Page 51 of Beautiful Vengeance
Reality was cold and heartless and brutal.
One step at a time.First, she had to ensure that Teague didn’t send anyone after her, and ensure that Sorcha saw justice.She had no doubt that Jude wouldremoveTeague’s men who tried to track her down, and that would only antagonize the issue across the board.Sloan turned to look out the back window to where her suitcase slid around in the bed of the truck.“My phones are in there.”
“Use mine.They shouldn’t be able to trace it if you keep it short.”He passed over the satellite phone that Dmitri Romanov had called him on.She didn’t like thinking that they were on a familiar enough basis that they were calling each other.She didn’t like that at all.
Sloan dialed her brother’s number from memory and listened to it ring, part of her hoping he wouldn’t pick up.Her hopes were in vain.“Teague O’Malley.”
“It’s me.”
Instantly his voice changed, becoming less cold and more worried.“Sloan?Where are you calling from?This number’s not one of the burner phones.”
No point in denying it.“No, it’s not.”She watched their headlights cut through the darkness as Jude headed north, ever north.“I’ve left Sorcha’s house.My location’s been compromised.”
“How do you know that?Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”She said it calmly, firmly.She glanced at Jude, who held up a single finger.One minute left.“I’ve met someone.I’m safe.Sorcha was part of a plot to murder Colm Sheridan a year and a half ago, and I doubt she’s changed her tune since then.Callie could be in danger.We left her tied and alive in the house for you to pick up.”
“We?Sloan, where are you?”
Of course that was what he would focus on—where she was and who she was with—instead of the threat Sorcha represented.She sighed, considering telling him the truth.Revealing that Jude was a MacNamara might make Teague have a heart attack and decide to come after him to protect Callie…but it was likely Sorcha would try to use Jude’s identity as a bargaining chip.
She couldn’t let that woman have the upper hand.“I’m with Jude MacNamara.I’m safe.”
“MacNamara?”
She charged on, all too aware of her time limit winding down.“I’m safe.”Maybe if she said it enough times, he’d actually believe her.“Truly, I promise.Please don’t look for me when you should be dealing with Sorcha.I’ll call when I’m able to.”
“Sloan—”
“Love you.”She hung up and dropped the phone like it had caught fire in her hand, her brother’s worried tone ringing in her ears.“I think I made things worse.”
“It’s a shitty situation.You’re doing the best you can.”He actually sounded like he meant it.
She tried not to let hope take hold, but it was impossible.God help her, but shelikedthis man.“What happens now?”
“Now we find a fucking pregnancy test and a place to hole up for the night.”He slanted a look her way.“Tomorrow we’ll come up with a plan.”
***
Jude got them a cheap hotel in Seattle solely so Sloan wouldn’t have to take a pregnancy test in some grocery store bathroom.He didn’t like the idea of her facing that alone.Hell, he would have liked to go to a lab and get a blood test done to be sure, but she’d insisted on the over-the-counter test first.
He’d bought three boxes.
She raised her eyebrows when he dumped the bag on the bed’s faded comforter.“Exactly how much do you think I have to pee?”
“We might get a false negative.”He knew better than to say anything about a false positive.He’d done some research while he was considering which brand was best, and it appeared that false negatives were a whole lot more likely than the alternative.“It’s been about ten days, so the hormones might not have built up enough to show up.”
She stared.“Jude, I’m going to take these boxes and go into the bathroom now.”
“Do you want me to—”
“No.”She stood and gave him what she probably thought was a reassuring smile.“I think I can manage without you hovering.”
He muscled back the impulse to tell her to do a clean catch.She wouldn’t appreciate it, and he would sound like even more of a fuckhead than he already did.Jude didn’t like feeling out of control.Research usually centered him, but the things he did research on were normally things fully within his control.
There was nothing about the current situation that he could control.
Either Sloan was pregnant, or she wasn’t.If she was, either she was keeping it, or she wasn’t.Either the theoretical baby was healthy, or it wasn’t.
