He flashed her a grin as he finally pulled back and readjusted his jeans.
Sabella made a quick trip to the bathroom, and when she returned it was to find him sipping his coffee and staring down at the garage from the wide kitchen window.
“You were up early this morning,” she said as she turned the stove back on and went back to her biscuits.
“Needed to shower and get some clean clothes.” His voice was distant now. “I didn’t expect you to be up yet.” There was a question in his voice.
Sabella grimaced. “Doctor’s appointment I forgot about this morning. And I can’t miss it.” She turned back to him with a frown. “If I don’t make that appointment then you don’t get to have any fun.”
His lips tugged into a rueful smile. “I’ll send Rory with you. I don’t want you going alone.”
“Sienna usually goes with me.” She shrugged at his demand. “But you can send Rory. I’ll just meet her there.”
The flu that had kept her in bed for nearly two weeks the month before had had her doctor worried. She hadn’t bounced back as she should have. At least not before Noah returned. But the follow-up coincided with the birth control shots she needed to keep her system regular.
“I’ll send Rory too. He can drive you.”
She nodded at that. “Everything going okay?” she finally asked, knowing Delbert Ransome’s release yesterday worried him.
“So far.” He swiped his hand through his hair, feathering the long, thick raven-black strands around his roguish face.
God, he made her heart beat faster. She’d just had him, and she wanted nothing more than to take him again.
She nodded when he didn’t say anything more. Conversation after that was quiet. They talked about the garage, parts needed, and the business that was now flowing back to them.
They argued over new equipment she wanted to buy. Advanced computers for the new chips coming out and the classes she had signed up for in Odessa. The pros and cons to each move she wanted to make in the business.
As they talked, Noah realized in one heart-stopping moment just how perfect Sabella had been for him all along. The fact that he hadn’t realized that six years before still had the power to rip into his guts.
The mistakes he had made since his rescue piled atop him, one after the other. He should never have hid from her, what the hell had he been thinking? As long as he didn’t face her, didn’t face the consequences of his decision, then he’d been able to remain strong.
It had been all about his stupid fucking pride though. Not being the man he had been, fearing her rejection in the face of it. He’d been a fucking fool and now there was no way out.
He could just imagine her face if he said, oh yeah, by the way, baby, I’m your husband. You know, the one that died? The one that wouldn’t come back to you for six fucking years. Yeah, she’d accept that easily enough.
Bullshit.
This Sabella would rip his eyes out of his sockets and shoot him with his own gun. Before she divorced him. Because she couldn’t forget the man he had been. The one whose ring she was wearing, even now, on her marriage finger. The one whose pictures graced damned near every surface of the living room.
Shit. The anger tore through him as she showered and dressed for that damned doctor’s appointment. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight.
He strode furiously to the phone and called Rory, pulling him in to take her to the doctor when Noah wanted to go with her himself.
He couldn’t risk being off site when this mission went nuclear. And if they acted out of habit, then suspicion would rise against Bella. Rory had taken her to the doctor before, Noah knew. She rarely went alone. Sabella hated doctors and she hated waiting in the doctor’s office alone. She and Sienna had often gone with each other, then gone shopping for lunch afterward. After Nathan’s “death,” he knew Rory had tagged along many times, often bullying her gently into doing the things she used to do with Sienna.
“There’s my babysitter.” Sabella grinned as she stepped into the kitchen later to find Rory with Noah. “Who’s watching my garage?”
“Toby and Nik,” Rory grunted. “That kid is turning into a damned maniac. Thinks he owns part of it or something.”
“He’s learning.” She shrugged as she adjusted the lowrise band of her jeans and slid her feet into a pair of sandals. “Toby has a good head on his shoulders, and if we manage to keep him another year, we’ll be lucky.”
Rory grimaced. It was something Noah had acknowledged as well. Toby would move on. The little shit would probably end up taking over the world before he was done.
“Okay, let’s go. I called Sienna. She’s meeting us at the doctor’s office.” She eyed Rory with a grin. “Are you going into the office or waiting in the car?”
Rory grimaced. “Damned women in that waiting room, you’d think they never saw a man the way they act when I walk in there.”
Noah felt a curl of anger burning inside him. For six years Rory had watched over her, taken care of her. He had gone to the doctor with her, held her when she cried, he had stepped in and made certain Sabella wasn’t alone. That she survived. He should be thanking his brother rather than questioning his motives.
“Come on, stud,” Sabella teased Rory then. “Give the girls a smile and a wink and they’ll swoon for you.”
“I’d end up raped,” Rory muttered, but it was good-natured.
They left the house, but before he let Sabella get in Rory’s pickup, he pulled her to him, his lips covering hers, staking his claim on her senses before he let her go.
“What was that for?” She gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into his shirt like a little cat’s, kneading his flesh with primitive hunger.
“To remind you,” he growled.
“Of what?” Something flashed in her eyes then, a flare of anger, of determination.
“Of who you belong to,” he bit out. “Don’t forget it, Sabella.”
She tilted her head as though staring at some strange, unknown creature and attempting to make sense of it.
“You’re leaving,” she reminded him gently. “You’ve warned me of that all along, Noah. You can’t stake a claim on someone you have no intention of keeping.”
