Page 88 of Moonlighter
“You’ll still be okay,” I promise. “Max and my dad are pretty resourceful. They won’t let you or your daughter feel unsafe.”
“I trust them. And I know better than to complain. I have nearly unlimited resources. Can youimaginewhat most women go through if they need to steer clear of a man?”
I shake my head. Because I can’t. I’m used to feeling strong and pretty much in control of everything around me. “I’m just glad you don’t have to find out.”
Her fingers close around mine. “Me too.”
We sit quietly while the car glides over the East River and into Manhattan. “Do me a favor?” I ask as the car approaches my dad’s neighborhood. “Return my call this time? I need to know what happens.”
“Okay. Absolutely,” Alex says.
I give her a sideways glance.
“No, I mean it this time.” She smiles at me in the glow of the streetlamps. The she pulls her hand from mine and places it on her belly, between the halves of her coat. “Good grief, kid. Take a break already.”
“There’s kicking?”
“So much kicking. Always at night, if I’m sitting down.”
Curious, I move my hand up to her belly. And sure enough, something—somebody—nudges my palm a moment later. I let out a hoot of surprise. “Okay, that’s wild. The baby could only be the size of a kitten, right?”
“The books always compare them to fruits and vegetables. I believe we’ve reached the butternut squash stage.”
She. A very small little girl just kicked me. “Did you paint her room pink?”
“No! Cornflower.”
“What’s cornflower? Is that yellow?”
Alex laughs. “It’s a shade of purply blue.”
“If you say so.” My hand is still on Alex’s belly. We turn at the same time and look into each other’s eyes.
The silence thickens. I need to kiss her. So badly. And she doesn’t hate the idea, either. I see it in her eyes. So I lean down and brush my lips against hers, asking permission.
Her chin tilts upward.
“Excuse me!” The glass partition descends as we jerk apart. “I’m gonna have to pass your corner, man. It’s not a good time to stop.” Duff’s voice sounds a little tight.
“Why’s that?” I ask.
“Got someone following us on a motorcycle since the stadium. At first, I thought it could be a coincidence. I don’t like sounding paranoid, but he’sstillback there.”
I turn around and squint out of the window. The glass is darkly tinted, but I can just make out a Triumph riding two cars back. “From where in Brooklyn?”
“Right outside the stadium. Then I lost him for a while, but he reappeared on my tail on the bridge. Three cars back.”
At least the kid is observant. “You call it in?”
“Yeah. Five minutes ago. They’re sending backup, but you might be in for a bumpy ride.”
I reach over Alex’s head for her seatbelt and stretch it low, under her belly, clicking it into place. Then I take care of my own. Then I pull out my phone and text my dad.911 You home?
Duff turns sharply onto seventy-ninth, heading for the West Side Highway. That’s a good impulse, since New York City stoplights make us vulnerable.
No. Why?Dad replies immediately.
Bummer.If he were home, he might’ve extracted Alex from this car himself.I’m in a Company car with Alex on your block. We might have a tail. Young driver is trying to figure out how to play it.
