“Okay, thanks for your cooperation. If you think of anything else, give us a call.” Cole nodded absently, he had a feeling that the police wouldn’t have believed him if they hadn’t seen the damage to his car.
The officers turned to walk out of the room as Kane walked in, he didn’t say anything to the officers and rushed over to him. He sat on the bed and gently touched the side of Cole’s face and looked down at a sleeping Preston and leaned down kissing him on his forehead. Raising his head, he slid his hand to the back of Cole’s head and pressed their foreheads together.
“It feels so good to touch you,” he said to his husband. “I didn’t know what was happening, but all I could think was I wouldn’t get to see you again. Or watch our son grow up.” The tears and frustration he’d been holding back slipped down his cheeks.
“Sh . . . It’s okay.” Kane kissed him on his forehead then pressed their heads together again. “I’m right here with you and I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Good,” he said taking a deep breath. “I don’t want you to.”
They stayed like that until Cole felt calm. Kane reached down and took Preston out of his arms, giving him a chance to pull himself together. He put the baby in the bassinet beside his hospital bed and walked back over to Cole. It was then he noticed Lakeland was in the room with them.
“Is everything all right with my baby? I thought the other doctor checked him.”
“Not to worry, I just wanted to look him over. Preston is a special little guy and deserves special treatment.”
“Okay, good.”
Lakeland smiled and Cole would have also if he was in the mood. He was too concerned about what had just happened and prayed to the gods he was wrong in who it could be. Once Lakeland had put his seal of approval on Preston’s care, he left them alone.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
He nodded. “I was on my way to the store and saw this car was driving recklessly so I got in the other lane. The driver did the same and I increased my speed, he followed and the next thing I knew I was being hit in the back by the lunatic. Preston started crying and in trying to calm him down, I got hit again and heard the popping in my shoulder. I got off the first exit I saw and got to the police station.”
“Did you see who was driving or what the car looked like?”
“Black, the car had dark tinted windows. The kind you see in movies. I never got a chance to see who was driving. But . . .” He paused.
“But what?”
“I think it was Ryker.” He said what he was thinking since he finally had the chance to put things together.
“Fuck,” Kane cursed. “Did you tell the cops who you think it was?”
“Yeah, but I doubt they believe me. I get the feeling that they were not informed the FBI was looking for a murderer. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have believed that I was being chased until they saw my car.” Kane was nodding and Cole wished he knew what the other man was thinking. “Can you help me get dressed, I’m ready to go home.”
“Yeah,” he said absently and stood. He got Cole’s clothes and helped him get dressed because his other arm was in a sling. Cole would need to wear it for a few weeks but he was hoping for less. “We’ll figure it out,” Kane told him once he was dressed.
He sighed and rested his head on Kane’s chest, hoping that his husband was right and they would figure everything out because he wasn’t so sure things were going to be all right.
Later that night, Cole was sitting around the table with Kane sitting beside him, Julia and Preston Sr. across from them with his dads sitting at either end of the table. The guys that were working with Kane when he’d gotten Cole’s phone call saw him running to his truck and were concerned. Word spread like wildfire that something was wrong. His parents and in-laws stopped by the second they found out that they were home.
His dad had made dinner, and everyone was joking around, but Cole wasn’t in the mood to eat or be around anyone. It was obvious that his family was trying to be supportive, but that lingering fear that he’d brought trouble to their doorstep came back to haunt him.
He looked at Kane who was laughing at something, he seemed happy and it hurt Cole that he might have ruined that happiness. He got up and excused himself from the table, making his way upstairs. He opened his son’s bedroom and stood over his crib watching him sleep. He lightly caressed his son’s soft cheeks, happy that Preston was fine.
He loved every second he got to hold his son in his arms. In the beginning he’d wondered how he’d gotten pregnant since he knew Ryker wasn’t his forever one. But as time passed during his pregnancy, and now having his son, he cared less about how or why.
“Everything is going to be okay, I hope you know that.”
He didn’t look away from Preston when he heard his dad’s voice behind him.
“You can’t be sure of that.”
“I can tell what you’re thinking right now. That you should have left Black Meadow before you fell in love with Kane.”
He didn’t say anything because more than once that day he thought that he should have left and each time he felt the same tightening in his chest. He couldn’t leave his heart behind. He couldn’t leave Kane.
“I’ve thought about it a lot today, but I can’t leave.” He turned and looked at his dad. “I love Kane too much.”
“Good.” Denny walked over to where he was standing and looked down at Preston. “I’m glad I stopped you from leaving that night. Or I would have missed seeing you fall in love and seeing this little one grow up.”
“I’m glad you stopped me too.”
Three weeks later everything was back to normal, or what was normal for them. Kane was back to work and Cole was starting to feel somewhat safe again. They kept in touch with the police, but they weren’t able to find the driver or the car.
They also hadn’t heard from the FBI agents that came to see them a few weeks ago informing them about Ryker. Kane was still keeping his eyes open for anyone that looked suspicious. He loved seeing Cole smiling again. Needing to hear his husband’s voice, he pulled off his work gloves and grabbed his phone pressing the number one.
