Page 72 of Endure the Pain

“Oh!” I shook my head. “No, I’m just looking.”

“Are you looking for yourself or for someone else?” she inquired.

I knew in the back of my mind that I was acting strange, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. If she was uncomfortable, it didn’t show. “Uh, myself.”

Her eyes widened slightly before recovering with another forced smile. “Congratulations. How far along are you?”

“Three months.”

“Pregnancy seems to agree with you. Mine was very rough. I had severe morning sickness up until I delivered,” she said, with a faraway look in her eyes.

Jeez, I hope that doesn’t happen to me. “Boy or girl?” I asked.

Her brow puckered and she looked away. “Girl. I lost her a few weeks after she was born. She’d be about your age now.”

I put my hand over my little bump. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” The woman shrugged and faced me with another fake smile. The sound of my phone ringing saved me from the awkward moment. I dug my phone out of my purse and the caller ID told me it was Stefan. “Excuse me. It’s my father,” I said politely, and I put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” His voice put me on edge instantly.

“At the mall with Brenna,” I answered at the same time the woman stepped closer to me.

“It’s so nice of your father to check up on you,” she said somewhat loudly and her accent came out thicker than it had before.

“Who are you with?” I barely heard Stefan ask.

The woman’s lips curled into a genuine smile. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Maura.”

I watched her walk out of the store, completely bewildered.

“Who was that?” Brenna asked as she came up next to me holding a teddy bear.

“I thought…” I trailed off as I looked around the store.Does she not work here?Dean, who had been standing with Finn by the store’s checkout counter, noticed me looking around. He gave me a questioning look before hepulled his phone from his pocket. His attention dropped to his phone to read, I assumed, a text.

“Maura!” Stefan yelled, drawing my attention back to the phone.

“I’m here. What’s going on?” I asked.

“Come home now,” he ordered.

“Okay,” I said.

“Is your security close?” he asked.

“Yes.”

I heard him let out a heavy breath. “Good. See you soon.” He hung up before I could say goodbye.

I stuffed my phone back into my purse and noticed Dean and Finn walking briskly through the store toward us.

“Something’s wrong. We need to get back home,” I said as they approached.

Dean nodded. “I know. We need to leave now.”

Brenna and I set the bear and baby slippers on a shelf on our way out of the store. Dean took the lead, walking ahead of us, and Finn followed closely behind. Asher and Will were waiting just outside the store and both dropped their phones from their ears as we exited the store. Without stopping, Asher and Will flanked Brenna and I, boxing us with protection.

Asher told us to wait by the mall’s entrance while he and Finn went to get the cars. They weren’t parked far away. I could see my Escalade and Finn’s Camaro from where we stood. Asher and Finn had barely stepped off the curb when a boom sounded and made the ground shake. A strong and hot wind hit my entire body, shoving me backward off my feet. My body collided with another and their arms wrapped around me, maneuvering us so that they took the brunt of the fall as we both hit the ground. The impact was jarring, but not as painful as it could have been.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” I barely heard someone ask because my ears were ringing. I rolled onto my back and came face to face with Will. He was the one who had caught and protected me.