Or maybe Gabriel took her. Maybe he knew that his enemies were planning some sort of attack on her, and he took her for her own safety. That would be fine, too, because I know at least that he will take good care of her.
But then why won’t he answer his goddamn phone? He must know how worried I am.
I hug Harry against my hip as I walk down the street. He’s getting heavy. It makes me sad to think there’s going to come a day when I will pick him up for the last time, but we’re still a long way from that. Besides, soon enough, I will have another baby that will need carrying and holding, and I will literally have my arms full. I’m sure by that point, I’ll be more than happy to let Harry toddle around on his own two feet.
Another baby. I’m keenly aware every second of the day that I’m pregnant, but sometimes I forget what that means. It slips my mind that in less than nine months, Harry will have a little brother or sister, and I’ll have one more thing connecting me to Gabriel.
I wish that I could share this pregnancy with him. I want to listen to him talk to the baby, tell it all the things they’re going to do together once it’s born. I want him to rub cocoa butter on my belly and bear with me through whatever moods I’m in, or whatever foods I’m craving.
I was alone for my last pregnancy. Sure, I had Clara, but I spent the nights alone, suffered through the morning sickness alone, and braced myself for a lifetime of being alone. I got pregnant with Harry after a one-night stand with Gabriel, and I never thought I’d see him again. I definitely never thought I’d be pregnant with another of his children, and if I had somehow been able to weave that fantasy in my mind, I wouldn’t have imagined having to go through a second pregnancy as a single mother.
I am so wrapped in my thoughts that I don’t notice the huge man ambling toward me down the sidewalk until he’s only a dozen or so feet away. He’s probably close to seven feet tall, with an olive complexion and a long, hooked nose. His eyes are locked on me, and there is a menacing glint to them.
Adrenaline flushes into my system, and I am on high alert. I turn around, hoping to outpace him, but I can hear his long, loping strides getting closer. I look around frantically for my guards, but I can’t see a single one. Where the hell are they? They usually detain anyone who even looks at me.
The man darts into my path, and I stop suddenly.
“Where are you going, mami?” he asks in a syrupy voice.
“I don’t want any trouble.”
He tilts his head to the side, leering down at me. “From what I hear about you, you’re all kinds of trouble.”
He knows who I am. Never a good sign.
“Please just leave me alone. I have a baby.”
The man snorts. “You act so innocent it’s disgusting. Don’t you know that it’s your fault your little boyfriend was arrested for murder?”
I would love to see how Gabriel would react to someone calling him my ‘little boyfriend.’ In fact, I wish he was here right now to do just that.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I hug Harry tighter to my chest. He looks around, clearly noting my discomfort.
“I bet you thought you were doing the right thing, didn’t you?” The man steps closer, and I step back. “You wanted to save the world. But you had no idea that by publishing that article, you would be violating the terms of our agreement with Gabriel. The terms where he did our dirty work, and we agreed to not provide the evidence that would send him to jail.”
Guilt laces with my terror, but right now is not the time to analyze this man’s claims. I push through the questions floating above my head and focus on an exit strategy. I am nowhere close to my apartment, but I’m only a couple blocks from Clara’s mom’s place. If I turn and run, I might be able to make it there and call for help.
If Gabriel bothers to pick up this time.
The man lurches forward, and I spin on my heel and sprint in the other direction.
“Mommy, what doing?” Harry asks, squirming in my arms.
“Shh, we’re just playing a game, baby,” I soothe.
I chance a look behind me, and the man is closing in. He’s big, but his long legs mean he’s fast too. I would be a lot faster if I wasn’t carrying a chubby toddler.
Our game of tag elicits a few confused looks from the other pedestrians on the sidewalk, but nobody stops to help the woman carrying the child being chased by the ogre. Sometimes I love New York. Now is not one of those times.
Ahead of me, a similarly tall and menacing man cuts a path down the sidewalk toward me, and I realize that I’m screwed. Short of darting out into the street, my only option is to slip down the oncoming alleyway and try to lose them on the other side. I make an abrupt left down the alley and pound my feet as quickly as I can toward the other side.
I can hear two sets of thumping footsteps behind me. They’re close. Way too close for comfort. I push harder, struggling to suck in breaths. I’m not going to make it.
A hand closes on my arm and yanks me to a stop, nearly pulling my shoulder from its socket. I yelp in pain.
“Dumb bitch,” the first man hisses, locking my arm behind my back. “Get the baby so I can zip tie her.”
“I hate it when they make us run,” the other man commiserates, walking around my front.
I do the only thing I can think to do—I start screaming Gabriel’s name. It’s a desperate, stupid move. I should be screaming “Help!” or “Fire!” or whatever one is supposed to yell to attract the attention of the otherwise disinterested public. Gabriel can’t hear me, but I call out for him anyway, as if I might be able to draw him down this alley by sheer force of will.
“Shut up!” the second man says, reaching for Harry, who starts to scream bloody murder.
My heart races. No! They’re going to take him! I can’t let them!
But with my arm twisted behind my back, there isn’t much I can do except try to shuffle away.
“Let go of her,” comes a dark voice from behind me.
The three of us freeze, which would be an amusing tableau if we weren’t midway through a kidnapping with a crying baby in my arms.
I look over my shoulder and let out a joyful laugh. “Angelo!”
Angelo Romano has come to save the day. And he’s brought backup. He is standing with his gun pointed at the man holding my arm, and two other serious-faced guards flank him with their guns drawn. John and Matteo, I think their names are.
My attacker releases my arm, and I scurry behind Angelo. He is my favorite of Gabriel’s men and was assigned as one of my personal guards when I lived in the mansion. I suspect it was because of this personal attachment that Angelo wasn’t assigned to guard me in the apartment.
I bounce Harry, trying to calm him down, as we back out of the alleyway. John shoots a concerned look in our direction.
“What’s wrong with him?” he asks.
I frown. “What’s wrong? He’s scared. Somebody just tried to kidnap him.”
We make it to the street, and John guides me by the arm to a car waiting next to the sidewalk. “But he’s not harmed?”
Harry sniffles and hiccups.
“No, he’s not harmed.” I roll my eyes. He is clearly only worried about what Gabriel will do if anything happened to Harry. I’m no less grateful for it, but suddenly my rescue feels a little cheap. They aren’t here for me. They’re here for the goods—Gabriel’s progeny and the one growing in my belly.