AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh!” Harper’s exclamation startled him. She dropped her hands to her belly.
“What is it? Something wrong? More cramps? Contractions?” He couldn’t hide his panic.
“No, she’s just really active.” She reached over to grab his hand and placed it on her swollen belly. Beneath his fingers, he could feel the baby moving.
“That was a kick!” He had never felt anything like it. “She actually kicked me.”
“She does that a lot.” Harper smiled, still pressing her hand over his. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
You’re amazing.He almost said the words out loud. And it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to draw her into his arms and kiss her.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Harper’s breath caught in her throat, her blood surging through her veins. Sharing this intimate moment of her baby kicking with Steele was incredible. His intense blue gaze bored into hers, and she thought he was about to kiss her.
But then he slid his hand from beneath hers and abruptly stood. He looked everywhere but at her. “I—ah, need to make a few calls.”
“Okay.” Missing the warmth of his hand on her belly, she turned and stacked their dinner dishes on the tray, struggling to maintain an impassive expression. These stolen moments were amazing, but they weren’t real. She knew Steele was only sticking close to protect her.
He was a genuinely nice guy. So different from Jake. Although her ex-husband had been nice in the beginning too.
Would Steele change over time? She didn’t think so, but her track record with men wasn’t great. Even now she was clearly having trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality.
Her reality was heading back to work as soon as possible, then giving birth to her child. A man and a relationship weren’t in her immediate future. She didn’t trust a man enough to open herself up to being hurt. Although if she ever did decide to try again, it would be with a man like Steele. Someone handsome, honorable, kind, and strong, while being gentle at the same time.
Maybe someday...
But not now. She finished stacking the dishes and rose to carry the tray to the door. Steele immediately jumped forward. “I’ll take that.”
“It’s not heavy.” Her protest fell on deaf ears.
Steele took a moment to eye the hallway through the peephole and then opened the door to set the tray of dishes on the floor. Then he closed the door and shot the deadbolt home. His phone pinged, and he frowned as he reached for it. After glancing at the screen, he said, “This is Perkins.”
It took her a moment to place the name. Oh yes, Perkins and Banner were the two ATF agents. Was that one of the calls he’d made? “Does he have good news? Is the shooter in custody?”
“Not exactly.” His frown deepened. He pressed on the screen, then lifted the phone to his ear. “What’s going on, Perkins? Why the sudden desire to interview Ms. Crane?”
Interview her? Her stomach knotted, and she took several deep breaths to remain calm. She hadn’t done anything wrong. There was no reason to be nervous about an interview with the ATF.
A flash of annoyance hit hard. She had told Steele and Brock everything she knew during their first interview, right after she’d almost been kidnapped. Why did she have to repeat herself? What was the point?
Shouldn’t they be spending their time on more important things? Like searching for Tommy Grotto and his shooters?
“Yeah, okay. If you insist. We can do that tomorrow morning.” There was another pause before Steele said, “Nine works. See you then.”
“Why do they want to interview me?”
He looked frustrated, too, but shrugged. “I don’t know. To be fair, they didn’t get a chance to talk to you since this started.”
“I don’t know anything!” She tried to dial back her anger. “It’s a stupid waste of time. They should be looking for Tommy Grotto and his buddies.”
“They are.” He smiled reassuringly. “This is mostly a formality. A task that needs to be done, nothing more. Especially now that Ellis Starkey has been murdered.”
“It’s still stupid.” She sighed and shook her head. “Whatever. I hate knowing Ellis was killed. I don’t think he deserved to be. Yet interviewing me isn’t going to help them find the person responsible. I honestly wish it would. I wish I knew something that would put a stop to all of this.” She stared down at her abdomen for a long moment. “I would give anything to go back to my boring life.”
“I know. I hate that you’re going through this.” Steele stood awkwardly in the center of the suite. “You should get some rest. Sounds like it may be a long day tomorrow.”
“Yes.” She was exhausted. Emotionally more so than physically. Being on high alert for danger was wearing her down. She lifted her head to meet Steele’s gaze. “We’re really safe here?”
