Page 117 of The Sleeping Girls

“Do you think I’m so stupid I wouldn’t figure it out?”

“No, of course not. But I wanted it so badly. I thought if we got married, I’d tell you and when you saw the baby, you wouldn’t care.”

Cord released her, anger churning through him. “Wanting it doesn’t make it so, Lola.”

Déjà vu struck him, a reminder of Melanie’s biting words after she’d gotten rid of his baby.I’d never raise a child with a man like you.

But Lola… She wanted his child.

That should make him feel good. Instead, he felt betrayed and overcome by a deep sense of loss he hadn’t expected.

Fool, he thought as he strode out the back door. Maybe it was for the better.

But he was tired of losing everything.

He had to see Ellie.

He jumped in his truck and called her. But her phone went straight to voicemail so he drove by the police station. Ellie’s Jeep was not in the parking lot, but he rushed into the station and found Agent Fox talking to Captain Hale.

“Is Ellie here?” he asked.

Derrick glanced his way, an odd expression in his eyes. “No, she’s gone.”

“Did she say when she’d be back? Or where she was going?”

Derrick shook his head no.

“I told her to take some time off,” Captain Hale replied.

Cord scrubbed his hand over his face. Dammit. He had to find her. Tell her the truth about how he felt. He didn’t know if it would make a difference to her.

But he’d almost lost her so many times. He couldn’t lose her again. This time had to be different.

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