Page 149 of Ugly Beautiful Scars

We hug for two more minutes then he cups my cheeks and just gazes at me again. He's smiling.

Finally, he takes my hand and turns toward the exit. "Let's get back on the road. The sooner we get there, the sooner you can rest."

We return to the car in silence, my mind reeling with this new reality. As Sean drives, I stare out the window at the blue, still waters of the bay, one hand pressed discreetly against my stomach. A life. A tiny constellation of cells that will someday have Sean's smile or my eyes.

It's our reason to survive.

Chapter 46

SEAN

DECLAN'S MANSION IS A BUNCH of scattered elegant boxes lit from behind by the sunset. It's on a whole other level and a completely different reality than mine. Wrought iron gates swing open as we arrive, welcoming us to a world where money solves most problems. Except mine. I doubt money would buy Victor off; he's likely almost as rich as Declan. And some men only care about power, which already seeps from Victor's pores.

I drive along the curved driveway to the front of the house. The place itself is modern, with white walls broken by massive glass panels that catch fire in the dying light. Two stories of contemporary angles and clean lines spread out across the property like an architectural magazine cover come to life. Meticulously placed olive trees line the entrance, their silver-green leaves moving from the breeze coming off the bay. Theentire property is surrounded by old growth trees—privacy by design rather than afterthought.

I park and then kill the engine, but I don't move. Neither does Londyn.

We sit in silence as twilight creeps over the windshield. The car becomes a bubble, suspended between what we've left and whatever comes next. I study the amazing, beautiful woman beside me. She's got a lot of tension in her jaw and her fingers keep drifting to her middle.

I can't even fully describe how my heart is reacting to the way her hand is lovingly caressing her stomach. There's warmth and fullness and an ache. It's a light in the gloom, cracking through a dark storm cloud.

Boy or girl?I wonder.

She wasn't as stealthy as she thought at the gas station. I'd clocked her through the large anti-theft mirror behind the register: the way she exited the bathroom, paused, then went back in. Minutes later, a woman entered, returned to the aisles for a pregnancy test, then disappeared into the bathroom again. The pieces were easy enough to assemble.

But it was the look in her eyes when she finally came out, that mixt of wonder and terror and something so loving, that confirmed what I'd already suspected.

Londyn is pregnant. With my child.

The knowledge is like a second heartbeat, like I can already feel our child's life connected to mine. A baby.Mybaby. It's so far removed from the path I thought my life would take that it feels like someone else's dream I've accidentally slipped into.

I want that dream.

Just one more obstacle to get there.

I lift Londyn's hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles, trying to ease some of her nervousness. "My friends are good people. They're the only ones I trust to keep you safe."

Londyn nods but doesn't look at me. "I'm sure they are."

"Declan's got resources. Security systems most governments would envy. If something happens to me—"

"Don't." Her voice cracks around the edges. "Please. Don't even…"

"I need you to understand." I brush her knuckles along my cheek. Her skin is warm and inviting and part of me fears this is the last time we'll touch. "Declan's filthy rich and stupidly generous. He'll make sure you're taken care of."

Londyn glances at the mansion, then back at me with a flicker of her old humor. "Rich? I hadn't noticed."

The joke is weak but I grab onto it. My face seems to barely remember how to smile, muscles working in unfamiliar patterns after days of grim focus. It feels good. Necessary.

Could be our last moment together.

What if I never get to meet my child?

Londyn leans over the console to press her forehead against mine. "You're coming back, Sean. That's not even a question."

I exhale, forcing honesty through my teeth. "I want to. That's all I want. But this isn't a movie where the good guys always win. I need to be real about what we're up against. I should be able to get in and get out, but I've gone on too many 'easy' missions that went sideways. I'm not going to sugar-coat this."

"No." She sniffs and her eyes pierce me in the dim light. "Just don't. Don't even suggest that. You'll be okay. And you'll come back. You are coming back."

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