Page 33 of Last Resort

“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 doppelgänger 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 washis. 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.”

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