Текст книги "Brawn"

Автор книги: Laurann Dohner

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

“That’s never going to happen. I’m sorry but forget that. I won’t see you.”

“Can you at least call me every day? Do you have a pen? I’m going to give you my cell phone number. We’ll talk and you’ll get to know you can trust me.”

Becca hesitated. “You won’t try to trace the call or anything?”

“I swear.”

Becca reached into her purse, knew it was a bad idea, the doctor was probably lying, but she was desperate. “Give it to me.” She wrote down the number. “I’ll call you in a few days. This isn’t a prank. I really am pregnant and it really is by a New Species.”

“Please, I’m begging you,” Doctor Trisha urged softly. “Let me come to you or you come to Homeland. Just walk up to the gate and tell them to page me. No one but me needs to know right now. Please just—”

Becca had hung up the cell phone and slid the back off to remove the battery. Two miles later she’d ditched the phone in a trash can and continued on her drive to her rented cabin. She pulled her thoughts from that conversation and stood from the couch. She stretched and knew she needed to run errands soon. She had to make one more call first. Yesterday something had happened that left her no choice. She needed to talk to Doctor Trisha again.

The new disposable phone lay on the dining room table. She bit her lip, debated taking a long drive to hide her location better, but her father would know if something were up. He never said anything in his emails, she felt safe no one suspected her of anything and she probably was safe. Doctor Trisha might honestly be trustworthy when she said she’d never try to track the phone calls. Some people were.

The number she’d scribbled down lay next to the phone. Her hands trembled a little as she reached for both. I need to make this call. She bit her lip. Another flutter in her belly made her gasp. She dropped the paper and rested her hand over the curved mound of her belly. Hot tears surfaced, caused by worry and confusion. She could feel the baby move. How is that possible?

She stood there debating what to do. The smart thing would be to rush to Doctor Trisha and let the woman take care of her and the baby. Of course reality prevented that. Her dad would kill Brawn. He’d end up going to prison instead of leading the task team and she’d have to explain to her child why he didn’t have any family besides her. She couldn’t do that, no matter how terrified she was. Tim Oberto was a lot of things but rational and controlled weren’t two of them when it came to his daughter. He’d never believe Brawn hadn’t forced her and he’d see blood. Brawn’s.

Thinking about the big New Species made her feel guilty. He had a right to know he was going to be a father. She knew right from wrong but that was one hurdle she wasn’t ready to take on yet. After the baby was born, she’d face that issue. First she needed to have it, keep it safe and figure out a way to deal with her dad. Hopefully meeting his grandchild would go a long way toward muffling his murderous rage.

Guilt turned to anger in the next moment. She chalked it up to her hormones but if Brawn had called her he might know he was going to be a father. It took both of them to get her in the mess but it was up to her to try to contain the fallout. She’d been tempted plenty of times to try to reach him but had no idea how without having to go through the NSO switchboard. They’d ask why she wanted to talk to him, might investigate her to make sure she wasn’t a threat and that meant having her father and his team come after her. It was just too risky. Calling a human was one thing, they might figure she was a friend of Doctor Trisha’s, but a human woman calling a Species male would be odd.

The flutter happened again, more of a tiny kick and she closed her eyes, amazed at the feeling and frightened. Brawn was a big guy and she’d hoped she was gaining weight so fast because the baby might be as large as the father but she couldn’t forget he wasn’t totally human. She might not know much about pregnancy since she’d never experienced it before but she had friends who had children. She shouldn’t feel the baby stir for months. The baby might be growing faster than a purely human one, thanks to Brawn’s altered genes, and like it or not, she was in over her head. She needed to have a conversation with the New Species doctor to figure it out.

She opened her eyes and reached for the paper again. Her hands shook as she dialed the number. Her heart pounded as the phone rang. A woman’s voice answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Doctor Trisha?” Becca remembered to use the same Texas accent. “It’s me again. The pregnant lady.”

“You promised to call me and it’s been three weeks,” the doctor accused, sounding out of breath and maybe excited. “How are you?”

“Scared and alarmed. I’m feeling the baby move. How can that be? It’s way too early.”

“How far along are you?”

“We’ve been over this. I am not telling you that. Is it possible that the baby could be developing faster than normal? I mean, is that nuts to even consider? New Species are part animal and I’ve been researching on the internet. The gestation period is shorter in animals than in humans. I’m gaining weight too fast and now I’ve got movement. It’s not gas either.” She shorted a laugh at that one, glad for some humor. “It’s definitely the baby.”

