I can’t be the reason he adds another one to his collection.
“Ch-Chase,” she choked again, coughing to clear her strained throat before letting him know, “I’m okay!”
She was scared out of her wits, and the reality of how closely she’d come to death hadn’t fully sunk in. But for now, Scottie was alive. The rest, she’d deal with later.
Chase froze mid-swing, his wild gaze flying straight over to hers. He blinked, and it was then she realized he finally saw her.
“I got this, brother.” Logan took control of the jerk lying unconscious on the ground. “You take care of her.”
With her next breath, Scottie found herself being pulled into Chase’s arms.
“Jesus, baby!” His strong, comforting hold became impossibly tighter. “I thought I lost you forever!”
“I thought so, too.” Tears spilled over, falling in waves down her cold, wet cheeks. “H-how did you even?—”
He slammed his lips to hers in a kiss Scottie knew she’d remember for the rest of her days.
“I love you!” he blurted the second their mouths parted ways. “Bothof you. So fucking much!”
It wasn’t until he placed a gentle palm over her soaking wet belly that the last half of what he’d said finally sank in.
Scottie felt her heart kick the inside of her ribs.
“Y-you…know?” She swallowed hard, her throat scratchy and tender from her earlier screams.
“About the baby?” Emotion poured into the blues of his eyes. “Yeah, sugar. I know. And I get why you were afraid to tell me, but Scottie, I…” His strong voice cracked as his gaze shone with a well of unshed tears. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be with you. To marry you, and”—he glanced down a moment before his focus returned to where it was before—“to have a family with you.”
Fresh tears fell with the water dripping from her hair. “I’m not even sure…I mean, I fell from the back of that van, and then that m-man…” A giant knot formed at the base of her throat. “It’s so early, Chase. What if…what if I did something to hurt the baby?”
He kissed her again with all the gentleness and care of a man who treasured the woman he loved. “We were brought back together for a reason, Scottlynn.” He used her given name. “And if there’s one thing I’m sure of…especially after today…it’s that you and I can handle anything that comes our way. As long as we’re together.”
God, she loved this man.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the second I took the test.”
“Shhh…” He brushed a few strands of her soaked hair away from her eyes before tucking them behind her ear. “Remember what I told you the night I proposed? No more letting the past steal whatever time we have left together.” Chase leaned his forehead against hers. “From now on, from this moment forward, all we need to focus on is our future.”
Our future.
Scottie had thought it had been lost to them both forever. But now…
A loud commotion stole her attention. She and Chase—along with the rest of the men on his team—looked up in time to see a slew of uniformed officers making their way through the tree line.
Their guns were in their hands. Their intense stares quickly assessing the situation. Logan motioned for the one closest to him to come over and cuff the man responsible for it all. And once he did, Scottie knew her nightmare was officially over.
Several minutes later, she was walking beside Chase, surrounded by the other four men on his team. Together, they were making their way back to the team’s SUV, which was apparently parked much closer than the van in which she’d previously escaped.
Chase filled her in on what she didn’t know about her kidnapper. The working theory was when ten-year-old Dustin McVey came to live with Levi Taylor’s foster family, Taylor—who was only twelve at the time—began grooming his new little brother as his sickening sidekick.
From what Chase and the others surmised, Taylor could control his mental instability far better than McVey. Which explained why Taylor had been able to hold a job and come off as a productive member of society while McVey ended up murdered in a state-run institution for the criminally insane.
In the end, they both lost their freedom. McVey having paid for his sins with his life. Taylor was already on his way to the King County Jail where he’d sit all alone in an eight-by-eight cell until he was either sent away to prison or a place like the one his foster brother spent his remaining days.
Either way, it was over. No matter where the asshole ended up, she was safe. All thanks to the man doing his best to hold back his anger over what she’d been put through, including the bruise she could already feel forming on her face.
“H-How did you guys even find me?” Scottie needed to know.
“That’s another long story.” Chase’s mouth lifted into a heartwarming smile. “Basically, Lucky worked his tech magic, we figured out which part of the forest you were in, and Van broke every land speed record known to man to get us here.”