The Billionaire Op - Lori Ryan Page 0,46

a number Chad recognized immediately. Agent Burke.

Shit.

He was willing to bet Burke would be pushing for Jennie to make a statement now and Chad didn’t want her talking to anyone about what she saw until Rick Bandon was in custody. He tossed her phone on the counter with his. He had five burner phones waiting for them in the car.

They were taking his truck but he had an extra set of plates that couldn’t be traced back to him. They’d get out of town and then stop and put the new plates on. He had everything in place.

Now to deal with the little hellcat in the bedroom who probably wouldn’t go with him willingly.

Chad stood at the foot of the bed and watched Jennie sleep. He hated to wake her, but they needed to get on the road. He pondered how to get a pregnant woman to the car.

He’d normally toss her over his shoulder but that was out since he didn’t want to put any pressure on her stomach. She wasn’t showing yet, but he had no clue what could or couldn’t hurt the baby at this stage, and he wasn’t taking chances.

He finally slipped his arms under her shoulders and legs, lifting her in a cradle hold. If he held her tightly, she shouldn’t be able to slip away.

She came awake groggily and looked up at him. “Chad?” Her brow furrowed with confusion but he could also see the exhaustion evident in her face. When they got to the cabin, he needed to find out if this level of fatigue was normal for someone at her stage of pregnancy. She seemed too tired, too sick. And, that scared the hell out of him.

“Time to hit the road, Jen. Rick Bandon may be headed this way and I’m pretty sure he has your name. You and I are going away for a bit until the feds can pick him up,” Chad said as they moved quickly through her small house and out the front door.

“What? No! Put me down, Chad. You can’t do this!” She kicked and squirmed in his arms but he held tight.

Oh, shit.

Old Mrs. Stempski was out on her porch in her bathrobe, newspaper in hand, watching as Chad forcibly removed Jennie from her house.

Not good.

“Hi, Mrs. Stempski! How are you this morning?” Chad called out cheerfully as he pinned Jennie’s arms with a tighter grip.

“Is everything all right, Jennie?” the nosy busybody asked.

“Oh sure. Dentist appointment,” he said. “She does this every time.”

“I do not! Call the police, Mrs. Stempski! He’s kidnapping me!”

Chad put Jennie down in front of the passenger side door, holding her tightly with one arm as he swatted her ass with the other. “Knock it off. You’re going whether you like it or not.”

He smiled again at Mrs. Stempski. “She’s terrified of drills and shots.”

Zeke barked excitedly from the back seat as if he were going on a fun trip, apparently unconcerned that his mistress was being carted off against her wishes.

“Some watchdog,” Jennie mumbled.

“You listen to that boy, Jennie, and let him take you to the dentist. You have to take care of your teeth, dear!”

Chad barely suppressed a laugh at the look of shock on Jennie’s face when Mrs. Stempski not only bought his story, but began to lecture Jennie about proper oral hygiene. It was pretty comical.

He put Jennie in the truck and buckled her in, ignoring the rush his already ridiculously turned-on body felt when his arm grazed her chest.

As Chad rounded the front of his truck, he kept the key chain pointed at the truck. Jennie unlocked the electronic locks; he locked them. She unlocked them again; he locked them.

Now how to unlock them fast enough to get in and then lock them again without her getting out? Shit. He’d have to get her to go along with his plan somehow. He crossed back over to her side and opened her door, blocking her escape with his body.

Speaking quietly so Mrs. Stempski couldn’t hear, he did the only thing he could think to do to get her to come along. He scared the hell out of her. It fucking gutted him to do it, but it was better than getting a call that she’d been killed.

“Jen, the Masters brothers were found dead. They were tortured and then shot in the head. This Bandon guy isn’t screwing around. I know you’ll never love me the way I love you, Jennie. And I’ll find a way to live