Page 61 of CHASE: Captive to the Dark

He stayed facing the front and I frowned at him being so aware. I shouldn’t ask or even care, but I did.

“I don’t understand. Anything.” Which was the truth. I knew my Uncle Abe was in prison because he’d been busted in association with drug trafficking and sales, but the crime, the majority of the town being involved? I hadn’t known that until I arrived. I was just as lost as when I got here.

“There’s nothing to understand.”

I let myself get quiet again. I wanted to ask, why drugs, why murder, but I didn’t. I knew better than to take that route. Maybe I would never know. I had to accept that.

The miles stretched out, winding us deeper into nothingness. It wasn’t until we came upon a section of the road that weaved back and forth that I felt it. My stomach rolled and I grasped the door in panic.

“Pull over,” I yelled, already jerking the handle.

The force of the stop had me pulling against the safety belt and I barely managed to unbuckle and make it out of the truck before I became sick all over again. It didn’t make sense why I was so ill. I wasn’t pregnant. The test confirmed that. So, what was it?

“Shit,” Palo said, walking around. “Chase said last night you weren’t pregnant. You sure?”

My palm fitted against the side of the truck as I wiped my mouth and tried to catch my breath. I should have felt uneasy with him knowing what happened between Chase and me, but I couldn’t think about that now. All I could do was nod.

“Did you take the other one?”

“This morning. Negative.” I managed to stand straight and felt myself sway. Palo helped me back in the truck, but he didn’t move to start driving when he got in.

“My wife, Becky, when she got pregnant with Liam, our first, same thing happened. I think we took a good ten tests in the beginning. She was so sick and it really started to frighten me that maybe something was wrong. You know, the scary things we all don’t like to think about. Anyway, I finally convinced her to go to the doctor. She fought me tooth and nail. Doctors cost money and…well, anyway, we finally went. Bloodwork confirmed it. Sometimes tests aren’t always accurate. I should have bought the good one. I guess when you’re so used to bargaining, you try to take the cheapest route. I’ll stop in Denver and we’ll get a new test.”

The openness took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected it after all the times he’d fought for me to leave.

“Thank you. Although…maybe I’ll just wait until I get home.”

He laughed under his breath. “You afraid I’ll take you back?”

I glanced over, twisting my mouth. “I know you will.”

“You’ll tell him, won’t you?”

Would I? I knew I should, but after the way things went down, I wasn’t so sure that was the smart thing to do. He’d want me to return. Shit, he might even come down and force me back. Just the thought brought heat blazing over my skin. Whether I wanted to think about it or not, the thought turned me on. Everything about him did just did it for me, and it was wrong.

“Kit?” Palo raised his eyebrow at me. “You’ll tell him, won’t you?”

“Yes, but we’re worrying over nothing.”

“And if we’re not?”

I stared ahead in a daze, physically and mentally exhausted.

“Then, I guess I’ll be having a baby. Tell me, though, Palo. You know Chase. What will he do? Be a priest and drug dealer by day and come see our child on weekends as…a stranger? As someone we’ll never truly know? I won’t return to Untold if I am. I’ve been associated with addicts and criminals my entire life. I’m finished being a part of that scene and I’m sure as hell not raising a child in it.”

“Drugs?” He shook his head. “That was Abe and Jim. Chase left because he didn’t want anything to do with that life. When he returned, he tried talking Jim into finding another path. Something safer, but it was useless. Jim was in over his head and we all knew it. For months, Chase did everything he could to stop the crimes that were happening. He has plans to save this town, and he’ll do it. I guarantee that.”

My lips separated as my mind raced. “Jim took Abe’s spot?”

“Yeah. Looks like everything Father tried to do to convince him to stop didn’t work. Someone still got to both of them. Chase was just lucky he was the one to survive.”

But Jim wasn’t dead.

“Palo?”

He glanced my way, doing a double take. “Shit, are you okay? You’re really pale.”

“I…” My mind swam and I blinked past the dots covering my vision. Jim had lied to me about the reason he’d brought in Rory. They were going to expand. He’d mentioned something about that in our conversation before he went missing. At the time, I hadn’t known he meant drugs, I had thought something else, but now…it made perfect sense.

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