Page 5 of Fatal Love
A few minutes later, Maria and Beatrice were shut away in the bathroom, Maria having waved Cal off to go make Beatrice a cup of tea. Cal had wrestled up a loose shirt of his for Beatrice to put on and he heard water running in the special tub he’d installed for the birth.
At first, he’d recoiled at the idea of B giving birth to their child in the water—the dangers seemed too great. But after she laid out the facts about home births and the benefits of the water helping labor, he’d had to go along. Seemed fitting that his kid would enter the world via water. He personally preferred being in water to walking on land.
Which made him miss his SEAL days all over again.
No way would he give up what he had now, though. A wife, a kid on the way, a great job that put many of his SEAL skills to use helping people who had no one else to turn to—those things all made him get out of bed every day with a sense of hope and determination.
Hunter had disappeared after helping Cal deposit Beatrice on the bathroom window seat. Now that she was home and in the midwife’s hands for the moment, Cal rubbed his eyes and went to find him.
Savanna Bunkett, Hunter’s fiancee, probably wanted to see him. The man had been with Beatrice 24/7 for nearly three weeks, and had gone on her mission to Chicago. Even though Hunter was a super soldier, he had to be tired. Burned out, too, from Beatrice’s raging hormones and downright stubbornness.
Cal almost felt sorry for him.
He found Hunter in the darkened front room that Beatrice referred to as the formal living room, standing at the bay window and staring out at the street. Hunter didn’t turn to acknowledge Cal, even though there was no way Cal could sneak up on him. Hunter’s hearing was as sharp as an eagle’s; he had some kind of sixth sense as well, being able to anticipate a person’s moves before they even made them.
“I’ve engaged the security system,” Hunter said. “How is she?”
“She’s in good hands.” Cal plopped down in his favorite lounger. “You can go now. I appreciate the help, man.”
“I think it would be fortuitous if I stay.”
“Fortuitous? Jesus, Hunter, you’ve definitely been around B too much lately. You’re starting to sound like her.”
“She does rub off on one after awhile, but, sir, I do think I’ll hang around for now.”
Sir. Cal felt old when Hunter called him that. They weren’t that far apart in age. “Savanna may not appreciate it.”
“I’m sure she won’t. She…misses me.”
The man still stared out at the night, his hands behind his back as if he were at ease in a military lineup. His body posture looked relaxed—as relaxed as Hunter ever looked, except when meditating. He was still staring down the block with an intensity that made Cal uneasy.
Maybe it was some kind of standing meditation. “I don’t want Savanna any more pissed at me than she already is after I put you on bodyguard duty.” Because Cal’s duties had caused him to be gone so much recently, he’d pulled Hunter from his own SFI team and made him Beatrice’s personal, one-man security system. “I’m here for B now. If anything goes wrong, I’ll call an ambulance to come and take her to the hospital.”
“If I’m not mistaken, something is about to go wrong.” Hunter glanced over his shoulder at Cal. “Not with the baby, but with us.”
Cal sat up, his booted feet hitting the wooden floor under him. “What?”
“Did you notice that black van parked at the end of the cul-de-sac when we pulled in?”
No, he hadn’t. He’d been too focused on Beatrice and her labor pains.
They only had two neighbors, each house a generous distance from the other on a dead-end road. Woods and hills ran around their small lots, and while they were only a few minutes outside of the town proper, it felt like they were deep in the country.
Cal edged up to the bay window, and cranked his neck so he could look the direction Hunter now pointed. The end of the road was a good quarter mile away, but there it was—the black van, just like the soldier said. “What about it?”
“I believe we’re under surveillance,” Hunter said. “I did a quick sweep of the house and found no bugs or cameras, but…”
Hunter paused, tilted his head slightly, and all of Cal’s instincts went berserk.
“But what?” he growled, already reaching for the gun he kept hidden under the side table near the door.
“I believe we’re about to have company.”
Sure enough, before the words were fully out of his mouth, the black van rolled forward.
