When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,99

“I think you’re really in labor.”

“Like hell I am,” I snapped. I wasn’t having my baby in the woods with a murderer. I was having my baby in the hospital with Joe supporting me every step of the way. Besides, I had two more weeks.

She shrugged. “Whatever. As long as you make it to where we’re goin’, that’s all I ask.”

Make it to where we were going. Not once we had the kids and were safe.

Had Vera laid a trap for me? It wasn’t like I had a choice whether to go with her or not, and even if I did, I’d still go with her. I had to get the kids.

We continued walking deeper into the woods, each step bringing us farther away from anyone who could help me. Where was she bringing me? I only had Vera’s word for it that we’d find the kids at the end of this, and I certainly didn’t trust her. “Who took the kids?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Who killed Mark?” I asked. “Hardshaw? Denny Carmichael?”

“You don’t know shit,” she sneered.

“Then educate me.”

Her mouth clamped shut and we continued on in silence for another ten minutes, but I had trouble keeping my balance as we started up an incline. I had to grab tree trunks to stay upright.

“Are you usually this graceful?” she asked in a snarky tone.

“I can’t even see my feet. Are we almost there?”

“We’re close.”

I estimated the trek had taken about forty-five minutes or more. Which meant this plan had taken some thought and coordination. I also estimated that we’d been heading southwest… in the general direction of Denny Carmichael’s land as well as the Collards’ stronghold. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out either Carmichael or the elder Collard had taken the kids. The real question was why.

“We’re getting close,” Vera said, sounding nervous. “We’re gonna need to be quiet from here on out.”

As if on cue, another contraction hit me hard.

I stopped and grabbed another tree trunk as I waited it out, this one more intense than any I’d experienced before.

Vera moved next to me, placing her hand on my belly. “Girl, that’s a damn contraction if I ever felt one. Your uterus is clamped tighter than a bear trap.”

I didn’t protest, instead deciding to use the opportunity to force a vision. Am I gonna find the kids?

The vision was hazy and almost in slow motion. I saw Ashley’s dirty, tear-streaked face, and Mikey clung to Vision Rose’s neck, only their faces were fuzzy and the colors were distorted. I was looking up at Vision Rose, my side pressed tightly to her chest, and she was talking, a sound that comforted me even though I couldn’t make out what she was saying. She looked exhausted and scared but unharmed.

Then I heard a male voice, only I couldn’t make out the words, just the consonants and vowels, and an arm reached for Vision Rose from behind. Everything faded to black.

“We’re gonna find Ashley and Mikey,” I said.

“I told ya we were, but we gotta hurry before you pop out that kid,” Vera said, several feet in front of me now.

I swiveled my head in surprise. When had she moved past me? My visions usually took a second, maybe two, but I could tell several seconds had passed. That was odd.

“Comin’,” I said, more subdued as I followed, trying to sort out the significance of the vision. Why had the words sounded so garbled? And why had Vera been pressed to my chest? She certainly wasn’t my favorite person, and I had an inkling I wasn’t hers either.

I stopped dead in my tracks, horror and shock washing over me.

I hadn’t had a vision through Vera’s eyes. I’d had a vision through my baby’s.

“No. No. No.” I shook my head, panic setting in as I realized what it likely meant.

Vera stopped and turned to face me. “What are you babbling about?”

“I need to know where those kids are, Vera,” I said, my voice rising. “Who’s holding them and how much farther is it?”

She hesitated, staring down at my belly. Her mouth twisted to the side, and she seemed to be mulling something over. Finally, she nodded, determination filling her eyes, and said, “The Collards have them. Gerard and a couple of his sons. They’re holdin’ ’em in an old icehouse.”

The Collards? Did Brox have anything to do with this? I was surprised at the disappointment that thought carried. He’d had my back twice during encounters with his father. I’d thought he