Page 26

Nova

It was late and I was starting to wonder where Crew was and if he was safe.

Dinner was eventful with Timberly recanting her story about how Stephanie tried to grab her.

And how her and Tati knocked her out and had her pinned to the floor when Crew and the other guys arrived.

To say I was scared out of my mind was an understatement.

After watching a movie in the family room, we headed up to bed.

I showered and washed my hair but still wasn’t able to get some sleep.

So I decided to read for a bit until I got tired.

I had been trying to finish Crucible by BB.

Reid but life had been kicking me in the ass lately.

I woke up to Timberly sneaking into my bed and curling up against my body. I smoothed her hair back from her forehead.

"What’s wrong, baby? Did you have a bad dream?"

She nodded against my chest. I held her close to me and just held her safe in my arms.

"You know," she mumbled against my nightshirt, "We don’t have to be scared anymore, Mommy."

I blinked, my throat burning. Understanding what she was talking about.

“Why do you say that, baby?”

"Crew-Dad said nobody’s ever gonna take us away."

I squeezed her tighter and swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

"You’re right, baby," I whispered. "We’re safe now."

And for the first time...I almost believed it too.

I was sprawled out on the lounger in the sunroom, Timberly was playing with the doll house Crew had gotten her, and Crew sat playing chess with Pops.

Crew had come in late last night and kissed Timberly and I goodnight before going to his office, where he stayed for the rest of the night.

I could tell from the set of his jaw and the tension in his shoulder that something was wrong.

He hadn’t spoken to me about what happened to Stephanie but from the calls I had received from my staff no one had seen her today and she hadn’t called in, which wasn’t like her.

Laughter echoed through the room as I felt nauseous out of nowhere.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, soaking in the cool air, letting the feeling of vomiting flow out of me.

I was just about to feel relief until it came again with a severity that made a layer of sweat pop up over my body.

I leapt up and hurtled toward the bathroom, barely making it as I emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet.

I hadn’t had this feeling for 8 years, so I knew what was wrong.

Two pink lines.

I stared at the pregnancy test in my hand, sitting in our master bathroom with my heart thudding so hard it hurt. Pregnant. I was pregnant. Before I could even process it, I heard Crew's voice in the hall low, urgent, and angry. I rushed to the door and saw Janelle was holding a phone out to him.

"Crew, you need to hear this."

Crew snatched the phone and listened. His jaw tightened then his whole body went still. When he looked up at me, something in his eyes made my blood run cold.

"What is it?" I whispered.

He didn’t speak. Because behind him, Janelle’s voice cracked the world open:

"Kyle Harris hired a team to retrieve his family. They know where you and Timberly are and who you’re with."

He knew where we were and found us again.

Why couldn’t he leave us alone? After all these years we still couldn’t find peace.

Crew stood a few feet away, silent, a phone pressed to his ear, voice low as he ordered more security, more cameras, more bodies.

He had increased our security twice already.

Both Timberly and I had our own personal guards with us whenever we left the property.

But it would never be enough. Not when Kyle and his family would use every ounce of their power to get us back.

I buried my face in my hands and squeezed my eyes shut.

"I can't do this," I whispered.

Crew hung up and crossed the room to stand in front of me.

"You’re not doing it alone."

I shook my head, the panic burning me alive.

"You can’t stop him?—"

Crew cupped my face in his calloused hands.

"I don’t have to stop him." His voice was rough and unshakable. "I just have to end him . "

Tears slid down my cheeks. I married Crew for protection. For him it made sense for not only his company, but because it closed legal loopholes and shielded Timberly. But standing here as he held my shaking body in his arms, I realized that this wasn’t just business any more.

This was love.

Crew tilted my chin up until our eyes met.

"You trust me, Princess?"

I hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. He leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine.

"I promise, I won't let him take you or Timberly,” he said, his voice dropping to something primal. "If he wants war, Princess, he just got one."

It was Saturday and August and his family would be here for the playdate in a couple of hours.

So because Crew forbade us to leave the house without him or our guards, he decided to go on a quick grocery run with Timberly and I this morning.

Our SUV was half a block from the estate when the first car rammed us while metal creaked and crunched as my seatbelt jerked tighter across my chest. On instinct, I held my arm out to protect Timberly from flying forward in her booster seat.

“Fuck,” Crew cursed.

His hand was already reaching for me as another car boxed our SUV in. All I could see were the blacked-out windows of the other car as tires screeched on the asphalt. Crew slammed on the brakes, reaching for a weapon I didn’t know he had under the seat. But it was too late.

BAM!

Glass shattered everywhere, raining down over us.

Timberly screamed from the back seat, her scared face flashing in my mind.

Men in masks poured from the cars with their guns drawn, shouting orders and ripping the SUV doors open.

Crew fought with every ounce of strength he possessed but there were just too many of them.

When a gloved hand wrapped around my arm, I was yanked out of the car while a needle was jabbed into my neck.

Cold fire exploded through my veins. My family, including the baby I carried, were my last thoughts before I collapsed against a hard body and an icy voice broke through the blackness that was swallowing me whole.

"You thought you could outrun me, Nova. You thought wrong."

“Kyle.”

To Be Continued…