Page 50 of Tangled
A few minutes later, he and Scarlett were alone again in the quiet apartment. It was only eight o’clock, but Scarlett yawned.
He smiled. “How about I draw you a bath and then we can head to bed?” he suggested.
She stepped into his arms, and he wrapped her in a hug, resting his cheek on the top of her head. “A bath sounds nice, but I’d rather curl up in bed and watch the full moon on the snow and the lake.”
He pulled her tight against him, brushing a kiss on her hair. “I think I can arrange that.”
***
Brad gently ran his fingers through Scarlett’s hair as she lay sprawled across his chest sleeping. She’d been up twice in the night with the inaccurately named morning sickness. After the last bout, three hours ago, she’d crashed hard and had barely moved since. She’d been doing so well that he thought she might be coming out of it, but apparently not.
The trip to Cody and Tia’s was now out of the question, but he wouldn’t complain about another quiet day at home. So long as the day didn’t mirror the night. He hated how sick she got. What was even worse was seeing the aftermath, how much it took out of her. At least she wasn’t on her own anymore, though. He couldn’t imagine how she managed the first ten weeks of her pregnancy. No, scratch that, he could, he just didn’t want to. She was tough and practical and the kind of person who pushed through. But he was glad she didn’t have to anymore.
The phone rang and he grabbed it, silencing it before he saw Ryan’s name on the screen. Hitting the button to ignore the call, he opened his texting app.
Brad:Scarlett had a bad night. She’s still sleeping so I didn’t want to answer. Is Olivia in labor?
Ryan:Ha, no, she wishes. Sorry to hear that. Akers confirmed it was Petrov. They also found Maria Abel’s necklace and earrings in his things
Brad:Do you have enough to close that case?
Ryan:We’re going through everything now, but yes, we expect to close it soon
Brad:Good, let me know if I can do anything. The lodge is taking care of her funeral arrangements
Ryan:We should be able to release the body in the next few days. There’s one more thing, though
Brad:Why do you have to sound so ominous??
Ryan:Force of habit. But this is weird. They found an envelope on Petrov’s body. Addressed to Scarlett
Brad:What the fuck? Oh wait, did Katz leave her a message? Does this mean we’re officially assuming Katz killed Petrov?
Ryan:I don’t know about you, but I’m assuming it was Katz. And yes, I think he left the message for her
Brad:What does it say?
Ryan:I can’t send it to you since it’s evidence in an ongoing investigation, but I have a picture on my phone. I’ll stop by later today. Akers asked me to interview her anyway. He knows she’s not a suspect. It’s a witness interview, to be clear
Brad:Fun. I don’t know what time she’ll be up or how she’ll be feeling. Can I let you know in a little while when to stop by?
Ryan:Any time, we’re home all day getting the final things ready in the nursery. Do you have any idea how unsatisfying it is to wash and fold baby clothes? You get this normal-looking pile of clothes, but the things are so tiny you just keep folding and folding and folding. I wouldn’t be surprised if all those onesies replicate themselves
Brad:Don’t lie, you love folding
Ryan: (eye roll emoji)This has cured me, trust me
Brad:I suppose I’ll find out
Ryan:I suppose you will. Text when you’re ready for me
Brad agreed and signed off. When he set the phone back down, Scarlett shifted against him. “Everything okay? Is Olivia in labor?” she asked, her voice heavy with sleep.
He chuckled. “She’s not, not yet anyway.”
“So everything is fine, then?”
He was about to answer when her body suddenly stilled. Then her chest rose in one, two, three measured breaths. His heart sank; he knew what came next. Sure enough, three secondslater, Scarlett tossed the blankets off and darted to the attached bathroom.
