Her stomach cramped and she gasped and held her breath, rubbing her fingertips over her belly in a soothing manner. Stress was bad for the baby.
They’d been under stress pretty much nonstop over the past three days. And she had a horrible feeling the ongoing stress wasn’t about to end anytime soon.
“Olivia?” A hint of fear threaded Ryker’s tone. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. We’re fine.” She did her best to sound confident, even though she was anything but. “Everything is fine.”
Ryker’s gaze was skeptical and she knew he didn’t believe her. But she refused to consider the prospect of being in premature labor.
No way. Uh-uh. Not happening.
Ryker fell silent, although ripples of concern emanated off him like heat waves. Ignoring his negative energy, she continued to concentrate on breathing deeply, in and out, while smoothing her hands over her belly. The odd cramping sensation faded away. After a full ten minutes, she decided there was nothing to worry about.
She and the baby were fine.
The sign for Delavan indicated they were only ten minutes away. For once, she didn’t need to use the restroom and hoped they could switch vehicles quickly and get out of town, before anyone from the Blake-Moore Group caught up to them.
She longed to feel safe. To not constantly glance over her shoulder to see if anyone was behind them.
Was it too much to ask to bring her baby into a secure world where danger didn’t lurk behind every corner?
The depths of despair pulled at her, and she did her best to shove it aside.
Willa had told her several times that God helps those who help themselves. Now that they’d been found for the fourth time in less than three days, she needed desperately to keep believing that God was watching over them.
She couldn’t give up. Not now, and maybe not ever. If she needed to change her identity and disappear for good, then fine.
That’s exactly what she’d do.
It would be worth starting over under a new identity in order to have the safety and security she needed to raise her family.
Ryker was thankful that Mike and Duncan had bought him time to escape the mercenaries. Yet the fact that they kept coming was gravely concerning.
Whatever they wanted from Olivia was big. Big enough to risk losing several good—if misguided—men in order to get it back.
As they came into the town of Delavan, he slowed his speed, unwilling to draw undue attention from the locals. His goal was for the three of them to look like a happy little family.
And if his chest tightened at the thought of having a family of his own, he ignored it.
Glancing around the quaint town, he tried to think of a way to ditch their current SUVs for something untraceable. As much as they’d managed to stay one step ahead of the Blake-Moore Group, if by the skin of their teeth, he didn’t like the way they kept showing up.
Especially knowing they wouldn’t stop until they had what they wanted. Which meant he needed to find it first. Whatever it was.
His phone rang, and he handed it to Olivia, who put the call on speaker. “Yeah?”
“We’re about ten minutes out of Delavan. Miles is bringing an unmarked SUV to a small restaurant called the Early Bird Café.” Duncan’s voice was calm and steady. Ryker was relieved to have a fellow soldier with him. “We’ll meet there, but you’ll want to park the SUV a good distance from the restaurant.”
“What’s the ETA for Miles?” He glanced around as he headed into the downtown area, searching for the café. It was located on the corner of Main and Birch streets.
“Hopefully ten to fifteen minutes.”
“I see the café.” He drove past it, looking for a good spot to leave the SUV. “We’ll see you there.”
“Will do.” Duncan disconnected from the call.
“Where are you planning to leave the car?” Olivia’s voice held a note of uncertainty.
“Not sure.” He turned right on the opposite side of Main Street. When he saw a small police station, he grinned and gestured toward it. “There.”
“Won’t the police be all over an abandoned SUV?” Olivia looked apprehensive.
“Under normal circumstances, yes, but with Duncan’s and Mike’s connections to the Milwaukee Police Department and Sheriff’s Department we can get the locals to let the SUV sit for a while.”
She didn’t look convinced. He pulled into the parking lot, then slid out from behind the wheel. After looping the zebra-striped bag over his shoulder, he unbuckled Aaron and lifted the boy into his arms.
“I wanna walk.” The kid squirmed in his arms, and he glanced at Olivia. She wearily nodded.
It went against the grain, but he bent over to set the child on his feet. Then he reached into the back and quickly unlatched the car seat. He knew Miles had a daughter and a son of his own, but wasn’t sure he’d thought ahead to bring a car seat for Aaron.
He took one of Aaron’s hands in his, Olivia took the other, and the three of them walked toward Main Street.
Like your average, everyday family.
He hoped.
The walk to the café seemed to take forever. He breathed a tiny sigh of relief when they entered the restaurant. After choosing a table toward the back, sitting so that he could face the doorway, they settled in to wait.
Duncan and Mike arrived first, dropping into chairs on either side of him.
“Thanks again,” he said. “I appreciate you watching my back.”
Duncan waved him off. “You’d do the same for us. Coffee, please,” he added as the server approached.
Breakfast was only a couple of hours ago, but he thought it might be good for Olivia and Aaron to eat something. “Lunch menus, please.”
“Not for me. I’m fine,” Olivia protested.
“I want chocolate milk.” Aaron shot a glance at his mother, who nodded.
When they all had something to drink, Duncan leaned forward. “Okay, so Miles is bringing a clean SUV, but I’m feeling like we need two sets
