Chapter 10
Ten
Hawk clenched the phone in his hand as he stood outside the main two story farmhouse on Silver Ridge Ranch. He’d been waiting for Jessie to come down for the world’s longest five minutes, and his need to pace was only growing bigger the longer she made him wait.
The door opened and she walked out, denim jeans that hugged her curves and a sweatshirt that covered her belly with overflowing fabric.
He was so used to stealing glances at her that the freedom to drink her in at a leisurely pace made his head feel like he’d had one too many drinks served to him at Davney’s.
“You didn’t have to pick me up.”
Hawk pushed off the front of his truck and took two steps forward before wrapping Jessie up in his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and soaked in the feeling of holding her under the cold and crisp Texas sky.
“It’s your first day off since we found out about the baby that doesn’t include an intense medical procedure being performed.
I’m so damn excited about spending the day with you I could barely sleep last night, so of course I’m going to pick you up.
” He lifted her chin with his thumb. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m okay.” The smile she gave him didn’t quite meet her eyes, and that fucking told him everything he needed to know.
“You got sick.”
Her bottom lip was quickly captured by her teeth as her hands slid into the pockets of her jeans. “Only once, and it was my own fault, really.”
She shivered as Hawk pressed his hand to the small of her back. “Let’s get you in the truck and you can tell me all about it.”
“I don’t really want to talk about throwing up.
Maybe you should tell me what you have planned for today instead,” Jessie laughed as he opened the door for her and helped her inside.
He stepped up on the running board, grabbing her seat belt and draping it over her hips before clicking it into place.
“I could do that myself, you know?” Her left eyebrow rose up in challenge, but Hawk just chuckled.
“Not when you’re with me. I’m taking care of you, remember? And now I know for sure that my girls are safe.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek before hopping down and closing the door gently behind him.
“You’re girls, huh?” she questioned as he sat in the driver’s seat.
“You said you felt like it was a boy, so I’m just helping us cover our bases.”
“If you’d covered your base properly, we wouldn’t be having to cover other bases now,” she laughed.
“The thought of a broken condom before would have sent me to my knees, but I’m fucking ecstatic about it now, mama. I’m thinking we should send a birth announcement to the companies when she’s born, thanking them.”
“That’s actually a really cute idea.”
A minute later, he was driving down the long ass driveway, his hand resting on Jessie’s thigh.
“How did everything go with Lachlan? I never heard an update.” He watched her shoulders tense out of the corner of his eye.
“It was really weird. I said I’d call the bank to help straighten things out, but he snapped at me and told me he had it handled. He admitted he’s been smoking again, too. I thought he’d kicked the habit years ago.”
“That’s rough.”
“Yeah. I guess Dakota’s going to buy into the business, but…
” Jessie’s voice faded into the background as a black car sped up behind him.
Hawk checked the road. A broken line on their side.
Perfect. He let off the gas pedal and the truck slowed.
But the car didn’t get the hint to pass.
Instead, it got dangerously close to Hawk’s bumper. He swore under his breath.
“What’s going on?” Jessie asked, her head whipping to look behind them.
“Sit up in your seat and make sure your seat belt is low across your hips,” he ordered. Jessie fussed for a minute before her hand went up to grab the handle above her head. Hawk pressed down on the gas, the truck accelerating smoothly at his command.
Weirdly, that seemed to calm whoever was behind them.
“What the hell is that guy's problem?” Jessie asked. Her voice shook, and he finally felt safe to take his eyes off the road and look over at her.
Fuck. The color had drained from her face. Her hand was settled on her belly. She was protecting the baby without even thinking about it. A surge of anger at the asshole behind them nearly knocked the wind right out of him.
“I can’t even see in his car, fucking tinted windows.”
Jessie’s hand reached over and settled on Hawk’s arm. “He might have just been distracted. He slowed down. It’s—”
Before Jessie could finish her sentence, the car picked up speed again.
Except this time, they didn’t stop. Hawk’s eyes were bouncing between the rear view mirror and the road out in front of them, the car getting closer no matter how much he accelerated.
In about two seconds, he’d be at the top speed he was comfortable driving the truck with Jessie in it.
He was going to have to bail off the road before the driver did something reckless and caused a crash.