“You need to come to Homeland. What is your name?”

“Pregnant lady.”

“Are you really living in a cabin by yourself?”

“Yes.” Becca figured that was safe information to give out.

“Do you have a friend or someone who checks on you at least?”

She hesitated. “What is the point of asking me this?”

“You’re alone, you told me you don’t trust anyone and you need help if you really are pregnant. What are you afraid of? No one is going to hurt you. You can walk right up to the gates, tell them you’re there to see me and I swear I’ll rush right out. If you don’t want anyone to see you, I can meet you anywhere you want. I’ll bring my bag and some equipment that is mobile. I can even come to your cabin.”

“That’s not going to happen. I got lost for a reason. I don’t want anyone to find me.”

“I can tell you if your baby is all right. Don’t you want to make sure? I have a son and I know I was worried sick about his health when I was pregnant. I swear I gave myself an ultrasound almost daily just to check on him. I could do that for you if you came here. I’ll come to you if you don’t want to be seen. I know there are protesters out there. We have a helicopter and could fly you in to prevent anyone from seeing you.”

“I appreciate that but as I said, I don’t trust anyone.”

Trisha hesitated. “Are you afraid of the father? Is that it? Do you think if you let him know that he’ll react badly?”

“I try not to think about him.” Becca leaned forward and sighed. “I know he has a right to know and I plan to tell him one day but not until it’s safe. You don’t know what is at stake.”

“Then tell me. Just tell me something.”

Becca hesitated. “My family would go insane if they found out and they would hurt the father. That’s all I can tell you.”

“So you are protecting the father of your baby? That’s why you won’t come in? Your family doesn’t have to know. Your family can’t get to him or you if you come here. I swear you will be safe. All of you will be.”

That might be the case for the average person but not for Becca. Her father had to know everything that happened at Homeland and Reservation. Having a pregnant woman show up would be a security risk. He’d be notified and she still winced over the memories of him asking her a hundred times if anyone had touched her when she’d been held prisoner. The rage that threatened in his eyes assured her he’d stop at nothing until Brawn was dead. It’s why she’d never told him about her marriage. He’d have murdered Bradley in a heartbeat. Her dad was a dick at times but he became downright insane when someone hurt her.

“Are you still there?”

Becca realized she’d drifted in her thoughts. “Yes. Do you think the baby is growing faster than normal? Is it possible? Just answer me that because that’s all I can figure and I’m worried.”

“Are you more than four months along?”

“No.”

“Good.” Trisha hesitated. “Don’t you want to know the sex of the baby? If you let me see you I could bring a portable ultrasound machine and tell you the sex.”

“That’s just mean. You know I’d love to know that but I can’t risk it. If you aren’t going to answer me, I need to go.”

“Wait! How are you feeling? Are you healthy? Any unusual symptoms or anything? I’m assuming you haven’t seen a doctor?”

“You know I can’t risk that. I’m tired a lot but I read that’s normal. My appetite is great. I haven’t thrown up in weeks and am past the morning sickness stage. I have to go. Thanks for talking to me.”

“You have to call me more often. At least once every few days. You’re alone. Something could go wrong. Please?” The doctor sounded panicked.

“I’ll call you once a week.”

“Do you promise? I am worried about you. You don’t know everything and I can’t tell you over a phone.”

“Tell me what?” Becca’s heart pounded with fear. What did the doctor know that she wasn’t saying?

“Just call me and we’ll keep talking.”

“I have to go.” Becca hung up.

* * * * *

Trisha hung up and put her house phone to her ear. She’d called Justice when she’d picked up her cell with the woman and let him overhear the conversation on speaker phone.

“Did you recognize her voice? You deal with most of the humans we come in contact with.”

Justice sighed. “No. I didn’t recognize it but the accent is fake. She slipped a few times. Maybe she’s lying about the pregnancy.”

“No. She knows too much. She said she felt the baby move for the first time. She’s between eight and ten weeks along. That’s when we feel movement. That’s good. Thank God. I was terrified we wouldn’t have any time to find her before the baby was due. She is about halfway through her pregnancy, Justice. I delivered my son at twenty weeks. She doesn’t know New Species babies grow and develop faster. We have to find her fast. My husband is canine. Feline pregnancies could go faster and I’m assuming he was feline, considering she didn’t mention the penis swelling during sex that is common with canines. Hot sperm is more noticeable with felines. We won’t know until the first feline mixed baby is born how long their pregnancies last.”

