Page 96 of Protected By the Sinner

“The doctor agrees to be searched?”

“He doesn’t have a choice if he wants to work for me.”

“You have a gift for saying outrageous things and still managing to warm my heart.”

“I’m just telling the truth. I’d never let anyone near you or my child without making sure they’re trustworthy. But even then, I’d still search them myself.”

I shake my head, smiling.

“Is the nausea gone?”

“Yeah, I think it was just nerves from the nightmare. I haven’t even been sick like the doctor said might happen.”

“Either way, I think we both need to learn what it means to be pregnant. I’ll take better care of you. I promise.”

“Sometimes I get so focused on remembering that I forget I’m pregnant, you know? Not the baby—I talk to him or her every day—but I don’t feel pregnant yet.”

“You talk to them?” He frowns.

“Yes. I tell the baby how much I already love them and how hard I’ll try to be the best mom in the world.”

His expression softens. “I want you both.”

“I hope so, because I don’t have a plan B.” As soon as I say it, I’m mortified. “Wow. That sounded awful. Like I trapped you. Like I got pregnant on purpose.”

“That’s not what happened. I knew from the start that what we had was real. No one can fake that well.”

I realize he doesn’t even notice what he just said, but I do. “What? Fake? Why would I fake it, Beau? How did we meet?”

And just as I ask, the memory hits me like a hurricane.

“I betrayed you!” I cry out, horrified. “I only came to you because those men sent me!”

He tries to stop me, but I stand up, pushing him away.

“How could I do something like that? Oh my God!”

My head spins, and the room goes dark.

And then—the floor disappears beneath me.

Chapter 45

=

I don’t think I’ve ever felt fear until today.

All along my path, solitude was always welcome. But as I watch—again—my woman lying in a hospital bed, I realize that, aside from Ruslan, I have no one to share this with.

The doctor arrived shortly after she fainted, and it didn’t take long for Amber to wake up. Still, she didn’t seem like herself. She wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t make eye contact. When we got to the hospital, the obstetrician suggested I leave her to rest, saying I was making her anxious.

Coincidence or not, when I called Elodie, she had just landed in Boston. I explained that Amber had regained her memory—and again, that there was no more risk in coming to Louisiana. I told her to head to the airline desk—one I partially own—because I’d arranged a first-class ticket to bring her here.

I’ve been waiting for her for about two hours when my secure phone rings. It’s Ruslan.

The device—untraceable and highly encrypted—was a gift from him. Designed by Odin Lykaios’s[13] company and sold to the U.S. Intelligence Agency, it was custom-built at the request of Ruslan’s grandson, Grigory, who’s been friends with the Greek tech magnate for years. This particular model was made especially for the Organization.

“I heard what happened. Are she and the baby okay?”