Page 111 of Theirs to Take

“You can’t be serious,” she insisted.

“I am,” he assured, “option one or two, Carrie?” She looked back at her friend, and she shrugged.

“He’s not wrong,” Mina insisted, “hiding right across the hall isn’t the best plan. You need to get help if your ex is as powerful as you say he is.”

“If I go with you, it will ruin our working relationship,” Carrie said, nodding to Evan. “And if I involve my cousins, I put their families at risk. Maybe I need to consider another option.”

“There’s a third option?” Evan asked.

“Yeah, she thinks she should keep running, but where will you go, Carrie?” Mina asked.

“I have no idea,” she said. “I can’t go back to Scotland. He has the local authorities on his payroll. I’ll never be free of him,” Carrie said.

“What does he want from you exactly?” Evan asked. He noted the fear in her eyes just before she placed her hand on her tummy.

“My baby,” she said. “I’m about six weeks pregnant and that’s why I left Scotland last week. The only people who know about my baby are you, Mina, and my father,” she said.

“And now, Alastair,” Mina reminded.

“Yes, and now my ex. He won’t stop until he finds me and punishes me for leaving him. He’ll want his child. He won’t let the baby go because he believes that my child belongs to him.”

“You didn’t tell Alex or Rod about your pregnancy?” he asked.

“No,” she whispered. “I was going to hide it from everyone for as long as possible.”

“But eventually, you’d have to tell people. I mean, when you’re carrying around a newborn, I think that everyone would figure it out,” Evan chided.

“Yeah, I know that you’re pissed. But as my boss, I don’t have to tell you anything until I’m ready to, and I wasn’t ready. Alastair showing up in the states took that choice from me, so here we are.”

“I can’t believe we’re all still standing here discussing this,” Mina said. “Listen, you need help,” she said, pointing to Carrie. “And you want to help her,” she said, nodding to Evan. “I’m not seeing a problem here.”

“She’s right,” Evan said. “We don’t have time to stand around her and discuss what needs to happen. Come home with me and figure that all out later, but for now, you and your baby will be safe at my house. No one will suspect that you’re hanging out at your boss’s place.”

“I don’t want to tell Alex or Rod yet,” she insisted. “Can you promise me that you won’t tell them?” He hated making her that promise, but if it meant that she’d come with him and he’d be able to keep her safe, he’d make it—for now.

“I won’t tell them what’s going on with you, but eventually, you’ll have to,” Evan said.

“I know that, but I need to have my life together a bit more before that happens,” she said.

“Great, we’ve just about got you packed,” Mina said, cutting in. “Go into the bathroom and finish packing your toiletries. I’ll make sure that the coast is clear, and you pull your car up to the back parking garage. It’s the one that the staff uses and where deliveries are made. If Alastair has someone watching this place, he might not have that entrance covered.” Mina crossed her arms over her chest as if daring either of them to question her plan.

“Wow,” Carrie said, “you’re actually really good at this stuff.”

“I listen to a lot of crime scene podcasts,” Mina said. “I guess they’ve rubbed off.”

“Okay, we have a plan, let’s get to it,” Evan ordered. Carried hurried back to the bathroom to finish packing. “It was good to meet you, Mina.”

“You too, Evan,” she said. “You promise that you’ll keep Carrie safe?”

“You have my word,” he assured.

“Thank you,” Mina said. Evan turned to go down to the parking garage, keeping an eye on his surroundings the whole time. He worried that Carrie’s ex might have left someone behind to watch the building, but then, maybe he was just being overly cautious. For now, all he wanted to do was get Carrie to his home safely, and then, he’d figure out a way to convince her to tell Alex and Rod about her ex and the baby, because it just felt wrong to keep the truth from his new partners.

Carrie

Carrie wasn’t sure of anything anymore. She went along with Mina’s plan to leave with Evan because they were both right. Staying in the building would have been a mistake. Alastair knew where she lived now and if he wasn’t able to stake out the building himself, he’d put one of his guys on it. She was sure that he wouldn’t have come to America by himself. He usually traveled with an entourage, and he wouldn’t give that up just to come to the states.

Evan pulled into a very nice, gated community just around the corner from her apartment complex. She hadn’t realized that she lived so close to him, but then again, how could she? He pulled into a driveway and the garage door opened when he pushed a button up by his rearview mirror. “This is me,” he almost whispered.

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