“Let me… Hang on. Tiger just walked in.”

Tiger chuckled. “We got a trace. We know about where the call came from. I have good news and bad news.”

“What’s to report?” Justice hit speaker phone. “Can you hear us, Trisha?”

“I can,” she stated. “What’s the bad news first?”

“It looks like this woman is probably the real deal. The call was traced to an area near Reservation. She must live out there, which means she probably did come in contact with our people.”

“That’s good news,” Trisha agreed.

“Not when we have a human pregnant by one of us and we didn’t know about it. It’s bad until we have her here and secure.” Tiger took a breath. “The good news is that it’s a remote area. We’ll send teams out and look for her. There aren’t that many cabins out there if she’s really living in one. It might take a few days to go to all of them but it shouldn’t take more than three days. We’ll find her soon.”

Justice sounded relieved. “That’s great.”

“Yes. Will she be showing, Trisha?” Tiger moved closer to the phone.

“She says she is and she felt the baby move which should put her between eight and ten weeks. You’ll definitely see a rounded stomach from the baby. She will smell faintly like Species too, up close. I did. The further along she gets the more she will carry that scent and the stronger it will get.”

“Justice, if you don’t mind, I’d like to head this one. May I take the helicopter and fly up there?” Tiger paused. “I’d like to keep the team tight, only take handpicked Species who are good with humans and we’ll have to bring in a few of the task force for this. They’ll go in first to avoid raising suspicion.”

“Yes,” Justice agreed.

“Me too,” Trisha said. “I’m going. I’ll call Slade and tell him we’re all leaving. I’ll pack our bags and get Forest ready to travel. I want to be there when you find her, Tiger. She’s going to be scared as hell. Did you hear what she said about her family, Justice? Do you think they are part of those protestors who picket the NSO? Maybe that’s how she met one of ours. He might be an officer at Reservation’s gates. It makes sense if that’s the case. Her family hangs there, she’d be with them and she’d have spent time with our guys.”

“Makes sense.” Justice hesitated. “Yeah. That’s fine. Find this female, Tiger.”

“I’m on it,” Tiger growled softly. “I’m more worried about someone else finding her before we do or this family of hers discovering her secret if they are fanatics. It wouldn’t end well.”

“I know.” Anger tinged Justice’s voice. “Just find her and get her and her baby home to us so they can be safe. Thank you for allowing us to trace your calls, Trisha.”

“I didn’t really have a choice,” she muttered. “I’m still not happy about lying to her. I gave my word I wouldn’t do that.”

“You didn’t trace her. I did.” Justice cleared his throat. “I asked my males if any of them had shared sex with a human and that didn’t go well. It caused anger and they felt I was trying to invade their privacy. Finding the female and getting her behind our gates is priority. I can’t image what would happen if she goes into labor and ends up at a hospital. Our secret would be out. It would be on every news station and anyone who hates us would know her location to target the infant. Worse, she could go into labor alone and die if there are complications.”

“I know.” Trisha pushed her fingers through her hair and gripped the phone tighter against her ear. “I’ve had nightmares about that. That’s why I tried to keep her on the phone as long as possible to give you a shot at finding her. If this doesn’t work though, you’ve got to let me tell her the truth, Justice. She’s having an accelerated pregnancy and she’s going to be blindsided when she goes into early labor. She’ll think she’s losing the baby.” Emotion choked her voice. “Don’t make me go there. It was my worst fear when I was pregnant with Forest. I can’t do that to her and maybe if we tell her, it will make her come in on her own.”

“We can’t risk it. Until we know for sure that she’s not some reporter fishing and that it’s a verified Species baby she’s carrying, you aren’t to tell her anything. That’s an order. I’m sorry but too much is at risk. Your son would be in danger.”

“I know.” She blinked back tears. “I just keep putting myself in her shoes. She sounds genuinely scared about something. Whoever her father is, he must be one scary asswipe to instill that kind of fear.”

“I’m angry at the male who shared sex with her.” Justice growled. “He should have taken precautions or followed up with her. They obviously weren’t close enough that she could feel she could go to him to protect her. When we find out who he is, he and I are going to spend some time in a training room. He put us all in this situation.”

