Page 109 of Savage Reign

How sad was that?

“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked when I walked over to her. I obviously didn’t hide my feelings well enough.

I could have told her nothing, and I was sure she would have let it go. I didn’t know what prompted me to answer. “I was just thinking about my mom.”

Rachel’s eyes softened in understanding. “You miss her? It’s pretty common for us to miss our mom when we’re expecting.”

I shook my head. Now that I really thought about it, I couldn’t say I missed her. I never received any maternal love from her for me to miss.

“No, I was just wondering if she missed me. I don’t think she does.” Even I could hear the sadness in my voice. And the last thing I needed was for someone else to feel sorry for me. I shook my head. “It’s stupid, I know.”

Rachel grabbed my hand. “Hey, I don’t think it’s stupid. And if your mom made you feel that, then it’s on her and has nothing to do with what you did. You know that, don’t you?”

“Sure.”

She looked like she wanted to say something more, but I interrupted her when I asked, “Can we leave?”

After a pause, she nodded. “Yes, I’m sure Liam and Conor have brought the car around.”

“Liam and Conor?”

“Our guards for the day,” she answered like it was obvious. “Maverick was very adamant that we not leave their sight at any time.”

“I’m sure he was,” I muttered, following Rachel out the door. I wished he had told me himself. Or better yet, would give me a phone so I could directly contact him and not have to go through other people.

I squinted against the bright morning sun as Rachel and I walked toward a waiting black car that looked like it would have cost about as much as some people’s house. My heart rate started to pick up the further I walked away from the house, and it took me a moment to realize I was leaving.

What had once been a prison now felt like my safe haven.

In the Tiernan mansion, I was safe and protected.

No one dared to touch me.

But out here…

No one knew me or cared for me. I might be leaving the property with two bodyguards, but I was sure I was nothing more than a job to them.

Rachel turned back to me when she reached the opened door to the car. “Okay?”

I nodded and hurried to catch up to her. “Yes,” I answered. She reached out and squeezed my hand once before getting inside the car. I followed her. One of the guards closed the door behind me, and then we were off. I looked out the window and watched as the house got smaller and smaller until we turned a corner and couldn’t see it anymore.

My heart felt heavy for some reason.

We headed downtown,and if I remembered correctly, somewhere close to the Tiernan’sbusinessbuilding that Maverick had taken me to. It felt like years had passed since that day.

I wasn’t sure what they used the building for or what business they conducted, and I didn’t really want to know. We stopped on a busy street.

Despite growing up in Chicago, I had never really explored the city. I wasn’t familiar with the area, and now that I was here, I was feeling… overwhelmed.

It was too bright, too humid, too crowded, and too noisy.

Just too…much.

Rachel came up to me and hooked her arm around mine. “Come on, I know a great place that sells everything you will need for the baby and so much more.”

I smiled and nodded, letting her lead me on. People stared at us as we passed, and I was sure it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the two gigantic, intimidating men behind us.

They looked like how most would think made men looked—stoic, silent, and intimidating as hell. They wore the same expression Maverick often had on his face and a sort of arrogant impassiveness that was hard to imitate, and they looked nearly identical to each other, which I found out from Rachel was because they were cousins.

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