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Maci woke slowly to the sound of steady beeping and the realization that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Before she could figure out why, the incessant tone stole her attention again.

Had she left on an alarm?

“Make it stop,” she croaked. Her mouth was dry and her voice sounded weird. She heard rustling nearby and forced her eyelids open, wincing at the bright light. Lights too bright for her apartment or Stella’s. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital.” Chance. Just the sound of his voice was enough to help calm her.

At least until she looked at him. Stubble lined his cheeks, and his eyes were bright red with exhaustion. His dark hair stood up on end as if he had been running his fingers through it for hours.

Then his words hit her. Hospital . Instinct had her hands flying to her stomach to protect the baby. Was something wrong? Had she lost it?

Did he know?

“Are you going to be sick?” He stepped closer, then paused at her side.

“No. How long have I been here? Am... I okay?”

“Two hours. You’ve been in and out the whole time.” Nervous energy crackled around him, and Maci wasn’t surprised when he started to pace. “You got hit on the head in Stella’s apartment. Do you remember that?”

The apartment. Getting inside and deciding to make some tea.

The man.

“There was a man inside Stella’s apartment,” she whispered. “I didn’t see him.”

Her breath hitched. All that self-defense stuff she’d done with Chance and she’d never even had an opportunity to use it.

Chance reached for her hand, squeezing it. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

A nurse walked in. “Awake for good this time, it looks like. How are you feeling?” She shined a small light in Maci’s eyes and had Maci follow her fingers with her eyes.

“My head hurts, but otherwise I think I’m okay. Is everything okay?”

Maci had no idea how to ask about the baby with Chance in the room. She looked nervously over at him.

The nurse caught her look. “Do you want to be alone? We let Mr. Patterson in because he was listed as your emergency contact, but some people feel like they recover better on their own.”

Maci shook her head, then stopped at the ache. “No, it’s okay. I’d like Chance to stay.” She didn’t want to be alone right now.

The nurse smiled. “Your pupils are responding well and you’re quite coherent—both good signs. Dr. Ashburn will be in soon and will probably want a CT scan to see if we’re dealing with a concussion.”

“Have I had any bleeding or anything, um, not on my head?” Maci wasn’t sure how to ask about her pregnancy outside of stating it outright. “Any other problems anywhere else in my body?”

The nurse smiled. “Everything else looks fine. You’re young and healthy.”

That didn’t answer the question exactly but reassured her a little.

The nurse left and Chance sat down next to her.

“I’m so glad to see you fully awake and talking. When Weston and I found you in that kitchen...” He scrubbed his hand down his face.

“The guy was already there when I came in. He had to have been waiting for me.”

“Are you okay to talk about it or do you want to just rest?”

She let out a sigh. “I’m okay to talk. I know that will help with the case.”

His eyes met hers. “The case isn’t as important as you and how you’re feeling.”

She couldn’t look away from him if she tried. “I’m okay to talk about it. I promise.”

“The guys are out in the waiting room. Do you mind if I bring them in or is that too much?”

“It’s okay.”

He stepped out and a few moments later came back with Brax, Weston and Luke. All four brothers looked pretty haggard.

“There she is.” Brax rushed over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank goodness. Luke was out sobbing over having to file paperwork himself.”

Luke grunted with a smile. “That’s not completely untrue. We’re glad you’re okay, Maci.”

Weston, solemn as always, nodded. “You gave us quite a scare.”

“She’s feeling up to talking about what she remembers, before the doctor comes back in,” Chance said.

He sat back down next to her and grabbed her hand. It gave her the strength she needed to tell what had happened.

“You dropped me off and I rushed upstairs. I was so nervous the whole way up, but I knew once I saw the door, I was okay. I got inside Stella’s apartment and locked it, but he must’ve already been inside.”

Chance squeezed her hand and she concentrated on that.

“I went into the kitchen to grab some tea and he came up behind me. Pushed me against the wall and told me he knew I wasn’t Stella.”

“Did he say anything else to you?” Chance asked.

“Yeah. But his voice was weird. A low whisper.” She grit her teeth. She was never going to forget how his voice sounded, how terrified she was, the words he said. She dropped her voice in an imitation of his. “How stupid do you think I am? I know you aren’t her. A pale imitation of the real thing. Then again, there’s strength in you. You stayed to battle while she ran. There’s honor in that.”

She looked at each of the Pattersons. “Those maybe weren’t the exact words, but it’s pretty close.”

“How did you get hurt?” Weston asked quietly.

“He shoved me into the cabinet and I hit the knob.” Maci remembered the pain of hitting the sharp metal, the warmth of blood dripping down her face. The man had scoffed at it, and when she lost her balance, he let her fall. “When he saw me bleeding, he let me go. I don’t even remember seeing him leave. I passed out. I don’t know if he meant to take me or not.”

