“Pregnant?” Laurie asked.
The doctor nodded. The doctor was in his late forties, and silver hair was beginning to show at his temples. His smile was genuine, lighting up his green eyes, even though he probably delivered this same news to dozens of women a month. Laurie was less than thrilled to be one of those women.
“Pregnant? How? How could this happen? I’ve been using birth control. I’ve been using it every day since I was seventeen!”
“Birth control isn’t one hundred percent effective.” The doctor gave her a knowing smile.
The man seemed very sweet, kind, and gentle, but right now, Laurie wanted to throttle him.
“But how? Oh God. What am I going to do?” She moaned as she covered her eyes, her head in her hands.
“I know this might not have been expected, but a baby is an indescribable joy.” He patted her shoulder in what he obviously assumed was a reassuring gesture.
Laurie just nodded her head, her shocked expression still etched across her face.
“Now, I’m going to go get you some pamphlets and a referral for an OB/GYN. I’ll send in your mother and friend, so you can tell them the good news yourself.” The doctor hummed his way out of the door, leaving Laurie alone.
She sat on the exam table, huddled in the little white gown, holding her nauseous stomach. Dante was going to kill her. He was going to be so angry. She had forced him to flee Hawaii because of a man who wanted her dead. He lost his job because of her, and now she was pregnant. She had ruined his life—his entire life.
Fat tears coursed down Laurie’s cheeks when Emma opened the door to the exam room. Laurie stared at the wall in shock and horror. She let go of the little white gown she had in a death grip.
“Laurie? What is it, honey? What did the doctor say?” Emma asked, as she and Gabriella rushed into the room.
“I’m…” Her eyes glazed over. “I’m pregnant. Dante’s going to hate me.”
Laurie buried her face in her hands. She heard Emma suck in a breath.
“Pregnant? I’m going to have a grandchild?” Emma’s face broke out into a smile, as she hugged Laurie.
“He’s going to hate me.” Laurie grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake.
“No, no, he won’t, Laurie. My son loves you. He will love this baby too,” Emma crooned into Laurie’s hair.
Laurie doubted that. She looked to Gabriella, who was also beaming at her.
“I know it’s unexpected, but the baby news will make Dante happy.” Gabriella squeezed her shoulder. “You’ll see.”
Laurie took in a deep breath and expelled it slowly. She could only hope they were right. She brushed her tears away. There wasn’t anything she could do now but wait for Dante to come back.
God, how was she going to tell him? How was she going to go back into the Marshals Service’s custody as a pregnant woman? What if she went into labor on the stand? Oh, God. She could feel her blood pressure skyrocketing. She took deep breath, after deep breath, as she climbed off the examining room table and pulled on her clothes. She would just take everything one minute at a time.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dante
Dante crouched in the closet by the fireplace, hardly able to move or breathe. He had modified the closet yesterday, taking out the shelves and the cleaning supplies. They had returned to the safe house earlier in the week, after having gathered all of the details regarding the meeting between Rick and Kaimi.
Once they returned, they began making preparations for the meeting. They had to return every detail to the way it was before they set foot in the house. Rick knew the safe house almost as well as Dante. They couldn’t risk tipping him off before they had a chance to apprehend him.
Dante modified the closet so he could stand in there. By leaving the door cracked a fraction of an inch, he could see who entered the house.
Albert set up recording devices.
Bob made arrangements so they could make a quick exit that night.
They hid early in the evening, in case Rick showed up early. Bob covered the landing upstairs, and Dante’s father was in the pantry in the kitchen. Dante thought about using the safe room, but he wouldn’t be able to watch Rick enter from a protected vantage point. The door was also too wieldy to allow him to attack quickly. No, they all had to be ready for a fight. If not from Rick, then from Kaimi and his men.
Dante’s heart beat in rapid-fire succession, adrenaline rushing through his veins. For the hundredth time, he checked his gun. He ran through his mental checklist of everything that was ready. Then he thought about the plan of attack. He checked his earpiece, making sure Bob and Albert could still hear him clearly. Dante went back to waiting again. He braced himself for what he had to do. It was almost 8:00 p.m. and Rick hadn’t shown himself for the 9:00 p.m. meeting yet.
“Car,” Bob said in his ear.
Dante sucked in a breath as he saw the faint flash of light dance across the living room wall. He steadied himself in the silent darkness of the closet. A few minutes ticked by before he heard the front door open. The kitchen lights flicked on. He heard footsteps, as the informant entered the living room. He flicked on the lights. The Marshal walked into the center of the room, taking a quick look around. As he sank onto the couch, half-facing Dante’s hiding spot, Dante blinked. His eyes went wide in surprise, and then narrow in anger. Small tremors of shock raced from his head to his feet. Ice water swam through his veins.
Cheyn sat on the couch.
Dante’s hand tightened on his gun, his jaw clenching. He watched his prey pull out his cell phone, scrolling through it idly. Attack plan be damned—Dante was furious. He burst out from behind the door, gun drawn, so angry he almost snarled.
“Federal agent! Put your hands in the air!”
Cheyn started and almost fell off the couch before he launched into a standing position. He stared at Dante in disbelief, then shook his head.
“I said put your hands in the air!” Dante took another step closer.
“Dante? How did you? I mean…uh…where have you—” Cheyn’s eyes darted to the exits.
“Save it. I know it was you.”
“Man, I don’t know—” Cheyn said.
“I know you’re here to meet Kaimi. I know you’ve been feeding him information from the start. Don’t deny it.”
Cheyn filled his lungs with air, and just stared back at Dante. His eyes hardened, his face became stony. His arms were still at his sides, with his hands clenched into fists.
“Why? Why did you do this to me?” Dante gritted his teeth.
“I don’t know what you mean, man. You did it, not me.”
“Don’t you dare, you son of a bitch. How can you live with yourself knowing you let me take the blame for what you did?”
Cheyn shook his head.
“That was your fault, not mine. You didn’t have to leave with the girl.”
“What was I supposed to do? Just let Kaimi keep hunting her from house to house? She was under my protection—our protection!”
Cheyn cocked his head to the side.
Dante fought the urge to fire his gun.
“I told you not to get too close to her. I warned you. I tried.” He shrugged.
“You’re a disgrace. You betrayed me. You betrayed the department, and your country! Why? I want to know why!” Dante shook his gun at him.
“You’re not the judge of me, haole.”
Dante bared his teeth at the insult.
“We were friends. For years, you and I worked this job, in this house. You BETRAYED me!”
Cheyn raised his hands and arms in a helpless gesture.
“What was I supposed to do, Dante? Do you know how powerful that man is? Kaimi feeds my family. Kaimi feeds my whole family. My brother works at the docks for him. He owns my whole town, man! What was I supposed to do? Give up my entire family for some woman I don’t even know?”