After everything we've talked about and everything we've been through, why wouldn't she tell me?
Is she planning to commit to the threats those bastard brothers made against me and give them that baby?
No. Rose wouldn't do that.
If that was her plan, Calvin wouldn't know the truth.
The next few seconds pass painfully slowly as everyone around me moves like they're battling through sludge. I blink, and the few seconds I spend in darkness give me alarming clarity as to what I should do.
It doesn't matter if everything with Rose was a lie.
It doesn't matter that it was all part of some twisted plan to screw me over and bring harm to the people I care about.
What matters is that I love her and she's carrying my baby. Anything else is just noise.
"Boss?" Ethan's face floods my vision when I finally reopen my eyes. His brow pinches with worry as he stares at me.
"Her ring," I choke out in a voice that almost doesn't sound like my own. "Her wedding ring has GPS in it. Track it."
Ten minutes later, Calvin is on his way to the hospital, and I'm in fresh, blood-free clothes while Ethan races us toward the beeping little dot on his GPS.
The tracker in Rose's wedding ring wasn't meant to be used for anything other than syncing her up with the security in the house.
"Do you think Beatie is in on the whole thing?" Ethan asks as he weaves through traffic like water spilling across rocks. Behind us, three cars follow at a slight distance. No other man in my organization can drive quite like Ethan can.
"I do not know what to think," I admit, rapidly drumming my fingers against the door. "Everything I thought I knew is wrong. Even when telling me the truth, Rose lied to my face about being pregnant. But I…" Stress tightens around my chest like a hot band. "I do not want to believe that this is part of any kind of plan. I know little but I know Rose cares for Calvin. I do not think she would hurt him, or allow him to be hurt, unless she had no other choice."
"So how do you want to play this?"
Any other situation, I would already have a plan in my mind and every man with me would be fully briefed by the time we arrived. Not this time.
I can't think past this knot of fear in my chest that Beatie will harm Rose the same way she harmed Calvin and I won't get there in time to save her.
"She is pregnant," I murmur while staring down at my tapping fingers. "I cannot… I cannot believe she would endanger the baby either. But am I blinded?" I lift my gaze to the passing buildings and lights that all merge into a blur. "How long I have ached to hear those words. Time and time again, I told myself it did not matter. I told myself I accepted that I could not have children and it was simply not a blessing in my future. Now I feel like something has been turned on inside of me and I cannot think."
"I don't blame you," Ethan replies with a grunt as he rapidly changes gear. "Telling yourself you're okay with something when there is no other option doesn't always quieten the desire for it. So when it's presented to you, it's not necessarily a bad thing that it brings you hope. This could be a good thing."
"Does it matter?" I glance across at Ethan. "What I feel is nothing if Rose is…" Unable to say the word, I focus back outside while Ethan's grip tightens on the steering wheel. He doesn't have an answer for me either.
When Rose's GPS finally stops moving, several miles away from the estate, it takes us ten minutes to get there.
Ethan floors it and races through the city as fast as he can, but those ten minutes are the slowest ten of my life.
By the time our convoy reaches the edge of the city, my heart's ready to burst right out of my chest and I'm unable to sit still.
It grows harder as the stolen silver car comes into view, parked haphazardly against the sidewalk with one headlight completely smashed from running over my guard.
Ethan slams on the brakes and brings our car to a spinning, screeching halt parallel to Rose's car.
I kick the door open, throwing myself out into the cold, late-evening air.
As my feet hit the tarmac, several gunshots ring through the air from inside the building.
36
ROSE
"Beatie, are you sure she's in here?"
