pack on his belt and tied the man’s hands to the bedpost. With her hands trembling, Hailey got out the duct tape from the pocket of her black sweatshirt and ripped off a piece, handing it to Rogers. He placed it over the husband’s mouth and stood back with a satisfied look, as if admiring his handiwork.

  “Will you cooperate? We just want to talk,” Troy asked Marie as Rogers fussed with her husband.

  The woman glanced at her trussed up husband and nodded. She looked more angry than scared, and both of those emotions were overshadowed by surprise when her gaze finally fixed on Rogers long enough for her to recognize him.

  “You?” she asked as Troy let go of her.

  Her husband looked confused, glancing from one strange face to another.

  “As you can see, we have a lot to discuss,” Hailey said, standing up straight.

  Twenty-Eight

  Hailey

  Hailey, Troy, Rogers and Marie sat at Marie’s kitchen table, eyeing each other with curiosity and suspicion. A low rumble emanated from Troy’s chest as he kept close watch over Marie’s every move.

  Marie’s husband was still tied up upstairs. Hailey could only imagine what was going through the man’s head. He must be worried sick, having his wife led downstairs by a group of intruders.

  She knew they weren’t going to harm Marie, but he couldn’t possibly know that.

  “So, Rogers, I’m guessing you didn’t escape the hospital to go back to the Crimson Claws as I first thought,” Marie said, folding her hands in front of her.

  Ripped out of her sleep by intruders and clad in only a nightgown and some slippers, she still managed to look authoritative and calm. Her face was very thin, with small, sharp features, surrounded by a halo of straight blond hair.

  Rogers gave her a mirthless chuckle.

  “I was attacked in my room and the guys you got to protect me didn’t do shit about it. This guy saved my life, so I went with him. He seemed a better option at that point. I’m sure you understand.”

  “And why are you here instead of hiding out in whatever hole you could crawl into?” Marie asked, leveling Rogers with her gaze.

  Mouthing off to the man that broke into your house in the middle of the night. Bold move, Hailey thought.

  “I still want the deal you offered me. You promised you could keep my family safe. I’m ready to tell you everything I know, but you have to hide me better this time,” Rogers replied, unaffected by the disdain evident in Marie’s voice when she talked to him.

  “And you thought breaking into my house was the best way to accomplish your goals?” Marie scoffed.

  “Okay, can we get down to business here?” Hailey interjected, getting impatient.

  Her whole life was riding on this, Marie and Rogers could bicker amongst themselves later.

  “We all know your deal with Rogers is still on. You wouldn’t have put so much effort into getting him on your side if you had a case without him,” she continued, as Marie pursed her lips and considered her curiously.

  “I know you,” she commented tapping her nails on the table, all but admitting what Hailey said was right on the money.

  “Hailey Molloy, I work for Forrest & Williams. I can help you take down the Crimson Claws.”

  Troy was being uncharacteristically quiet as he watched the women size each other up.

  “I’ve heard of you. You’re supposed to be pretty good. What are you doing associating with criminals, if I may ask?” Marie inquired, looking down her nose at Hailey.

  Hailey took a deep breath before rattling off the summary of her situation.

  “I’ll keep this short. The Claws forced me to work for them, I investigated them, they want me dead. I’ll give you what I have in exchange for protection.”

  Marie sat back in her chair at that, looking at all of her uninvited guests in turn.

  “And who’s he?” she asked, pointing her chin at Troy.

  “None of your business,” Hailey answered quickly, hoping Troy would remain quiet.

  He did not, of course.

  “I’m the one that will come back here and rip out your throat if you double-cross us,” he said flatly, his expression unchanging from the stormy annoyance that had played across his features since they’d gotten Marie out of bed.

  Hailey sighed. The less Troy was involved, the better. He already had an exit strategy and Hailey didn’t want to mess that up. Marie definitely didn’t need to know he had been a lieutenant for the Claws, or she might demand his testimony as well.

  “Let’s talk about what you have first, before I can make any promises.”

  Hailey explained the connections she had made, what case files she had been able to tie together and how her and Rogers’ statements combined could not only prove the existence of a criminal enterprise, but send many of the people involved in it behind bars.

  The Claws had been very good about splitting up their business so far, making it look to the authorities – the ones they didn’t control, anyway – like there were several gangs moving around, not being controlled by anyone. Hailey could show that this wasn’t true.

  Marie listened quietly, her expression not giving anything away. When Hailey finished, she still wasn’t sure if the woman was pleased with what she offered or bored by her whole story.

  What if she already knows everything I do?

