Caitlin turned to Beatrice. “He’s not serious, right?”

Beatrice was grinning so wide, Travis was afraid she would strain her cheeks. His friend winked at him. “Never thought I’d see this side of you, Travis. Love it. But seriously, girls’ night out meansgirls’night out.”

“We’ll see,” Travis muttered. He’d never considered Caitlin having a life that didn’t include him in the plans. He had no excuse now to keep her on lockdown. The sooner life got back on an even keel for them, the better it would be for him, too. Wanting to know where his wife was every second of the day was pure insanity. He’d have to learn to relax or he’d drive Caitlin away.

“Oh, my God,” Beatrice screeched as she watched Nate slice into the steak. “Is that steak still mooing?”

Everyone at the table laughed. Nate kept Beatrice’s gaze as he popped the slice of beef in his mouth, ignoring the redhead’s disgust.

“How’s yours, sunshine?” Travis asked.

Caitlin sliced into her NY strip revealing a nice pink center. “Perfect. I think I’m in love with you.”

Both of them froze at her words. Caitlin blushed and lowered her eyes. “I mean, anyone who could cook a steak so well—”

“Babe,” Travis lowered his head and whispered into her ear, “You know how I feel. But I’d prefer to show you.”

Caitlin’s breath hitched audibly. Turning her head, their lips almost touched.

“You two need to get a room,” Nate announced, pointing the nose of his beer bottle at them before taking a swig.

Travis looked at his friend. “Shut up, Reece.”

The banter continued around the table. Travis couldn’t believe how content he was with his life right now.

Little did he know that the peace wasn’t going to last.

It was around11:00 p.m. when they left the Blake residence. Caitlin was stuffed full of peach pie. Ed declared he made the pies, but Caitlin was certain it was Emily who baked them because she rolled her eyes when her husband boasted of his baking skills. She leaned back against the seat, stretching her legs out in a sigh as Travis guided the Escalade out of his parents’ neighborhood. It was a huge subdivision; each house was set on ten acres of land. Travis told her the development used to be one big farm.

They turned onto Route 7. It was a good fifty minutes back to their house in McLean. Caitlin felt like she was about to fall asleep—too much sun, too much food, and a good amount of wine. She must have dozed off for a while, because she felt Travis nudging her awake. The car was still moving and the scenery had not changed much.

“What?”

“I think we’re being followed.” The grimness in Travis’s tone blasted the sleepiness out of her. Her chest tightened as she felt a sense of déjà vu, remembering the numerous times she and Jase had escaped assassins sent to kill them. Travis was keeping his eye on the road as well as checking the rear-view mirror.

“You know how to handle a gun, babe?” Travis’s voice was distant, eerily calm, and devoid of emotion despite the endearment he added in the end.

“Yes.”

“There are two Sigs in the glove compartment. Make sure they’re loaded and ready to go.”

Caitlin didn’t ask any questions. She just opened the glove box. Taking out the guns, she checked for fully-loaded magazines and racked the slides to load the first cartridge into the chamber. “Done.”

Travis held out his hand. Caitlin handed him a 9mm and extra magazines. It was then that she twisted around and looked out the rear. There was a huge vehicle following them, possibly a full-sized SUV.

She heard Travis curse violently as a beam of light flashed over them. An oncoming vehicle had turned its high beams on. A jarring force slammed into them accompanied by the sound of crunching metal. Airbags deployed. Their vehicle swerved violently to the right. Caitlin was sure her nails dug half-circles into the door and dashboard; her whole body bracing at the impact.

A car had plowed into them!

Shattered glass rained on her as their vehicle screeched to a halt, tilting precariously on the side of a ditch.

“Fuck!” Travis yelled as he tried to untangle their car from the one that rammed into them. Their tire spun uselessly, the engine revolution straining with the effort.

She must have groaned, because her airbags deflated and hands were suddenly on her, checking her body for injuries and unclipping her seat belt. Travis’s face was dimmed in the cab of the vehicle, but she could feel his warm breath on her.

“Caitlin, you okay?” he asked urgently.

“Y-Yes.”