“I get a piece of him after you do,” Tiger snorted. “I tell the officers to use condoms if they share sex with humans but this sounds as if it’s one of Brass’ males so he will probably get the pleasure of pounding in the ground rules.”

“Yeah, beat him up.” Trisha was disgusted. “That will teach him. I’m glad Slade isn’t running Reservation right now and we’re home. I hate it when I have to patch him up.”

Justice chuckled. “It’s a male thing.”

Chapter Thirteen

Flame studied the cabin that appeared empty of life and waved the human team forward. They carefully surrounded the cabin, three of them keeping out of sight in the trees. One of the humans, Bobby, knocked on the front door. He wore jeans and had grease smeared on his hands. They all were dressed in casual wear so they didn’t appear suspicious and frighten the off the woman if they found her. They had a cover story if someone answered the door. Bobby would ask to use her phone to call a tow truck for his supposedly broken-down car.

No one answered. Bobby peered in the window and waved everyone forward as he dropped to his knees. He picked the lock and had it open by the time Flame reached his side. They glanced around the small living room and Bobby turned to Flame.

“Someone is definitely living here.”

Flame walked farther inside the home and inhaled. “It’s a female who lives alone. I only pick up her scent.”

His heart rate increased with excitement that this might be the right place when he spotted a crib in one of the two bedrooms. Everything for the infant smelled new and unused. The second bedroom was the woman’s and he pulled back the covers, leaned in and pressed his nose against the sheets. One good whiff and he knew they’d finally located the right female. He could smell her, the faint scent of pregnancy, and Species.

Flame pulled his cell phone as he turned to face the human team. “This is the right place. She must be coming back soon, her things are here, so implement the plan.”

Bobby grabbed his radio. “Call off the search. We found her. Return to base and stay out of sight.”

Flame dialed Reservation. “We found her but she’s not here. I believe she should come back soon. I scented what we expected to find. I’m going to wait in hiding for her to return. Have the helicopter standing by and fueled. I want it sent the second I have her.”

He hung up and glanced at the men around him. “I can handle her. I think it’s best if I make contact alone. Go ahead and return to base.”

Bobby, the team leader of the task force assigned to Flame, hesitated. “Are you sure? I’ll stay behind as backup.”

“No. This isn’t a dangerous situation. We’re doing a favor for Trisha. Her cousin ran away from an abusive husband and she was worried. She won’t fight or cause harm. I’m just going to give her a message.”

“Oh.” Anger tensed Bobby’s features. “We’ve been busting our asses for that?” He spun, stomping away.

Flame let him go and hated making him angry. He liked the team but they hadn’t shared why they were looking for the female, didn’t want to tell them why she was really so important and didn’t plan to. The less they knew the better but they’d needed them to make contact, knock on doors. Anyone opening a door to a Species would have been alarmed and word might have spread. It wasn’t something they wouldn’t gossip about or worse, call the police over. That meant the reporters would get a whiff of a story. The female might have heard they were in the area and fled.

Flame watched the men leave. The NSO was terrified that if it got out they could have children with humans, it would cause a lot of problems. They trusted the task force but the tabloids offered too much money for some to resist. Keeping that information known to Species and their mates only was essential. Everyone who knew the truth was personally invested to protect that secret. He closed and locked the front door, found a good location to wait and leaned against the interior wall. He had patience.

* * * * *

Becca smiled and rubbed her stomach as the baby kicked softly. She was sure that was the fluttering feeling she kept getting. It made her happy every time, assuring her all was well inside her belly.

“I know.” She lifted her hand to grip the wheel with both of them. “This dirt road is kind of rough and sucks. You feel that, don’t you?” She slowed the car a little on her way to the cabin. Talking to the baby had become a favorite pastime. “We’re almost home.”

She parked in front by the door, shut off the engine and released her seatbelt. She stood, stretched a little and wiggled her butt. The bumping around on unpaved road always made her rump feel a little numb. She shoved the door shut, opened the back passenger one and leaned in to grab the two grocery bags.

“Hungry? I am starving! We missed breakfast when we ran out of milk and it took longer to get to town than normal thanks to that logging truck hogging the road. I wasn’t about to try to pass him.”

