Viv drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “Thank you for saving me.”
“I was never going to leave you.”
He couldn’t resist touching her any longer and took hold of her hand. Instead of pushing his touch away, she held tight.
“So, your mom knows about all this?” she asked.
“She does. And she’s been asking me to quit for years.”
“Hm,” was all Viv said. “Where are we going?”
“I have a safe house outside of Savannah, Georgia. It’s not much. It’s a trailer in the country, but no one will find us there.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I rent it in cash from a guy who doesn’t ask for things like identification so long as you throw him a little extra.”
Viv ran her thumb in circles over the top of his hand. She appeared to be thinking hard about something. He stayed quiet, allowing her all the time she needed. What had happened in the last twenty-four hours was a lot to process.
“How long will we be there for?” she questioned.
His jaw tensed. He hated the answer. “We can move on from there as soon as possible.”
“But you don’t mean back to Jacksonville, do you?”
“No,” he said. “I’m sorry, Viv. If we go back—”
“I know,” she whispered. “He’ll find us. What about my family?”
“It might be a good idea for you to call your sister. Let her know what’s happened. They should probably leave town, too. Just to be safe.”
It seemed impossible, but somehow Viv deflated even more. “Okay. But I don’t have my phone. It was in my purse, and I left that in Bea’s shop.”
“We’ll stop, and you can make a call. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay. Markus?”
“Yeah?”
He sped up and passed several cars. They were on the interstate and finally making good time.
“I don’t hate you for this.”
The words should have been a relief, but they felt more like a punch to the gut than anything else.
“Maybe you should,” he said gruffly. “I certainly hate myself for it.”
Even though they weren’t that far from Jacksonville, he figured a quick stop would be okay. The sooner Viv called her sister, the better.
It had to be a miracle that they found a gas station with a pay phone. While Viv placed the call, he went inside and grabbed waters, snacks, and a cup of coffee—he planned on driving until it became impossible.
When he exited the store, Viv was hanging up.
“What?” he asked, noticing her frown.
“She didn’t answer. I left a message.” Wrapping her arms around herself, she walked to the car.
“She’ll get it in the morning. Don’t worry. There’s plenty of time.”
Vivian slumped into her seat. Taking his spot behind the wheel, Markus set the shopping bag in the backseat and headed for the interstate.
“Don’t worry,” he said again. “They’ll be okay.”
If only he knew that for sure.
It was his fault that Viv and her family were in this whole mess. If he could fix it all, he would. Problem was, right then there didn’t seem to be an answer other than keep running.
“We can have them meet up with us,” he said. “I can buy them a house anywhere they want. They can start new.”
Viv shifted in her seat to look at him. “You still have the diamonds?”
“I do. And I’m planning on selling them. With that money, I can get them a house.”
“I guess there’s no point in asking what would happen if you gave Mr. Romano the diamonds back…”
“I guarantee he’d shoot me on the spot.” He paused. “But maybe I should—”
“What?” she shrieked. “No. You can’t be serious. You weren’t about to suggest you sacrifice yourself. Markus? Were you?”
He pressed his lips together hard. That had been exactly what he was suggesting. He’d made his bed. It was up to him to live with—and maybe die with—his mistakes. That didn’t mean Viv and her family needed to suffer as well.
“It would be for the best,” he said.
“No, it wouldn’t,” she snapped with ferocity.
They fell into another silence. This car ride contained a lot of those.
“You can’t give yourself up,” she said. “We’ll find another way, okay? I’ll talk to Veronica when she wakes up, and we’ll figure it out.”
“Viv, we don’t—”
“Enough.”
She pinned him with a hard stare.
He nodded but wasn’t so sure. Circumstances could change in a heartbeat. At this point, giving himself up to Dagger really did seem like the best option for everyone involved.
“Markus, I have to tell you something.” Her flat voice made his heart race.
“What?”
“I only found out the other day, and I planned on telling you once I got back from the conference… I’m pregnant.”
His mouth went dry.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yeah. I took, like, five tests the other night and they were all positive.”
He blinked, letting the news sink in. It made everything all the worse. Not only had he put Viv’s life in danger, but an unborn child’s as well.
“Markus?”
His eyes stung.
“A baby…”
“Yeah.” She inhaled long. “I’m keeping it. It’s what I’ve wanted for a long time.”
“Viv.” He took hold of her hand and laced their fingers. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to show you how sorry I am, even if I say as much every day for the rest of my life.”
“We all make mistakes.” She sniffled some. “You’re fixing them.”
He grimaced. God, he was trying to. He wondered if there wasn’t more he could be doing, though. Like turning himself into Dagger so everyone else could be let off the hook.
“I want you to raise the baby with me,” she said. “If you want to.”
“If I…” He tripped over his words. “If I want to? Of course I want to. Viv, I love you.”
She sniffled some more. “Really?”
“Absolutely yes. But… after the mess I got you into, are you sure you want me around?”
“You’re fixing that mess.” She brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed the top of it. “You proved how much you loved me when you came to rescue me, and Markus, I love you, too.”
His chest swelled. “I swear I’ll be the best father.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I know.”
“We’ll start over, okay? You name the place and we’ll go there. First, though, we have to lay low for a little bit.”
“Okay.”
“Here.” He reached into the backseat and grabbed the shopping bag. “I got some bananas and protein bars. We’ll stop for a meal soon. What would you like?”
She peeled a banana.
“I dunno. This is fine for now. I’m mostly just tired. I think I had morning sickness last night and this morning.”