The Billionaire Op - Lori Ryan Page 0,42

her, and was walking down her front porch when it hit him. Something had been needling at Chad’s brain for weeks. He froze as he realized what it was.

He knew Jennie’s body like he knew his own. And her breasts were larger than they used to be. His mind flipped back to the Sutton Capital softball team’s game over the weekend. Jennie drank water instead of beer when they all went for pizza after the game. He remembered starting to pour her a beer, but she shook her head and pointed to her water. She’d shrugged it off when he raised an eyebrow.

Oh, Christ Jen.

Chad closed his eyes against the pain of knowing what Jennie was hiding from him. Such a small handful of details shouldn’t be enough to tell him the truth, but he knew in his gut, he was right. Knew with certainty that Jennie was pregnant.

And, she hadn’t come to him. Hadn’t told him.

Oh, Jennie.

He sank down on the porch steps, head in his hands. Part of him wanted to storm back into the house and demand that she marry him.

But, he couldn’t do that. Not to Jennie. Chad knew even the suggestion of marriage to someone other than Kyle would kill her.

Somehow, someway, Chad was going to have to come to grips with the fact that he wasn’t going to be able to be with the woman who was having his baby. He wasn’t going to be able to share a life with her the way he wanted to. Hell, he’d be lucky if she’d let him be a part of things at all.

Chapter 23

Chad packed the last of the items in the extended cab of his truck. He was now ready to run with Jennie at a moment’s notice with everything they’d need to stay off the grid for months.

He’d called some old friends and arranged for fake IDs for both of them. If anything came of this, and it looked like she was in danger, he’d keep her safe until she was ready to take the stand. If he had to, he’d relocate his whole life with her to keep her and the baby safe, both before and after the trial.

He hoped like hell he was overreacting. In fact, there was nothing more than his gut telling him he needed to be ready. As far as they knew, the Masters brothers were feeding the FBI evidence and would continue to do so until all of the people involved could be arrested. There was no reason to think Jennie would be in much danger from this.

But Chad trusted his gut. Listening to the creeping-finger feeling that walked up and down his spine had gotten him through a lot of tight scrapes in the military. He sure as hell wouldn’t ignore that feeling when it involved Jennie.

At this point, his feelings for Jennie were a twisted mass of emotions he couldn’t begin to unravel. He loved her more than he could have ever imagined loving someone other than his family. But he also hated her for keeping his child a secret from him. No, that wasn’t true. It wasn’t hate. It was an anger that coursed through his veins like poison.

When he was away from her, he seethed with anger. How could she be pregnant with his child and not tell him about it? He trusted that she would never do what Andrew’s ex-girlfriend had done to him.

She would never abort the baby without telling him. He knew Jennie and knew she didn’t have that in her to do. But as the week dragged on, and Jennie didn’t come to him, his fury built.

Until he saw her. Whenever he saw Jennie, the anger drained away and hopelessness took over. He didn’t know how to help her. She looked so lost. She was hurting more than he could imagine.

Whenever he saw her, he realized that it must be killing her to be having a child with a man who wasn’t her husband. The husband he knew in his heart she still loved.

And, so he waited. She would come to him eventually. He knew that. She just needed time.

In the meantime, he planned. He had cash ready to go. Burner phones. Clothes for both of them. Dog food and a crate for Zeke. And a remote cabin. If the time came, Chad wouldn’t trust Jennie’s safety to anyone other than himself.

“M-m-matt, w-w-w-we can’t keep doing this. Bandon knows something. I can f-f-f-feel it.” Alan looked down right miserable