Chapter 2 #3
An idea hit. “Listen, you’re moving, correct? Give me your address. I’ll go wait for the call, answer the phone, explain where you are, and then I’ll leave. He can come directly here if he’s close enough, or at least call you here.”
Her brow furrowed as she stared at her baby in her arms. “I don’t know.”
“Can you drive like this? I mean, seriously? If you try, will you be endangering your baby? I know shifters recover faster than humans, but driving right after giving birth?”
She finally nodded. “You’re right. I don’t think I can, even though it’s only two hours away. I wouldn’t make it there in this state until long after midnight. And I still need to gas up my car.”
“I’ll pay for the room for three more nights, should you need them. I’ll tell them you’re my sister and are awaiting your husband, should anyone ask if he comes here. Otherwise, when you leave, simply walk out and leave the key on the table.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. Let me bring you some ice and fix us something to eat.” He grabbed the ice bucket and fetched some, using the small hotel room glasses to pour the soda into.
Thirty minutes later, he had her address, and she was deeply under, the strong horse sedative he’d brought with him knocking her out. This wasn’t exactly how he’d pictured using it, but it would have to do.
Moving fast, he packed and set his bag by the door, grabbing the soiled sheets and towels and heaving them down the laundry chute he’d found, replaced with ones he snuck off a housekeeping cart.
He left the baby for last.
At least it’s not frigid out.
His first call was to Bryn’s phone number, in hopes Callum was there. But despite letting it ring over ten times and calling back several times, he gave up.
The baby was sound asleep in his arms when he picked up the room phone and made his next call.
The same man answered. “It’s about time.”
He looked down at his sister, passed out on the bed, and spoke softly. “You swear I’m free once this happens? No more searching for me or my mate?”
“You’re free. We have no interest in you two once we have her.”
He sighed. “All right. Room 456, Grand Galaxy Hotel. She’ll be asleep for perhaps another hour. Whoever comes, have them tell the desk clerk they’re her husband, and they’ll give them the room key. I already arranged it. You can carry her down the back stairs. Have a car ready by the exit there.”
“Where will you be?”
“I won’t be here,” he said, feeling ill.
“I’ve drugged her and served her up to you on a platter.
And one more thing—she’s not pregnant. Apparently, she had the baby recently, but it wasn’t with her.
She wouldn’t tell me anything about it. Said this was the last time I’d ever see her.
From how she said it, I’m guessing Callum is nearby with the baby, so you should be prepared to move quickly or deal with him, because I cannot imagine he would have let her come alone.
You can get that information from her yourself. ”
The man swore in a foreign language Donnel didn’t recognize. “Okay, fine. We have people on the way right now.”
Donnel hung up, then unplugged the phone so it wouldn’t ring.
Don’t worry, Bryn. At least Faegan won’t get her. That much I can swear. And if Callum rescues you, I’ll let you know where she is.
After taking what he knew would be the last look he’d ever have of his sister, he carefully closed the door behind him, leaving the Do Not Disturb card hanging on the knob.
It was after midnight when Donnel parked along the curb in a quiet neighborhood.
He’d stopped outside of Pittsburgh, just inside the West Virginia state line, to use the phone book and find the smallest church he could.
He’d cruised past three others, but this was the only one that appeared to have a parsonage on-site.
He stared at the first note he’d written.
My little sister’s child. Please find her a good home.
My sister was murdered by mobsters today, and the baby’s life is in danger if the police are involved.
I cannot keep her because I must also run.
Your life will also be in danger should anyone discover her true identity.
Give people the second note and burn this one immediately and forget about these facts.
She was born today and deserves to have a good life.
Please see to it that she does. Thank you.
He looked at the second note he wrote. Who knew if the people would be smart enough to do what he said? But he had to try.
I’m only 14. She was born today, and I can’t take care of her. Please find her a good home. Thank you.
He wrapped her in extra blankets just in case, and once he was certain there was no one around, he quietly exited the car and made his way two blocks over to the parsonage.
After kissing the baby’s forehead, he gently placed her carrier on the stoop.
Then he knocked hard, several times, before turning and running to hide in nearby bushes from where he could watch.