  “Interesting,” Marie finally uttered. “And I presume you have documentation to back up everything you just said?”

  “Of course. I don’t have it with me right this very moment, but…” Hailey answered.

  Marie’s cold laugh interrupted her train of thought.

  “So you’ve come to me with stories and little else?”

  Hailey could hear Troy growling beside her. If Marie didn’t take it down a notch, she wasn’t sure what he might do. His patience had been running thin since seeing Morrison get wounded as badly as he did.

  “I have the proof and I can get it to you, but I’m not going to just hand it over with blind trust. I need your writte
n guarantee you’ll get me and my parents into witness protection.”

  Hailey crossed her arms, mirroring Marie, hoping she looked more confident than she felt. Snake and Troy would be able to hear how fast her heart was beating, but fortunately Marie had no such abilities. With everything riding on what the D.A. said next, Hailey could feel her stomach grow hollow.

  If things didn’t work out as planned, she didn’t know what she was going to do. Go on the run and force her poor parents to do the same? That definitely didn’t sound particularly appealing.

  “Fine. I’ll have my people draw up the paperwork. You give me everything you’ve promised and I’ll get you and your family relocated with new identities,” the woman conceded finally, bouncing a fuzzy slipper on her toes.

  “And me?” Rogers piped up.

  “Relax, you still have your deal,” Marie confirmed with a dismissive wave. “Now can you people please leave my house so I can untie my husband and go back to sleep?”

  Marie stood up, giving them all a stern look like they were guests who had outstayed their welcome. One thing was certain, she was definitely a hard nut to crack. Chicago was lucky to have someone like Marie Solomon on their side.

  “I’ll be back with the files. Have the paperwork ready,” was all Hailey said in response as the three of them stood from the table and turned to leave.

  “Not so fast, Rogers, you’re staying with me,” Marie called out to the massive man.

  “And why exactly is that?” Troy demanded, looking about ready to follow up on his earlier promise.

  “The Crimson Claws are after both you and Molloy. If you’re together when they catch you, my case is dead with you,” she explained with a graceful roll of her shoulders.

  The woman was nothing but pragmatic.

  Troy’s lips pulled back, revealing his teeth in a snarl. Hailey bumped her elbow against his, a not so subtle hint for him to dial it down. He rolled his eyes at her, but conjured up a slightly less deadly expression nonetheless.

  Hailey got the feeling his idea of negotiating involved a lot less talking than hers.

  “Easy,” she whispered to Troy.

  “I can have officers here in five minutes. Now that we know his life is in definitely danger, we’ll take better precautions, I promise,” Marie explained, seeing Hailey and Troy weren’t exactly enthused.

  Getting the impression arguing with the woman wasn’t going to do much good, Hailey threw Snake a questioning look. Since he was the one that had almost gotten killed under Marie’s watch, it was up to him if he was going to stay or nor.

  “Fine by me,” Rogers said, plopping back down on his chair. “I hope you have better food than the canned shit he had,” he said, pointing a finger at Troy.

  Hailey grabbed hold of Troy’s arm and tugged him in the direction of the exit before he could snap back a reply. She was feeling both apprehensive and hopeful, but there was a glimmer of light on the horizon and she didn’t want anything to happen to it if she could help it.

  “I’ll see you soon,” she said to Marie as she led the man out the backdoor they’d entered through.

  “I don’t particularly like her,” Troy muttered as they stepped into the cool night air.

  “I gathered as much from all the growling.”

  “Do you think she’ll keep her promise?” he asked as they walked to the truck, hand in hand, unconcerned by who might see them now.

  “This is a career-making case for her and without me, all she has is the testimony of a career criminal. Trust me, she’ll keep her promise.”

  “So, where have you stashed this proof of yours? We need to go get it,” he said, some of the tenseness leaving his body.

  Right. The files.

  “There’s just a tiny little problem with that,” Hailey admitted, scrunching up her face.

  Troy’s placed a hand on his hip, already unhappy.

  “It’s at my apartment.”

  Troy groaned, eyes turning towards the sky.

  Yep. This is bound to get interesting.

  Twenty-Nine

  Troy

  Troy slammed the door behind him with more force than he had intended.

  “We can’t go back to your place, that’s the first place River would have put under surveillance after you dropped off the map,” he argued as Hailey sat down on the couch in the safehouse.

  They’d been going through the same argument throughout the entire drive and he was nowhere close to being done with it. She was being stubborn and willful and while it made him want to toss her over his shoulder and carry her to the bedroom, it was also equally as enraging.