The hell he couldn’t. His head dipped again and he stole her defiance with another kiss. He pushed his tongue in her mouth, claimed it, just as he had claimed her body each time he fucked her into a screaming orgasm. His hands pulled her closer, pressing his erection against her stomach through the material of his jeans and fought to get a handle on the possessiveness tearing through his gut.
He couldn’t control the need. He couldn’t stop the fury of dominance, the instinct to make damned sure she never forgot. Never forgot who she belonged to. Whose soul she held in the palm of her hand.
He pulled back and glared down at her. “Remember.”
He stalked away from her then, refusing to acknowledge the tears that had shimmered in her eyes, because to acknowledge them would break him. He was riding a line so fine now that sometimes it didn’t make sense, even to him. He knew, though, if this operation didn’t end soon, if he didn’t manage to pull back just a little bit, then he was never going to be able to walk away from her. And that just might kill both of them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“You’re gettin’ pretty close to him, huh?”
Sabella turned her head and stared at Rory. God, he looked so much like Nathan used to look. Rugged features, the perfection of male beauty paired with wicked blue eyes, thick heavy lashes, and long black hair.
He was almost Nathan’s twin. So close to him in looks that for nearly two years Sabella had been unable to look him in the face.
“Shouldn’t I be?” She knew Rory was aware of who Noah was. She could feel it to the marrow of her bones and it hurt.
She was past mad. It just hurt now that Noah had trusted his brother rather than his wife. The woman he had sworn his heart to. He’d dared to whisper those words in t
heir bed, after he thought she slept. Dared, dared to whisper that vow in Gaelic, in their bed, while he was lying to her. Lying to her with every touch, every kiss, every rasping word from his lying lips.
Rory finally shrugged. “Do you think he’s going to stay?”
She would have gotten angry at that point if she hadn’t heard the regret, the somber realization in his voice, and seen it in his face.
Sabella turned and stared out the window. She watched as the town passed by, as everything familiar to her suddenly seemed alien and strange.
“No.” She finally whispered the truth, to him, and to herself. “I don’t think he’ll be here much longer.”
She looked down at her hands, touched the wedding band, and slid it slowly from her finger before tucking it into her purse. Sienna would ask too many questions if she saw it. It could raise too much suspicion.
“You know, Belle.” He cleared his throat, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. “I love you like a sister. You know that.”
“No advice, Rory.” She could feel it coming. As he pulled in to the doctor’s office parking lot and parked beside Sienna’s car, she realized her control wasn’t strong enough to endure even Rory’s well-meaning advice.
He nodded as Sienna jumped from her car, stylish in gray capris and a sleeveless T-shirt. Her long nut-brown hair fell past her shoulders in carefully styled waves, her green eyes sparkled with the same excitement and love of life she had always known.
“There you are.” Sienna laughed, hugging Sabella as she stepped out of Rory’s truck. “And there’s one of the handsomest men in town.” She sighed, her expression creasing in sudden somber realization. “He looks just like Nathan, Belle.”
She mirrored Sabella’s earlier thoughts.
Sabella looked to Rory and saw the flash of pain on his face.
“No, Rory looks just like himself,” she said softly. Close. He was close. But not just like Noah. Not anymore.
“I can’t believe you nearly forgot about your follow-up appointment,” Sienna grumped at her then. “You were too sick, Belle. You need to take better care of yourself.”
She had been sick. That last flu bug had been a vicious one.
“I’m working on it, Sienna,” Sabella promised with a smile as they entered the doctor’s lobby, signed in, and took their seats.
She wondered if that bug was coming back. She hadn’t felt her best the last few days. She felt off. Out of sorts. But emotionally she was on a roller-coaster ride that threatened to drive her insane.
“They’re looking at me,” Rory muttered as she took a seat beside him.
She smiled, shaking her head. “’Cause you’re cute.”
He grimaced. Then grinned. “I am, ain’t I?”
And she just shook her head at that Malone grin, the twinkle in his blue eyes. He was a heartbreaker. Her friend. Her brother.
“I’ll protect you,” she whispered.
Then he stared back at her in surprise. “I want to be protected?”
And Sabella could only laugh.
She wasn’t laughing over an hour later though, she was close to sobbing, to screaming in joy. And in fear.
“I’d venture a week, perhaps a little longer,” Dr. Amy Aiken said softly as she sat on the stool in front of the exam table. “The shot was low dose to begin with, because you stated you weren’t involved in any sexual activity. You’re over a week late returning for the shot, and with the antibiotics . . .” The doctor shrugged. “It happens, Sabella.”
She was pregnant.
Sabella pressed her hand against her stomach. This time. This time, God had heard her prayers, he had given her a part of Noah to hold on to, a part of everything she loved to see her through the pain.
She swallowed tightly. “Could you not tell your nurses?” she finally said. “Could we keep this between us? For a while?”
The nurses were notorious gossips. Sabella had always suspected it was one of the reasons Dr. Aiken often ran many of the less complicated tests herself. The blood test had been done in the exam room while Sabella waited. Dr. Aiken was conscientious, she was personal. She was a friend to the women who came to her. And she knew her nurses.
