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I rolled my eyes. “Like you aren’t always ridiculously cautious when it comes to me.”
“Only because you mean everything to me.” His abdominal muscles flexed as he curled up to claim my mouth in a quick kiss. “Which is why you should take a pregnancy test, so we know for sure in case you decide you want my ink on you soon.”
“I can’t be pregnant,” I huffed with another roll of my eyes.
He arched one dark brow. “Wrong, angel. With the amount of come I’ve pumped into your pussy over the past two weeks, I’d be shocked as fuck if I haven’t knocked you up yet.”
“No, I can’t be. Not yet,” I whispered, shaking my head as I started to freak out.
“Shh, Rylee. Everything will be okay.” Nova stroked his palm down my back until I calmed down. Then he tilted my head back, his dark eyes worried when they met mine. “Why does the possibility of being pregnant with my baby scare you so much? Don’t you know how much I fucking love you?”
This was the first time he’d said those three little words—or four since he’d added the f-word in the middle of his declaration. I’d felt how much I meant to him because he showed me each and every day, but hearing him say it hit me right in the heart. I sniffled a little before I said, “It has nothing to do with how much we love each other.”
“You love me, too?”
His sexy smile made it difficult for me to focus on our conversation, even with how serious the topic was. “Of course, I do. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then what’s the problem, angel?” he asked as his fingers sifted through my curls.
“You make me feel so safe that it’s so easy to forget why you had to come rescue me, but my life is still in danger.” My hand cupped my stomach as the horrific possibilities flashed through my head. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to our baby because of me.”
“First of all, nothing is going to happen to you or our baby.” He yanked me up until I was sprawled over his body. “And whatever happens to anyone who’s tried to hurt you is their fault and not yours.”
There was something off about his tone, and I narrowed my eyes as I stared down at him. “Why do I feel as though you’re not telling me something? Usually, me reminding you about the danger I’m in would’ve amped up your already out-of-control protective instincts, but you seem oddly chill right now.”
“Why do I have a feeling it’s going to be damn hard to get anything past you?” he grumbled, pressing the back of his head against the pillow to stare up at the ceiling while he heaved a deep sigh.
“Because you know me better than that.” I tugged on his chest hair until he met my gaze again. “Spill it, Nova.”
“You know Kevin Hines?”
His question threw me for a loop, considering what we were talking about, but I nodded. “Yeah, he’s a cop who lives near my old house.”
“We went to high school together, and he spotted me near your place when I came to get you.” The tension that started to seep into my muscles when I heard a witness could place me with Nova disappeared when he continued his explanation. “He called me a few days after we got here to let me know that when your mom reported you missing, he was assigned to the case. Since you’re eighteen and there was no sign of foul play, he told her there was nothing they could do.”
I collapsed against his chest, resting my ear over his heart so I could listen to the beat while I took in what he told me. “My mom went to the police?”
“Yeah, angel.” He pressed my cheek closer to his chest. “Even though Chad insisted you weren’t missing, your mom still filed a report.”
I gulped down the lump in my throat so I could ask, “What else did Kevin have to say?”
“Your stepdad wiped out their bank account and split town, but your mom didn’t bother to report him missing.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t wrap my head around why my mom made the decisions she did, but Nova’s motivation became much clearer. Pressing my forearms against his stomach, I raised my head and asked, “Is that why you’re suddenly okay with me going to the garage without you? Because you don’t think Chad is a danger to me anymore?”
A hard glint came and went in his dark eyes so quickly that I almost missed it. “That’s exactly why, angel. You don’t have to worry about your stepdad anymore. He’s never going to be able to hurt you again.”
My relief was almost overwhelming, but I wasn’t out of the woods yet. “What about the Ukrainians? Will they come after me if they’re not the reason my stepdad disappeared? I can’t imagine they’d be too happy about being out however much he owed them.”