“He might have but then once you were hurt it changed his plans. Harder to hide in plain sight with a bleeding woman.” Brax’s frown said he didn’t like the idea.

“Maybe worried about a blood trail leading us to him?” Luke guessed.

“He may have gotten word from the driver that we’d caught up to them.” Weston and Chance looked at each other, but neither looked convinced. “We’ll take a look at surveillance around the apartment and see what we can find.”

A knock interrupted and an older woman in a white coat stepped in. “Hello, Maci. I’m Dr. Ashburn. It’s good to see you awake and alert.”

She did the same routine as the nurse, shining a small light in Maci’s eyes and having her follow the finger.

“We did an initial CT scan when you first came in and that showed very minor swelling—good news. Your tox screen and blood work came back normal.”

“CT scan?” Maci could feel herself tensing. “Could that be...bad for me?”

The doctor seemed to understand what Maci was truly asking about and shook her head kindly. “CT scans pose very minimal risks.”

“I had CT scans all the time when I played sports in high school.” Brax knocked on his head. “I wasn’t great about avoiding concussions, but a CT scan was never any issue.”

“Everything about you is just as healthy as it was yesterday,” Dr. Ashburn said. “Except for the bump on your head.”

“Is there anything we need to look out for?” Chance’s fingers tightened on Maci’s briefly, but he kept his focus on the doctor.

“Other than signs of a worsening concussion, no. The cut is superficial. It won’t even need stitches. The butterfly bandage will keep it closed so it heals on its own.”

“Should we watch her overnight or something?”

As much as she liked how protective he was, Maci didn’t need Chance focused on her. It would be so much harder to hide the baby. “Chance, I’m fine.”

“But what happens if—”

“Chance.” He looked at her, and Maci saw the fear that drove him to nearly smother her. She’d been hurt on his watch and he was suffering for it. She squeezed his hand softly. “I’m fine. Tell him, Doc.”

“We’ll send you home with instructions for the next few days, but all in all, Ms. Ford is fine. She’s in great health.” She turned to Maci. “You don’t need to be concerned about anything but your head. Okay? Everything else is fine.”

But Chance wasn’t letting it go. “What about the fact that she’s been throwing up multiple times over the past few weeks? She’s exhausted all the time and is crazy sensitive to certain smells. Even the flu shouldn’t last this long. Plus, sometimes she seems fine and then it just comes on her without warning.”

She squeezed his hand. She’d had no idea he’d been paying such close attention. “Chance, it’s okay. I’m okay. Let’s just worry about the concussion and getting this case solved.”

He brushed a strand of hair back from her forehead. “You’re here at the hospital. You might as well let them run some tests or whatever. If something is wrong with you, let’s find out now. Find out early. Whatever it is, I’m here.”

“Dr. Ashburn said my bloodwork came back normal. I’m okay.”

He leaned closer, his brown eyes pleading. “Mace, you and I both know something is wrong. Let them check you over while you’re here. What if it’s cancer or something like that?”

“I don’t have cancer.”

“How do you know?” he whispered. “I’ve been watching you suffer and I can’t stand it anymore.”

She had to tell him. It wasn’t ever going to get easier. “I’m not sick, Chance. I’m pregnant. About ten weeks along.”

Chance’s eyes got big, but thankfully he didn’t let go of her hand.

“And I can attest that the fetus is fine, even despite the bump to the head,” Dr. Ashburn said. “Maci, let me know if you have further questions. We’ll do one more CT scan, then release you if everything looks good.”

The doctor said goodbye to everyone and headed out the door, but Maci couldn’t focus on that. All she could focus on was the raw shock on Chance and his brothers’ faces.

Her secret was out.

P REGNANT .

The word kicked around in Chance’s brain. Maci is pregnant .

Had she known when she made the suggestion that she go undercover?

Was it his?

That question stuck around the longest. Was the baby she carried one they’d made together? They’d used protection, but it wasn’t always perfect. Birth control failed and condoms broke. The how wasn’t the issue, the who was.

Who was the baby’s father and what would Chance do if it wasn’t him? He and Maci had no commitments to each other—although that hadn’t been by his choice.

“Give us the room, guys.”

His brothers knew him well enough not to argue in any way.

“You owe me ten dollars,” Luke muttered to Brax as they left. “I told you there was no way there wasn’t something between them.”

Weston was the last one out, laying a grounding hand on Chance’s shoulder. “Be gentle, brother. She’s been through a lot tonight.”

He didn’t say anything as Weston left and shut the door behind him. If there was any word that didn’t fit the way Chance currently felt, it was gentle .