Cole answered on the third ring. “Hey, is everything all right?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to hear your voice.” Kane could imagine the bright smile on Cole’s face. “I have an idea.”
“What?”
“How about we go out on a date?”
“When?”
“Tonight, I’ll call my mom and ask her to watch Preston for an hour or two and you and I can have some fun.”
“Are you trying to get laid tonight?”
“Yes,” he answered shamelessly. Cole had been given a clean bill of health since having the baby, and if they were careful with his arm, sex was not out of the question.
Cole chuckled but Kane could tell he was thinking the idea over. “Okay, what time should I be ready?”
“How about six?”
“Sound’s good. I’ll see you later.”
“You got it.”
“Bye.”
He pocketed his phone, putting his gloves back on and looked at the fence he was fixing. He’d found a hole in the far end of it and had checked to make sure it wasn’t cut but he couldn’t be sure. He’d also gotten a head count on his livestock and all was accounted for. Fixing the fence was going to take him a couple of hours but it would still give him enough time to be ready for his date. Whistling a tune that had been stuck in his head all day, he got to work. He smirked at the thought that came to his mind about what he wanted to do to his husband later that night.
Work hard now, reward later.
Cole smiled happily as he hung his phone up and looked down at Preston. “Your dad and I are going on a date tonight, and you’re going to spend time with your grandma and grandpa,” he said to his son and was rewarded with a smile around the bottle in his mouth, but Preston went back to his meal. He was in love with his son and was fascinated with
everything his kid did, even if it was something simple as smiling.
After putting his son down for a nap, Cole decided that he wanted to have a surprise ready for the end of his and Kane’s date. He was making progress and was able to be away from Preston for short periods of time. His parents and in-laws told him that his separation anxiety from his son was normal for a new parent. After carrying Preston for nine months, it would take some time to adjust to being apart from his son. Picking his phone up, he knew his pop would be on a break around this time and dialed his number.
“Hey, kid, what’s up?”
“I need to go to the bakery for an hour or two, do you mind coming over and watching Preston for me?”
“I’ll be there in five minutes,” he said and hung up the phone.
Cole chuckled and shook his head. His fathers were just as in love with their grandson as he was.
Ten minutes later his father was pushing him out of the house telling him to go do what he needed to do. His shoulder was healing after he’d dislocated it weeks earlier. He didn’t need to wear the sling every day, but he was still limited to how much he could lift, though it didn’t stop him from baking or taking care of his son.
Walking into the bakery, the scent of fresh-baked muffins, cakes, and other pastries hit him. He looked through the window in the door and saw that the place was packed, and business was booming. Not wanting to disturb the workers, he got to work making Kane’s favorite dessert.
Getting the apron off the hook Cole was about to put it on and froze when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The fear that he had experienced weeks earlier spiked when he felt the short object pressed against his neck.
“Make one sound and I swear to all the gods you worship, I will kill you.”
Cole stopped breathing, he knew it was too good to be true, knew that he would never have that happy ending with Kane and their son like he wanted. He was roughly turned around by his hurt shoulder and pushed against the wall by his throat. He closed his eyes, refusing to see the man that was standing in front of him and was no doubt about to kill him.
“How dare you run from me? I told you that I would find you no matter where you run. And take my baby with you?” He snapped his eyes open at Ryker’s last statement. He saw hate and anger in the other man’s eyes that he’d never seen before. “What, you didn’t think I knew you were pregnant? Always the fool, Colton, you made it so easy for me to manipulate you back into my bed each and every time. I knew you were pregnant because I made it happen. I got pleasure seeing the sad expression on your face every time I insulted you about your weight.”
How? he mentally asked. Ryker must have seen the same thing written all over his face.
He gave Cole that cocky smile he remembered in the beginning of their relationship, the same one he used to think was sexy.
“You want to know how I did it, don’t you?” He chuckled, and Cole felt sick to his stomach. “I read somewhere in one of those trash magazines that an alpha can force their knot, and get an omega pregnant without being their mate. I imagined all those pretty omegas out there who’re looking for an alpha to rescue them and be their mates. Hell, I didn’t think it would work, but when I noticed the changes in your body, I knew the plan worked. Everything was going great and then you went and fucked up my damn plans.”
Oh gods, this isn’t happening. How come I didn’t notice the man was crazy as fuck?
“All you had to do was stick around a little longer and I would have had all the money I could ever want.”
“How did you find me?” he finally asked.
“The ingenuity of technology, here I was minding my own business and an advertisement popped up with your name and face of this beautiful establishment. I say though, sleeping with the boss and pretending that my kid was his . . . nice touch.” Ryker winked.
“It’s not what you think. I love Kane.”
“I don’t give a fuck if you do. All I want is the kid and I’ll leave you to live out your happily ever after.”
“You’re not taking my son away from me,” Cole yelled, but it came out less menacing and lower than he was hoping.