  Did she not understand what kind of danger she’d be putting herself into if she went anywhere close to her apartment? There was no way River didn’t have a million guards around that place, with Culliver being the first guy there.

  “Or,” Hailey countered, holding up a finger, “he figured I wouldn’t be stupid enough to return to my apartment with assassins on my tail and didn’t bother.”

  “No, it’s too dangerous, there was to be another way.”

  Troy paced around the living room, desperately trying to come up with an alternative plan. One that didn’t place Hailey in harm’s way, yet again. He briefly considered going on his own, but he knew Hailey wouldn’t go for it and he wasn’t keen on splitting up, anyway. Nothing good had happened when he’d left her behind before.

  He didn’t want a repeat of the Morrison situation.

  “You know we don’t have a choice. We’re almost home free, we can’t give up now.”

  Hailey moved to his side, giving him puppy-dog eyes as she grabbed hold of his arm and forced him to stand still and look at her.

  “We can at least scope the place out. You can smell if there are shifters around. We won’t go inside unless you give the okay.”

  “I can’t believe I’m even considering this,” Troy muttered under his breath.

  She could make me walk into fire and think it’s a good idea.

  “You said it yourself, we can’t keep running. We can do this, I know we can,” Hailey assured him, slipping her hands around his waist and giving him a squeeze.

  Feeling her body against his was so nice. Almost automatically, his arms went around her gently.

  They could be a family, somewhere far away from Chicago. No more hiding, no more danger. Just the two of them, raising their child and enjoying their life together.

  Troy’s lion purred at the mere thought.

  It was the life he hadn’t even known he wanted, and now he was desperate to have it all, white picket fence included. Hailey deserved a future where she didn’t have to look over her shoulder all the time and their child deserved to grow up in a stable environment. Hell, maybe even he deserved some of that.

  Sure, there were risks involved in retrieving her research, but the rewards were far too tempting. And ultimately, it was Hailey’s decision. It was her plan, he just had to make sure it went off without a hitch.

  “We’ll go tomorrow night. But any hint of something being off and we’re out of there.”

  Hailey hugged him tight and let out a little squeal.

  “We’re so close,” she whispered excitedly, her brown eyes glimmering up at him.

  Her seductive scent swirled all around him. With Rogers no longer around, there was nothing to stop them from getting lost in each other, leaving thoughts of peril and an uncertain future behind them.

  If we die tomorrow, we might as well enjoy tonight.

  Troy took Hailey’s face in his hands and stared into the eyes of the woman he would do absolutely anything for. Hailey covered his hands with hers and smiled up at him, warm eyes filled with emotion.

  Troy brought his mouth down on hers, feeling at ease as soon as he tasted Hailey’s lips. The world could go to hell around them, but as long as they were together, he was happy.

  Her body melded against his, her hands moving to lock behind his neck. Supple breasts pressed against Troy’s chest,
and he slid his hands up Hailey’s sides to brush over them, eliciting a small gasp from her.

  His tongue darted into her mouth as he gripped her tighter, the urge to claim her rising inside him. Lifting her up off the ground, he set his sights for the bedroom. Hailey smiled against his lips, her heartbeat accelerating.

  “I like where this is going,” she murmured.

  Troy and Hailey spent most of the following day lying in bed, talking about their plans for the future.

  He loved every minute of it.

  How had he managed to live so long without her by his side? It seemed an impossible notion now.

  “How can you be so sure it’s a boy?” she asked as Troy pressed his ear against her stomach, listening for the heartbeat.

  “I’m an Alpha and this is my firstborn. That’s just the way things go,” he shrugged, pulling away to plant a ring of small kisses around her belly button.

  “That is so weird,” she commented, after she stopped giggling. “I definitely need to educate myself on shifter society.”

  “There’s plenty to learn. And we don’t have a Doctor Spock,” he chuckled.

  The day had sped past much faster than Troy would have liked. Before he even knew it, it was getting dark outside.

  He got up on one elbow reluctantly, looking at the dewy face of Hailey. She looked so happy. He hated to change that, but if they were committed to making it work, they had to go.

  “Guess we should get going soon,” he said with a resolute sigh.

  Hailey was out of bed and in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, in a flash. Troy groaned, plopping back.

  “Could you be any more enthusiastic about this? We could be walking straight into a trap.”

  She popped her head out, mouth foaming.

  “Cheer up, we’re almost at the finish line,” she mumbled around the toothbrush.

  Troy pushed down his anxiety. What Hailey had said last night did make sense. With Rogers’ escape, the Crimson Claws’ resources were split. They couldn’t afford to stake out every place connected to both Hailey and Rogers without their regular operations suffering greatly.