She hefted the bags, used her hip to close the door and climbed the porch steps, careful not to trip. The chair next to the door took one bag as she used her keys to get inside, turned and grabbed the bag again. Her foot shoved the door closed behind her.

“I want a big ole steak. Doesn’t that sound good? And milk.” She walked into the kitchen, dumped the bags on the counter and reached in for one of the meat packages. “Sorry for the tummy rumbling you’re hearing.” She chuckled. “I bet it’s pretty loud in there where you are since I can hear it out here.”

She grabbed a pan she’d left on the stove, pulled it to the front burner and tore open the plastic. Starved was an understatement. Hunger seemed to plague her constantly. She dumped the steak into the pan and tossed the packaging in the trash next to the stove.

“Five minutes, kiddo. We’ll be slurping milk and chowing down on a T-bone.”

She turned to put away the rest of the groceries and movement caused her to gasp. A tall man dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt stepped into her kitchen from the dining room. Terror gripped her instantly. She hadn’t locked the door when she’d entered the house and her frightened gaze jerked up to his face.

“Oh shit,” she muttered. It wasn’t just some random stranger bent on robbing or killing her. He was a New Species. His light-red hair was windblown and his catlike eyes blinked at her. His hands slowly rose, palms out at his side.

“Easy, female. I am not here to harm you. I came to talk. Doctor Trisha sent me. I’m Flame. Don’t be alarmed.”

Becca backed up. Alarmed? A New Species was inside her cabin. Her hands darted protectively over her stomach and his gaze lowered, noticing her reaction. He looked at her, held her gaze and remained where he stood. She backed up more.

“Careful. There’s a hot pan behind you.” He tensed. “Don’t get burned.”

“Get out,” she whispered, heart pounding.

She stopped moving but panicked inside. She’d made a huge mistake trusting that doctor and they’d obviously traced her call. They would have had to do that to find her. The proof stood in her kitchen, watching her.

“Doctor Trisha is worried. You’re safe and no one will harm you. She just wants to make sure you and the baby are fine. She flew to Reservation two days ago when she talked to you last. She didn’t trace your call. We did, to the local cell tower that relayed your call. Do not be angry with her. She didn’t break her promise but had no control over what we did.” His gaze lowered to her stomach again and he sniffed. “Your baby is New Species and you need special care during your pregnancy.”

“Just forget you found me and go away,” Becca pleaded as she blinked back tears. “Just leave me alone.”

He met her gaze again and sorrow filled his exotic eyes. “I can’t do that. You and your baby need to see a doctor. You are about halfway through your pregnancy. If we left you alone you would be in for a shock when you hit your fifth month. That’s when your baby will come full term.”

Becca’s mouth fell open. It took her a second to recover. She’d guessed the baby might develop faster but nothing had prepared her for that. ”What?”

“It’s a Species baby. It will be male, it will look Species and it will be born at around five months, full term. We develop faster. You told the doctor enough for her to know the father of the baby is like me. I’m feline. The baby will have features like the father. You won’t be able to pass your child off without anyone taking one look and knowing what he is. Hate groups will come after you and your child. They will try to kill you both. Mercile Industries might come after you and your child as well.” He paused. “Some of the employees are still out there avoiding capture, being hunted, and they might try to use you both as leverage against us or worse. You are putting yourself and your baby in severe danger by not coming to us. We would never hurt you or your child. We’d never take him away from you. Your pan is burning. May I turn off the fire under it?”

Becca turned her head, saw smoke rising and the smell of burning meat finally registered. She reached over to turn it off. She stepped away from the stovetop but kept her distance from him. He held still, not moving as she watched him warily.

“No one knows about this baby. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to hide. I’m good where I am and you can leave.”

The New Species frowned. “Reservation is fifteen miles from here. Let me take you there to allow Doctor Trisha to look you and the baby over. If you refuse, we will just put a detail of security around your home to keep you and the baby safe. That isn’t up for debate. You and the child need to be guarded around the clock. It’s more dangerous for you here but we would never force you to live in captivity. We know all about that.”

She shook her head. “I can’t go with you and you can’t send people here to protect me. You don’t understand. I don’t know you, which is good, but there’s going to be hell to pay if anyone recognizes me.” Terror gripped her. “Are there any humans around or is it just you?”

“It’s just me.”

“Thank God.” She could breathe again. “Please just forget you found me and go. The worst thing you could do is send a security detail here. Swear to me you won’t do that.”

