Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Cole stared at the woman in uniform, understanding she was doing her job but not liking her timing. “Fine.”
“Tell me what happened here today. You’re the only witness.”
He hated reliving the moment he’d seen the sedan aiming for Erin, but he managed to give Cara a play-by-play, including placing Victoria behind the wheel. “She aimed directly for Erin and deliberately hit the parked cars in an attempt to hurt her in some way. She followed her path directly.”
Cara finished taking notes and looked at him. “You’ll have to come by the station and sign the statement, but that’s it for now. Thanks.”
He nodded.
“How’s your father?” she asked.
“In recovery,” he bit out. Though he knew she meant well, Cole’s mind was in one place only.
She nodded. “Go,” she said, tipping her head toward the building.
A few minutes later, Cole talked his way past the front desk and navigated the same cubicle area as the last time Erin was here. He had to restrain himself from ripping the curtains open one by one to see where she was.
“Cole.”
He turned at the sound of his name. “Sam. How is she?”
Erin’s brother walked up to him. “So far, so good. They want to keep her for observation, but the baby’s heartbeat is strong.”
If Cole were near a wall, he’d have collapsed against it in relief. “And Erin?”
“She’s bruised in some places from where she hit the ground, but she’s fine.” Sam slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ve been here for too long. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? I’ll call you if anything changes.”
Cole opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Excuse me? You expect me to leave? Without seeing her?”
Sam met his gaze. “She needs rest.”
“Who’s with her?” Because Cole knew her brother wouldn’t have left her alone.
“Mike’s in there.”
Cole eyed the other man warily. “And you’re out here . . . why? To make sure I don’t bother her?”
“Look, I get that you’re worried. We all are. But I was just going to call my parents and let them know she’s okay.”
Cole clenched his hands into tight fists. “So they can come see her, no doubt. Yet you’re telling me to leave, which means—”
Sam blew out a deep breath. “Erin doesn’t want to see you right now, man.”
What the hell? “Why not? Is she blaming me for this all of a sudden?” Cole ran a hand through his hair, crazy at the thought of not being able to see for himself that she was okay.
He wanted to hear the whoosh, whoosh on the monitor and know the baby was fine.
Sam looked more uncomfortable than Cole had ever seen him. Given that he was the easier-going brother, Cole’s nerves were strung even tighter.
“Just say it.”
Sam eyed him with pity. “Look, Erin said now that Victoria isn’t a threat, you don’t need to watch over her.”
Fuck.
“She’s scared, she’s upset, and she’s been under more stress than she can handle. Just give her some time to calm down and see things more clearly,” her brother said, steering Cole toward the door with a hand on his back.
Cole let him, only because he knew better than to cause a scene and upset Erin, never mind that his entire body had gone into shock. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead at the realization that Erin was ending things.
Doing exactly what he’d told her needed to happen. He’d said himself, when the threat to her was over, he’d be gone. Back to undercover work. Out of Serendipity and out of her life—except for the minute details of raising a child, something they’d never gotten around to hammering out.
Erin had been smart. First, she’d tried to make him see they could have a real relationship, but he’d withdrawn or rebuffed her every time. From the moment she realized he couldn’t give her what she wanted, she’d put her armor on. Which was why she’d pulled away the minute she knew his father was out of the woods.
She’d known this day was around the corner, and she was protecting herself. He didn’t like it, hated it in fact, but he respected her decision because her instincts were right.
It was time for him to wrap things up here and return to his world. His job. The job he loved, Cole was forced to remind himself, even as his stomach clenched and roiled in denial.
“Cole?”
He realized Sam was trying to talk to him. “Yeah.”
“You’re good?”
He forced a nod. “I’m fine. Erin’s right. Victoria’s under guard. When she’s stable, she’ll be booked. Your sister’s safe. She doesn’t need me anymore.”
* * *
Erin lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to the fetal monitor, an IV in her arm . . . just in case. She hadn’t asked in case of what. She didn’t want to know.
All her thoughts and whatever energy she had were going toward positive thoughts, calming breaths, and keeping this baby inside her. That was the main reason she’d sent her brother out to the hall, to make sure he waylaid Cole before he was able to get through the red tape and come check on her. The other reason she’d sent Sam to intercept Cole was that she was a coward. She didn’t want to face him and burst into tears. She needed time to get herself together, and to do that, she needed the baby to be okay. Then she’d put the pieces of her broken heart back together.