Off balance, amazed, fearful, angry... But not gentle.

Although he would find it. He knew right now that was what Maci needed, so he would find it.

Maci adjusted herself in the hospital bed, and it brought Chance’s focus back.

“Is it mine?” For some reason, he couldn’t look her in the face when he asked, so he stared at his lap instead. “You and I never had any commitments, so I don’t want to assume...”

“Yes, it’s yours. I haven’t been sleeping around with a bunch of people.”

Now his eyes flew to hers. “I didn’t mean it that way at all. Truly. I didn’t think you were involved with anyone else, but I thought it would be more rude just to assume the baby was mine.”

She nodded, but he felt like an ass when a tear leaked out of her eye and she wiped it away quickly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s okay.”

Holy hell. Maci Ford was pregnant with his baby.

“Are you keeping it?” He tried to keep this as neutral as possible too. He refused to influence her decision, but he was flooded with relief when she nodded.

He was going to be a dad.

For minutes, neither of them said anything, Chance just trying to take it all in. Then his brain restarted and suddenly he had dozens of questions.

“How long have you known?”

Maci looked away, and his blunt fingernails dug into his palm. He wasn’t going to like this answer. “A few days.”

“A few?”

She turned back to him then, the fire that was normally so bright in her eyes nothing but embers. She looked tired, and Chance had the urge to wrap her in his arms while she slept, but he had to get some info first.

“I found out for sure the day before we started training.”

The last-minute doctor’s appointment. Fear and anger tightened Chance’s throat, and he had to take a deep breath just to curb them. His voice was rougher than gravel when he spoke. “You did all that training and went undercover knowing you were pregnant.”

He thought back to the moves he’d taught her. None of them should’ve affected her belly area at all, but he hadn’t been taking extra care like he would’ve if he’d known.

And then the attack tonight...

There was guilt all over her expression and in the way her shoulders slumped. “The doctor said it was fine. I specifically asked about the self-defense training, and he said at this stage I was fine as long as I wasn’t taking direct hits to the stomach. He said even then my body would work to protect the baby even at risk to myself.”

That barely made him feel better. “You went undercover on a case where your doppelg?nger was getting stalked by a newly-violent offender while you were pregnant with my child. Tell me you understand why I’m having an issue with this, Mace.”

“I promise you, I was being careful. You guys were there to—”

“You were attacked!” The need to move pushed Chance out of his chair. “You’re sitting in a hospital bed, hurt.”

“That isn’t fair. We both know this isn’t my fault.” Chance’s heart dropped to his stomach. She was right. It wasn’t her fault, it was his . He’d left her to go upstairs alone, certain he was needed somewhere else.

He’d left her defenseless.

His whole life had been spent taking care of others, and then one mistake had nearly cost him Maci and their child. What would’ve happened if he hadn’t gotten back in time, or if the stalker had decided to take Maci with him?

What if he’d decided to kill her right there in that kitchen when he found out she wasn’t Stella?

For a moment there wasn’t enough oxygen in the world.

“Chance, stop it,” she snapped. She snatched his wrist, yanking him back into his chair. “This is not your fault. You didn’t know that the stalker was waiting for me, and who knows if you being there would have actually helped. He might have killed you.”

“You can’t know that.” He sat back, a bone-deep exhaustion pulling at him. So much more than from just a sleepless night.

“I’m okay. The baby is okay. That’s all that matters.”

That was true, but he still couldn’t shake the terror wrapped around him. “No more undercover. You’re done.”

Maci’s eyes widened at his tone, only to narrow into slits. “You don’t get to command me, Chance Patterson. I’m not yours to control.”

“Like hell am I allowing the mother of my child to work in a situation that’s already proven to be out of control. It’s not happening.” Maci opened her mouth to respond, but he continued. “Besides, your cover is blown. You said it yourself...the guy knew you weren’t Stella.”

“Then you ask me. You don’t demand.”

Chance’s jaw was tight. He drew on every bit of love and respect he’d ever seen between his mom and dad. Clinton and Sheila had some fights, but in the end, their respect and admiration for each other won out over any arguments.

He grabbed Maci’s hand gently, grateful when she didn’t snatch it away. “Maci, your cover is blown. If it was any of my brothers I would say the same thing. We need to regroup and come at this a different way. Please help us do that.”

“What about Stella?”

“She’s still out of the country. Between us and her other security team, we’ll keep an eye on the situation and find the stalker before she comes back in the country. She’s safe, we’ve got time, but you going undercover is no longer viable. Agreed?”

Maci sighed. “Agreed.”

That took one problem off Chance’s list. Now only a thousand more to go.