When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,98
me to walk toward the water.
Both sides of the creek bank were about a foot and a half to two feet above the water. The creek was moving fast, but the six-foot-wide bed looked like it was only a couple of feet deep. There was a larger clearing on the other side, with woods surrounding it.
“Take off your shoes and socks.”
“We’re crossing the creek?” I asked in surprise.
“Why else would I tell you to take off your shoes and socks?” She shook her head in disgust as she leaned over and unlaced her boot. “You ain’t very bright, are you?”
Another contraction hit me, and I breathed through it as she removed both boots, tucking them under her left arm.
“Well, get to takin’ them off,” she said, pointing her gun at me.
“I’m not crossing that rocky creek bed with bare feet,” I said. “I’ll fall and possibly hurt my baby.”
“You ain’t gonna hurt your baby,” she said. “You already fell and you’re just fine. But suit yourself. I don’t want to hear any complainin’ about your soggy shoes.” Gesturing toward the creek, she said, “Well, get goin’.”
If I hadn’t been pregnant, I would have stepped over the edge, but I didn’t trust my balance, so I sat on the creek bank and scooted my feet into the water and stood.
“For shit’s sake,” she snapped. “Quit stallin’.”
“I’m not stallin’.” I took a tentative step. And then another, catching myself as my foot slipped on a slick rock.
Vera came up behind me, maneuvering easily, and climbed onto the other bank. She perched there, smirking at my slow progress as she put on her boots.
When I finally reached the other side, she shot me a look of contempt. “You’re not what I expected.”
“And what was that?” I asked as I ungracefully climbed over the creek bank and got to my feet.
“Someone badass.”
“Sorry, you caught me at one of the least badass moments of my life,” I grumbled. “But bein’ badass is more than holdin’ a gun,” I added, getting pissed. “Killin’ unarmed men isn’t badass.”
She started to respond but cut herself off.
“You shot my friend. He wanted to help you, Vera. That’s why he came.” But a little voice inside me insisted that it was my fault too—that if I hadn’t agreed to this cockamamie plan, Dermot and his men would still be alive—and the guilt was almost too much to bear.
“You think I’m stupid?” she spat out. “He came for you, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why every criminal in the county is chasin’ after you like you’re the best thing since sliced bread.”
“Because it’s not about my looks or the weapons I carry. It’s about earnin’ their respect.”
“By lyin’ on your back?” she asked in disgust. “Do you even know whose baby you’re carryin’ in your belly? Last I heard, you’re not even married.”
“Joe Simmons is my baby’s father.” And he was going to kill her if anything happened to either one of us. But it seemed like a bad idea to mention that. I wouldn’t put it past her to shoot me and leave my body to rot, hoping I was never found. “I’m not discussin’ my personal relationships with you unless you care to share yours.”
Delight filled her eyes. “Well, there’s some of that backbone I kept hearing about.”
If she wanted backbone, I’d give it to her in spades. “Do you know where Mike is?”
“If I knew where that bastard was, I probably wouldn’t need you.”
“Why didn’t you just call the police?”
“I don’t trust police.”
“And you called me?” I countered. “You don’t trust me either.”
“Well, I’m havin’ plenty of second thoughts about that decision.” But she didn’t look like she was telling me the truth. Or at least the full truth, not that I was surprised. She gestured toward the trees. “Let’s get going.”
She steered me toward an opening, and she was right, my feet were squishy and uncomfortable in the wet shoes, but I knew better than to complain. The dirt beneath my feet turned to mud with each step for a while.
We’d been walking for several more minutes before my stomach tightened and now an all-too-familiar wave of pressure squeezed my uterus. I tried to keep walking, reasoning that I’d get to the kids sooner that way, but soon the contraction became too intense for me to keep moving. Grabbing hold of a nearby tree, I leaned my forehead against it as I waited for it to subside.