“Explain why that’s dangerous. It would protect you.”

The baby kicked hard. Becca flinched and rubbed her stomach. The New Species male smiled suddenly as he met her gaze.

“I saw that. He is strong. Trisha said that by the time she was in her sixteenth week it felt as though her son might kick his way out.”

Shock tore through Becca. “Doctor Trisha?”

Flame nodded. “I am allowed to tell you. It is confirmed that you are pregnant with one of my kind. She has a son named Forest who is Species. Trisha is married to one of us. She had her baby at twenty weeks. Would you like to see her son? Would you like to see what your baby is going to resemble? Species are cute as infants. He is canine mix so his features are a little different but I think you will be less frightened to have a Species baby if you see Forest. He claims the hearts of everyone.”

“I can’t go. You need to leave and don’t let them send anyone else.”

He frowned. “You need to see a doctor. You are frightened. I can smell your fear. Please stop being afraid. I’d rather shoot myself than cause you any harm. What is your name? We searched but couldn’t find anything with your name on it.”

“We?” Her fear increased.

Flame frowned. “You are terrified.” He suddenly paled. “Did one of us harm you?” His focus jerked to her stomach and then back to her face. “Did the father hurt you? Did he force you?”

She shook her head.

Flame’s frown deepened. “But you are afraid. Why?”

She met his eyes. “I don’t want the father of my baby to know. At least not yet. I have enough to worry about without dealing with the crappy situation with him. I also don’t want my family know. It’s…complicated.”

“You’re terrified. Tell me why now.”

She bit her lip. “I can’t. Let’s just say my family is in a situation to hurt the father and while I’m not a fan of his, I don’t want anything to happen to him. I also don’t want my baby growing up without any family since mine will be in prison for murder. You need to just leave.”

Flame watched her and his features softened. “You’re giving me no choice but to do this the way I didn’t intend. I won’t reconsider and leave you this way without a security detail. I was certain I could talk you in to going with me but I see now that you are determined to stay.” He glanced at her stomach once more, took a deep breath, and his gaze hardened when he met her eyes. “I’m so sorry. Don’t be afraid but you are going with me. You’ll see the doctor, have round-the-clock security and that isn’t up for debate. You’re obviously in extreme danger anyway and it was a good thing we found you. Please don’t fight me. Think of your baby.” He moved.

Becca backed up and her ass hit the counter. “No.”

In four long steps he had her and his hands carefully gripped her arms gently. “The helicopter comes. You would have heard it in a moment and known I planned to take you whether you agreed or not. I don’t wish to cause you fright and remember no one is going to hurt you. We are going to Reservation where Trisha will look you and the baby over. You have no choice in this. Remain calm for the baby.”

“Let me go, damn it!” Becca yelled and tried to twist away.

He suddenly released her and easily scooped her up into the cradle of his arms. Becca screamed and clawed at his shirt. “Put me down.” She didn’t struggle, too afraid he’d drop her and he was tall. It would be a long fall to the floor.

“Think of your baby,” he growled loudly. “Relax and slow your breathing. Calm.”

Terror hit Becca but she stopped tearing at his shirt. Her fingers fisted the material though, clung to him and tried to find words that would make the big New Species put her down.

“This is kidnapping! Yeah. It’s illegal and you’re not on NSO property. I’m a US citizen and I refuse to go with you. You can’t do this. It’s against the law.”

He glanced down at her and arched an eyebrow as he carried her through the house. “I’m aware of some of your laws. Possession is nine tenths of it and I have you.” He adjusted her in his hold to secure her tighter against his bulky chest. “You are safe.”

She knew she couldn’t get away from him and he wasn’t going to change his mind. She studied his handsome face, didn’t see anger there, but pure determination was easy to read. Flame was taking her to Reservation come hell or high water. She heard the helicopter approaching as he reached the front door. It was wide open now, something he must have done before startling her in the kitchen, making her suspicious that he had planned to carry her out in the first place.

Please don’t be my dad’s pilot, she prayed silently, watching the helicopter land between the tree line and her rental cabin. She’d met her father’s pilot but couldn’t remember his name. He’d remember her though for sure. Her dad boasted that he kept pictures of her in his office at work. The pilot might have forgotten her from the brief meeting they’d had at her dad’s house but looking at her pictures in an office almost every day tended to make someone learn a face.