Page 56 of Last Resort

She could feel Chance’s eyes on her the whole way into the house, but she didn’t turn back. She couldn’t. Not when she’d ruined his life and he didn’t even know it.

Chapter Seventeen

Chance barely slept a wink. All night long, his thoughts drifted to Maci. He couldn’t stop picturing her after the appointment. The hunch of her shoulders as she bolted into the house, the stiff set of her lip as she tried not to cry.

Was it the baby? Did she not want a girl? Even if that was the case, he couldn’t see Maci getting that upset over something like gender. It was something else, he knew it, but he had no idea how to find out. Maci had locked herself in the guest bedroom, refusing to come out for dinner, even when he’d asked as gently as possible. He’d almost decided to break down the door and demand to know what was going on.

Then he heard Maci crying.

Even through the door, Chance could tell that her tears were agonized. It wasn’t just the typical fear of being a bad parent, she was terrified about something else, and that took the wind out of his sails. As frustrated as he was, Chance refused to badger her when she was obviously going through something difficult.

Worst of all, it was a reminder that, as much as he cared for her, he didn’t know a lot about Maci. So, as much as he wanted to demand answers, he stepped away and let her be.

It was the hardest thing he’d ever done.

By the time he’d gotten up this morning, the kitchen showed signs of Maci having made herself tea and breakfast. That was good. He wanted her to talk to him, but if she wouldn’t, at least she was taking care of herself.

He’d barely made his own coffee and breakfast when his phone rang.

“We got another message from the stalker,” Brax said.

A sliver of unease dug into Chance. He didn’t like the way Brax’s voice sounded—too careful and controlled for his free-spirited jokester of a brother.

“What did it say?”

“I think you should come in and see for yourself.”

Chance didn’t even have to think about it. “I can’t. I need to stay here with Maci.”

That got Brax’s attention. He cursed under his breath. “I forgot about the appointment yesterday. Is everything okay with the baby?”

“The baby’s good.” Chance was careful not to let the gender slip. He wasn’t sure if Maci wanted people to know yet. “Maci’s just having a...tough time.”

Brax was quiet for too long, and the foreboding got stronger.

“What’s going on, Brax?”

“The message was a threat.”

“Did you guys already let Dorian know? Is Stella secure?”

“It wasn’t a threat against Stella.”

Chance let out a curse. “Against us again?”

Brax didn’t answer.

“What the hell is going on?” Brax was never this quiet.

A second later he heard a click. “Bro, it’s Weston. Luke’s on too. You and Maci both okay?”

This definitely wasn’t good. “Yeah, we’re fine. You guys need to tell me what’s going on right damned now.”

“The new threat is against Maci,” Weston said quietly.

The world stopped. “What kind of threat?”

“I sent a picture to your email.”

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