He rolled her underneath his body, “Baby, I’m not him. I will never get tired of you or what we have. Jake was a fucking moron because I would never give you up. You are mine and this baby is mine—that’s not going to change—ever!” He could see her thinking about what to say, and he waited her out.
“I just—I want to be sure that—” They both froze when Drew’s cell phone started ringing.
“Who the fuck could that be?” he swore. “It’s one in the morning,” Drew answered his phone, and Karlie just about jumped out of bed when she heard him say Officer Peterson’s name.
“Did they catch Jake?” she whispered. All Drew could do was shake his head. “Why is he calling?” she whispered. He decided it would be best to just put the officer on speaker.
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, Miss Angel, but your mom has been taken to the hospital. She was badly beaten. She is awake, and the doctors say that she should make a full recovery. Your dad is with her now,” the officer said.
Karlie’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. “Was it Jake?” Her voice sounded angry, harsh.
“Yes, it was him. We still have no real leads as to where he is, but we are working on that as we speak. Have you or your sister heard from him?”
“I got another text from him this morning. He told me that he was coming after me. He guessed that I was with Drew. He said I couldn’t hide from him anymore. What can we do? Should we come home? I’m sure that my dad and mom need us now,” Karlie looked so torn. She looked at Drew, and he pulled her into his body.
“It would help,” the officer said, “if you and Jenna came home. I need to take an official statement from her, and I need you to proceed in pressing charges with your original statement.”
“What good are their statements if you can’t catch the guy?” Drew growled. There was no way he was taking Karlie home if Jake was still on the run. It was just too dangerous for her and Jenna.
“We will catch him, and their statements will help to keep him in jail this time,” the officer promised. They discussed a few more details and ended the call.
“What now?” Karlie looked lost, torn between what to do and being afraid.
“We get dressed and wake up Ryan and Jenna. I’m taking you home, and we’re going to put an end to all this shit. Then, sweetheart, you and I are going to get married.” Karlie’s eyes widened, and he could hear her sharp inhale. Good, it’s about fucking time he got his point across.
Drew pulled on his jeans and left the room to find Ryan. Time to take back his life, and that life included marrying his woman and having a family.
Chapter Thirteen
They had driven all night, Drew and Ryan taking turns at the wheel. The guys looked exhausted, and Karlie was pretty sure that she and Jenna didn’t look too much better. They went straight to the hospital, both she and Jenna were so worried about their mom. She found her dad sleeping in the chair next to her mom’s bed, hunched over. Her poor mom looked like someone had run her over with a tractor-trailer. Her face was pretty bruised up, and her lip and eyebrow were both stitched up. The doctor had told them that she had three broken ribs and a fractured wrist. Karlie was furious. She wanted to find Jake and kill the bastard for what he did to her family.
Her father woke up when they all entered the room. He looked exhausted and worried. Jenna hugged him as he stood to greet everyone. “She’s been sleeping for a while now,” he gently whispered. “She had trouble getting some rest, so they gave her something to help.” He shook Ryan and Drew’s hands and just looked at Karlie. He smiled when he noticed her belly.
“Well, it looks like I am going to be a grandpa times two now,” he grabbed Karlie and pulled her into a bear hug. “I still can’ttell you how sorry I am that we ever believed that liar. Jake should never have been given the chance to touch any of you.” He looked from Karlie to Jenna and then at his wife. “We need to catch him before he has the chance to ever hurt anyone that I love again.”
Ryan stepped forward, “We will, Sir. We will find him and make sure that he’s locked away for a long time.” He reached for Jenna’s hand and squeezed it. Mr. Angel’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He smiled, seeming to see what Karlie and Drew had seen earlier.
“Well, you two seem cozy.” His smile never faded. He seemed happy about this little twist.
Jenna pulled her hand from Ryan’s, “Um, no—Ryan is just a friend, Dad. I’m finished with men and bad choices.” She rubbed both hands over her belly, “Well, except for one little man.”
Her dad just nodded, “We’ll see.”
Jenna doubled over, seemingly in pain. Ryan put his arms around her. “What is it, Jenna? Is it the baby?”
Jenna was breathing heavily and nodded her head. “I think, Ouch—God, that hurts.” She doubled over again. Her water broke, leaving her pants and the floor around her wet. At least they were at the hospital, but the timing couldn’t be worse with Jake still on the loose. “I’m so sorry,” Jenna said, looking around the room, embarrassment showing on her cheeks.
Ryan brushed his knuckles over her red cheek, “Don’t be sorry, Jenna. It’s natural, your water broke.” He smiled, trying to reassure her.
“Yeah, but it broke all over your shoes.” She apologized again.
“Not a big deal, honey,” he shrugged. “They’ll dry. Right now, we need to find you a doctor and get you into a bed.”
“You two go, and I’ll be there soon,” Karlie said. “Jenna, I can be your coach if you’d like. I know Mom would be your first choice, but—” She looked back at her sleeping mother.
“You two girls go,” Mr. Angel told them. “Your mom will be okay—you just worry about bringing my grandson into the world, safe and sound.” He kissed both of his daughters’ cheeks.
“But, I don’t have my bags,” Jenna cried. “I need my music and the things I packed for the baby.” She looked at Ryan.