A moment later, the front light came on and an older man opened the door. It took him only a moment to see the baby, picking her up as a woman soon joined him.
They saw the first note, which he’d left on top and obvious, and the couple gasped at the same time.
The woman took the baby and headed inside while the man stared at the note—the mobster note—and then looked around, peering into the night.
Finally, he closed the door and the light turned off.
Donnel rushed over, carefully peering in the windows when he saw lights go on in a different room.
It was the kitchen. And while holding the first note over the kitchen sink, the man lit it with a match, the flame quickly destroying it.
Donnel didn’t hang around. He rushed off, breathing a sigh of relief. He’d stopped at Bryn’s apartment on the way and slid a note under the door, listing only the hotel information and room number where he’d left Bryn, and the phone number he’d called.
Callum was a smart man. He’d call the number, or track it down, and locate whoever they were.
Donnel would call Bryn’s number, and if they answered, he’d give them the information about the parsonage so they could retrieve the baby.
And if no one answered?
He’d try Faegan, and if his brother answered, then he’d hang up and walk away knowing Callum failed.
My soul might be damned, but at least the load won’t be quite as heavy.
Donnel knew there was no way he could bring the baby with him. Too many questions, and not enough resources of his own to support a shifter pup.
Plus, he didn’t want Callum to kill him.
Since he’d never told Hyacinth he was in contact with Bryn, it would trigger questions and anxiety in Hyacinth that everyone was better off avoiding.
While they were gone movers would empty their house and move their belongings into storage. He’d already arranged the vacation and sold his business. That money he’d roll over into his next venture, with help from the Targhees to obtain new IDs.
And they would disappear again, but he’d frame it to Hyacinth as a surprise because he sold the business, not because Faegan had found them again.
He drove all night, exhausted when he finally pulled into the parking garage at the hotel in Columbus, Ohio, about an hour before dawn.
When he quietly let himself into the room, he found his mate sound asleep. He took a moment to breathe, freezing the image in his mind.
He’d already stripped and eased into bed when she finally stirred. “Don?”
“Yes, love?”
When she rolled to snuggle against him, he buried his face in her hair, deeply inhaling. “Did your business meetings go all right?” she asked.
He squeezed his eyes tightly shut against the tears. “Yes, love. Everything went fine.” This wasn’t the first time he’d brought her to a hotel and sequestered her while he “attended business meetings” when he’d learned Faegan was on their trail.
He never wanted to worry her. She’d suffered for so many years already. Lost so much.
They both had.
Another reason he didn’t want a baby. She’d barely recovered a fragile facsimile of her sanity as it was.
Raising someone else’s baby—a shifter baby—would likely drive her mad again.
He should’ve insisted on Callum wiping her memories, too, but Hyacinth refused to agree to that, and Donnel couldn’t bear to overrule her back then.
She sighed, like she might go back to sleep, but then she softly spoke. “What’s the surprise you mentioned?”
“We’re taking that long vacation I’ve been promising you,” he said. “I didn’t want to say anything in case this deal fell through and I’d have to cancel.”
Now she sounded a little more awake. “Vacation?”
“Yes. I sold the business and we’re flying out to California tomorrow.
In three days, we set sail on a long cruise down to Mexico, through the Panama Canal, and to several places in the Caribbean.
We’ll be gone for two months but might be able to extend the trip closer to the end, depending on the bookings. ”
Her gaze widened. “Really?” She’d long wanted to go on one.
“Yes. Happy birthday, love.” He kissed her. “Well, a few weeks early. I hope you don’t mind.”
She snuggled tightly against him again. “I don’t mind. I never suspected a thing.”
He tried not to think about his last look at Bryn passed out in the hotel bed. “It wouldn’t have been a surprise if you did, love. And we’re also moving, too. That will be handled while we’re gone.”
She frowned. “Moving?”
“I made a better profit than I’d planned, and I’d like to change locations. We are not in danger,” he quickly added. “But I want to use our vacation to plan where you’d like to live next. Instead of us having to race to leave, we can take our time.”
“Perhaps Montana? I’ve always wanted to see Yellowstone. I’ve heard it’s beautiful out there.”
He smiled. “Then I think Montana is a wonderful place to start our new life.”
May the Goddess forgive my soul.