“I guess I can take you back with me, you’re not worth much unless I can knock you up again. But either way, I still need to hand the child over to Mister Silver and get my money’s worth. You made me waste money coming here and spending time watching your every move. It made me sick to see you throwing yourself at your boss the same way you threw yourself at me.”
Cole gasped in disbelief. Ryker was going to sell his child. He completely bypassed the earlier statement of forcing his knot in order to get him pregnant. What he zeroed in on was that the man wanted to sell his child for money. His fear dimmed and his anger rose to the top. Ryker was still talking as his fingers tightened around his neck but Cole wasn’t paying him any attention.
He looked to the side and noticed there was a knife sitting on the prep table, it wasn’t too far and Cole could probably reach the tool. He’d learned to do things with little mobility using his injured arm, and using it now while it was still healing was going to hurt like a son of a bitch. He kept his eyes on Ryker and slowly tried to reach for the knife, mentally crying out in pain inside because of his shoulder. When Ryker looked at him he stopped moving and thought the man realized what he was doing.
“Why couldn’t you just fucking stay put,” he snarled in Cole’s face.
“So you can continue beating me and sooner or later kill me like you did Ezra?” Cole kept telling himself to keep his mouth shut but his anger was leading the way. “Why did you kill him, Ryker? Did he refuse to stay put and wanted to leave you too?”
“Shut up,” Ryker yelled and Cole hoped people on the other side heard them and would come running to his rescue. “Ezra . . . Ezra,” the other man chanted over and over.
He moved his hand from Cole’s neck and started hitting the side of his head, as if he was trying to remember who Ezra was. “How many people have you killed that you can’t remember who Ezra was? You were sleeping with him for fuck’s sake.”
Ryker grunted. “Ezra, the one who failed me and the one who thought he was smarter than me. Do you know how jealous he was of you? Two fathers who adore you. A competent chef and liked by everyone who met you. I saw the way he wanted to be you, and ate up every word I told him, and just like you, he fell for me.” He smiled, and Cole hated it, his stomach churned. “Once I realized what I could do, I tried it on him, forced my knot, it took me a couple of tries. It wasn’t so easy with him like it was with you. But he fucked me over and killed my chances of being wealthy, so I killed him.”
There wasn’t any guilt or shame in his voice when he spoke about killing Ezra, he spoke as if it was a badge of honor to kill someone. He needed to get away before the man he once cared about killed him. Seeing his chance, Cole grabbed the knife off the table and lunged himself at the other man, but Ryker was quicker and knocked the knife out his hand, sending it flying across the room. He was grabbed by his neck again and backed up to the prep table, leaning him over backward.
“Don’t make me kill you yet, Colton,” he snarled.
“I hate when you call me that, you don’t get to use my name and mock me anymore.”
“Or what? You’re going to kill me?”
“He might not, but I will.”
They both turned at the same time to see Kane standing at the door with a shotgun in his hand pointed directly at them. He was so happy to see his husband that his knees almost buckled.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the knight in shining armor coming to save his damsel in distress,” Ryker mocked.
“I’m not sure who you’re calling a damsel because the only one who will need help is you.”
Cole turned his head to the other side and saw Winston standing at the cafe door, with a rifle in his hands pointed at Ryker. He was pulled up by his neck and Ryker had used him as a shield. He stood to the side not showing his back to the two men.
�
��You two are going to let me get out of here or I will kill him.”
Cole looked at Kane who was staring directly in his eyes, eyes that said “trust me, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“FBI. Drop your weapons and put your hands up!”
He watched as Kane lowered his shotgun the same time Ryker spoke, “I should have killed you when I had the chance.” He lifted up Cole’s neck and pressed the knife to his jugular. He didn’t understand why Ryker was doing this. He kissed Cole on the side of his head and pressed the knife deeper to his neck, and as it pierced his flesh deep enough to draw blood, he heard a loud popping sound causing Ryker’s hand to freeze.
The knife fell from his hand and the grip on his chin loosened. Quickly he stepped away from Ryker thinking the man was going to stop him, but turned around with wide eyes when he heard a thud hit the floor. Ryker was on his side and blood was soaking the floor. He stood there shaking, not sure if he could move and didn’t fight it when arms wrapped around him and shielded his vision.
“It’s over.” He heard the words whispered in his ear but he couldn’t decipher who was saying it until he released the breath he was holding and it gave him the chance to absorb the scent that had surrounded him.
It was Kane who was holding him. Kane, whose arms he felt safe in and would protect him. Kane, the man who loved and would love him for all time.
Epilogue
Come on, baby, walk to Daddy.” Cole held his arms open for Preston as he took his first steps into his arms. He peppered kisses over his son’s chubby cheeks as his little man squealed with laughter. “You’re such a good boy.” He nuzzled his nose between Preston’s neck and shoulder, making him laugh harder.
It was a sweet sound. In the months since Ryker was killed by the FBI, things were a bit shaky for him. Seeing someone he knew killed inside of his safe space shook him, even after all the evidence of blood was cleaned up. It was quite some time before he was able to walk back into the kitchen part of the bakery and not feel sick.
The Cowboy's Baby_Mpreg Romance Page 18