“Is there a problem, Belle?” the doctor asked her gently.
Sabella shook her head. “I want a chance to believe it myself,” she said softly. “Before anyone else knows.”
Dr. Aiken sighed at that. “It’s a very small town.” She rose and collected the data on the test before folding it and pushing it into her lab coat. “I can wait a few weeks before I add it to your file.” She winked. “I forget these things sometimes.”
She sat back down on the stool. “Do you want this baby, Sabella?” she asked gently.
Sabella’s head snapped up. “More than anything,” she breathed out roughly. “I didn’t consider.” She paused and shook her head. “I didn’t think. I’d forgotten about the antibiotics. Things have been crazy at the garage.” In her life. The shock of having Nathan back had dulled her senses.
Dr. Aiken smiled, her serious hazel- and blue-flecked eyes somber. Concerned. “I want you back in three weeks. I’ll rerun the blood tests then and we’ll do a full workup. You weren’t pregnant when you were in here last month, you’re no more than a few weeks along.”
Sabella shook her head. No more than weeks. But she knew. She knew she carried Noah’s baby. She knew it was growing inside her. She swore she could feel it now. That unknown feeling that had plagued her the last few days, the sense of being off balance, not entirely certain why. It wasn’t just because of Noah. It was their child, letting her know he was there.
“You can get dressed now.” Amy rose to her feet. She paused again and looked at her. “If you need to talk, you know you can call me anytime. Or come by the house. We’ll have coffee.” She smiled suddenly. “Though it’s decaf for you.”
Decaf worked for her. She was already planning revised menus. She would have to eat better. Eat more often. No more caffeine and she didn’t even give a damn.
She was carrying Noah’s baby.
She dressed quickly, floating, feeling as though a surge of euphoria had taken hold of her mind and refused to release it. She stopped as she buttoned and zipped her jeans, and touched her stomach again. Just felt it. Needing to feel the life growing inside her.
She and Nathan had talked about starting a family after he returned from that last mission. They had wanted children, but they had wanted a stable environment to bring one into. They were going to pay off some of the bills. They were going to talk about it when he got home. But he hadn’t come home, until now.
Her lips curled softly, though sadly. She could keep him, she thought. She could tell him about the baby, he would never leave her . . . She shook her head. No. She wouldn’t hold him. If he left, he would leave without knowing. And then she would have to leave as well, because Rory and Jordan would make certain he knew. They would never keep that information from him. And she would be back where she started, with a man who had returned, not for her, but because of their child.
Besides, if he knew about the baby, and he left anyway? It would destroy the love she felt for him, and that she couldn’t bear. Noah was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Loving him had been the greatest fulfillment of her life. Until now.
She finished dressing, then left the exam room, and went back to the lobby.
“Everything okay?” Rory came to his feet as she stepped back into the lobby and moved to the counter to pay her bill.
“Everything’s fine.” She smiled back at him, forcing herself to keep the curve of her lips restrained. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”
The nurse took her check. She was busy inputting information into the computer and, thank God, didn’t ask about the shot Sabella hadn’t received.
“I thought you would be in there forever,” Sienna teased as they left the doctor’s office and emerged in the parking lot. “She never takes that long.”
“She w
anted to make certain I was over that flu bug.” Sabella shrugged.
She was dying to tell someone. Why wasn’t she telling Sienna? Rory? Why wasn’t she shouting it from the rooftops? She was pregnant. Finally pregnant and it was her husband’s baby.
She inhaled slowly as they turned the corner of the building and headed across the back lot to Rory’s truck. She was lost in the happiness, trying to hide it from Rory and Sienna. She kept her head down, and she didn’t see the van.
“Sabella!” Rory’s yell had her head jerking up as he tried to grab her, to pull her back from the black van that suddenly stopped beside them.
Sienna was jostled into her, throwing her closer to the wide door that was flung open. Black masks. Black clothes. A gun aimed at Rory, a muffled report sounding as Sabella tried to scream over the hand that covered her mouth, tried to fight the ruthless force that tossed her into van.
Her last sight of Rory was the horror in his face and the blood pouring from his shoulder as he went down. Then the doors slammed closed, locking her and Sienna into the back of the van as it squealed out of the parking lot and accelerated as it headed out of town.
Horrified, terrified, she fought against the hands holding her. Her arms were jerked behind her back. Oh God. Her stomach was undefended. She couldn’t cushion it, couldn’t protect her baby like this.
Cuffs were snapped on her wrists and tape slapped over her mouth as she stared at her friend, her best friend, in shock.
Sienna wasn’t being cuffed or gagged. She was settling herself into the lap of one of the masked abductors, a smile curving her lips as she tilted her head and regarded Sabella like a distasteful chore.
Sienna stared at her for long moments then she got up, braced her hand on the ceiling of the van, and before Sabella could process it, Sienna backhanded her with enough force to send her head bouncing against the side of the van, stars exploding in front of her eyes as she crumpled to the floor.
Sabella didn’t bother lifting herself from the floor. She blinked, felt the blood trickling from her nose, and stared back at the woman who smiled with cool, calm arrogance.