Page 29 of Call Sign: King
Pulling him farther into the room to avoid being overheard, she tried to manage his expectations.
“It’s probably nothing, but I’ve been feeling queasy for days. I thought it was just nerves, but the more I’m thinking about it, I just don’t know. I figure I’d rather be safe than sorry, right?”
“You are going to be the best mother… and watching Ryder…”
“Ricky, keep it together. One thing at a time. Let’s get a test first and once we know for sure, then we can talk about how freaked out Ryder is going to be.”
“He won’t be freaked out. He’ll be thrilled.”
“Maybe before Rita Skeeter got her hooks in me, but now?”
Ricky shook his head as if to disagree, but at least he stopped arguing with her.
“How the hell am I supposed to sneak out and then back in with a test?”
“I think you’ll have to tell Trevor that I have a headache and you need to go down to grab some Tylenol. I’m hoping they have a test in the gift shop downstairs.”
“That won’t work. I travel with a full medicine kit just in case we need something.”
“Fine… then tell him I ran out of tampons. He won’t question that.”
“I don’t know. I hate lying to Trevor. Why don’t you let him know what’s going on?”
“Not before I know myself. It’s bad enough I need to ask for your help, but the last thing I need is all the guys knowing about even the possibility before I’ve told Ryder.” When she could see Ricky still had reservations, she tried to placate him. “Fine, if the test comes back positive, I’ll tell Trevor right away. But if it’s negative, there’s no reason to get everyone involved.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do. I already called in the food order. I’ll see if I can slip downstairs before Arrow and MacGyver get back from picking it up.”
Khloe hugged her assistant. She knew he was going over and above with this weird request.
The twenty minutes he was gone felt like a lifetime. Napping was impossible and she finally resorted to pacing the length of the bedroom until she finally saw Ricky slipping back through the dividing door, a small paper bag in his hand.
“Sorry it took so long. I made it all the way to the elevator before I realized I hadn’t taken any money with me. I know Trevor is suspicious. I always just charge things to the room, but the last thing I wanted was someone tracing the purchase of a pregnancy test to you, so I had to come back to get cash.”
Khloe grabbed the bag before hugging Ricky tight.
“Thanks. I owe you big on this.”
“No, you don’t. I’m as excited as you are. Just promise me if it’s positive, you aren’t going to try to keep it a secret.”
She hated to lie to her friend, but she couldn’t deal with arguing with him either.
The words “I promise,” fell from her lips. “Now go. Keep Trevor distracted. I’ll take the test and come out to join you all for dinner as soon as I know.”
“Okay, but don’t take too long.”
Once in the bathroom, Khloe took a few minutes to read the instructions. As easy as it should be to simply pee on a stick, she found herself trembling enough that she almost fumbled the plastic strip into the toilet. Laying a few layers of clean toilet paper on the counter, she set the test down and prepared to wait.
Five minutes. It might as well be an hour the seconds passed so slowly. She had no watch and her phone was still with Ricky. She was just about to go out to the bedroom to check the time on the bedside alarm clock when a loud crash came from the other room.
It took her a few seconds to assimilate that the shouting she heard was Reaper’s voice. Seconds later, Trevor came crashing through her unlocked bathroom door, slamming it closed and locking it behind him before running toward her, a haunting look of fear in his eyes.
He didn’t say a word as he picked her up like a child from under her arms and carried her into the huge shower. Trevor slammed her body into the far corner before spinning and placing himself as a human shield in front of her. He inched backward until he had her sandwiched between his muscles and the hard tile at her back.
Her Royal Guard may be acting on instinct, but it took Khloe a few seconds to realize just what was happening.
Ryder had been right. Someone had come for her.
As if her fears had the ability to conjure the boogie man, she heard the sound of gunfire in the distance, followed by more shouting, Ricky’s high-pitch screams, and the crash of something heavy.