The car veered across the center line, speeding until their back bumper was in line with Hawk’s front. Something inside his gut was screaming to break. He listened, just in time for the truck to miss being swiped as the car pulled back into the lane in front of them.
Jessie’s hands hit the dash and Hawk swore again as the car slammed on their breaks, forcing him to do the same. He let the truck come to a complete stop. No one else was on the road behind him, but Hawk flipped on the hazards as a precaution.
“What’s he doing?” Jessie whispered as they both watched the car in front of them. Hawk tried to find anything that could help identify who was driving, but the windows were all tinted beyond anything that could be legal, and the vehicle was missing a license plate. Who the fuck was this person?
They waited, Hawk’s fingers drumming on the steering wheel. His eyes flicked to the ditch on either side of the road. It would be a close call, but if he needed a quick exit, he should be able to swing the truck around and not jostle Jessie too much in the maneuver.
Just as he made the decision to throw the truck into reverse, the car’s break lights disappeared, and it sped off. What the actual fuck?
Hawk looked over at Jessie just in time to watch her eyes flutter closed as she groaned, her fingers reaching for something towards her hip.
He heard the click of the seat belt detaching from the receiver and reached to hold her arm, but she was out the door before Hawk could stop her.
And as soon as her feet hit the ground, Hawk knew exactly why she’d been so quick to get out of his truck.
“Whoa, you guys okay?” Mae asked as soon as Hawk and Jessie walked into Montgomery Defense.
Hawk was wound so tightly he was shaking, and Jessie wasn’t faring much better.
He’d noticed the color hadn’t come back into her face.
Fuck. All he wanted to do was get her upstairs into bed to rest, but he needed the team to find whoever the hell tried to run them off the road.
“No,” Hawk barked. “Where’s Tracker?”
“He’s at The Trident today. Remember? He took your training so you could have the day off.” She finished looking at him like he’d completely lost his mind and moved her attention to Jessie. “Hey, Jess. You want to sit down? Looks like a slight breeze could knock you over.”
“I’m okay. We just… someone got upset with how Hawk was driving and brake checked us. It was scary.”
“They didn’t just break check us,” he grumbled. “They fucking tried to run us off the road.”
“You get the plate?” Gunner asked as he stepped out of the kitchen.
“Didn’t have one for me to get,” Hawk admitted.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. They didn’t have a plate. Black sedan. Probably made within the last ten years. That’s all I’ve got to go on.”
“We don’t need to do anything.” Jessie was still trying to calm him down. But seeing her so sick right after everything happened… no, he wasn’t about to let that go.
“They fucking tried to drive us off the road, Jess!” Hawk’s voice thundered through the space.
“We’ve trained a bunch in evasive driving—” Gunner spouted off, and Hawk saw red.
“Yeah, we have. But the scenario has never been me driving my pregnant girlfriend home before!”
Jessie gasped. “Hawk!”
Gunner’s eyes moved to Jessie. “You’re pregnant?”
Her grip on his arm tightened. “Shit, Jess. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that, it’s just… I can’t get how fucking scared you looked out of my mind. They need to know so they can help us.”
“It was someone with road rage. The driver needs help, not us,” her voice faltered.
“Are you sure the baby is yours?” Gunner blurted out.
Jessie’s arm slipped off of his, and he tucked her behind his back. Hawk clenched his fingers into a fist, but left it down at his side.
“I’m fucking sure. Not that it should matter to you. You didn’t even sleep with Lily and took on the responsibility of her and Sage. Are you trying to accuse Jess of something here?”
Gunner stepped up, his shoulders back and his jaw set. “You better take a step back, and keep my wife’s name out of your mouth.”
Hawk felt the adrenaline dump into his body. His arms and legs ached for Gunner to throw the first punch. “Yeah? Well you better never speak that way again to my future wife.”
“Alright, boys.” Mae stepped out from behind the desk and shoved a hand onto Gunner’s chest before shoving her other onto Hawk’s.
“Let’s just take a breather. We all know Gunner forgets to have a filter and say things kindly when he’s worried about someone he loves.
And Hawk, of course, is going to stand up for Jessie, who is the mother of his child.
Plus, we do have people actually using the gym today, and I don’t think Jessie is ready for the news to be all over town.
So, just simmer down and pay attention to what’s actually important here. I’m becoming an auntie again!”