Chapter 22
Thea kept rubbing her belly as she drove back to that grocery store in Cascade. It had only been two hours since she’d taken both pregnancy tests and the realization that she was with child was still sinking in. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she actually believed the results, but if they were correct, she’d be needing prenatal vitamins and a few, more healthy, provisions. That was the reason she was heading back to the grocery store. It had nothing to do with the fact that she intended on buying four more pregnancy tests, just in case the first two were defective.
Halfway to Cascade, she swallowed hard trying to process the thought of being pregnant as her eyes soaked in the beautiful prairie all around her. This part of Montana was so flat you could see for miles. Hell even now, the only obstruction to the great expanse of prairie was the herd of antelope grazing out in the distance. One doe stood closer to the highway, and a smaller antelope trailed close nearby. It had Thea thinking on the toughness of Montana’s wildlife and the dedication of the mothers who struggled to get their offspring raised into adulthood. If she were, in fact, pregnant, she’d need to be like that. She’d need to be strong, take no shit, do what’s best for her baby. She thought about her panic attacks and gripping the steering wheel she vowed then and there to never let them overtake her again. She was done being anxious and worried all the time. She was done stressing about the past and looking back. Fuck that! She wasn’t heading that way. Nope, her eyes were literally and figuratively set on the road in front of her, and she was going to be like that antelope doe out there on the side of the road. She was going to be fierce and relentless in raising her child. No matter what! Come good or bad, she had a purpose now, and she wasn’t about to pollute her child with anxiety and stress. That shit couldn’t be good for a baby. She needed to be stronger, she had to be stronger. A small little life was relying on her now. That was if she was in fact pregnant.
***
Marko was seething. He thought that he’d be flying in one of StoneCrow’s helicopters with the rest of the team to Thea’s last location. Sitting in the cabin of the Raven all alone, his jaw was clenched so hard that he thought his teeth would shatter. The rest of the team had shifted and gone ahead without him, and right now the helicopter felt like a damn wheelchair. Shame stole through him so hotly that he could feel himself sweating beneath his gear. Worse, he couldn't even communicate telepathically with the rest of the team so he couldn’t even demand they wait for him before going after Thea. Motherfuckers! Knee ticking, jaw muscles bunching, fists clenched white-knuckle hard, Marko hated everything right now.
The pilot’s voice crackled to him through the comm link he wore. “Can’t land at the site, but I’ll get you as close as I can.”
Marko let his head fall back as he tried to calm himself. Ever since his captivity, he’d always had anger issues, but feeling helpless only intensified the emotion.
The chopper dove and a few short minutes later Tito was barking into the comm, “Red.” It was his signal to get up and be ready to exit.
“Yellow.”
Marko stood and removed his comm link before sliding the side door open and looking down into the snow that whipped up into his face. He didn’t wait for the ‘green’. Marko jumped from the chopper that still hovered high above the ground. Without the ability to partially shift, he hit the ground hard and rolled.
Fuck that hurt! He couldn’t remember the last time anything physically hurt him and worry tore through him that he was becoming fully human. It was a terrifying thought, but one that would have to wait. He saw his target location from where he’d been dropped in a barren wheat field. He also saw King and his team as they gathered at the back of the tiny grocery store. Idiots were all wearing black tactical gear, and in all the snow, they stuck out like a bunch of dark-clad dipshits.
Marko pulled on the white hood that was attached to his all-white tactical gear and made a bee-line for the store. He made it to the team just as King was finishing his instructions.
“I repeat,” King spoke quietly. “I’ll go in, do the asking. You’ll secure the perimeter.” He looked around. “She was at this location two hours ago. The odds of her still being here are not likely, so this is an Intel seeking mission only. Keep your eyes open though. If she’s shopping here, she could be staying in this town.”
“And she’ll already know we’re here,” Marko said, startling several of the Walkers around him who hadn’t noticed his approach.
King frowned.
“You all stick out like sore thumbs,” Marko griped. “Look at you.” He jerked his chin toward them. “And that fucking chopper hovering behind the store didn’t help.”
King smiled humorlessly as he asked, “And how would you like to have arrived here, Princess?”
Marko snarled, “Fuck off.” He ripped off his tac vest and then his jacket and tossed them to the ground. Beneath his tac vest and jacket, he wore a plain white t-shirt. With the white leather pants and white hiking boots, he looked like a guy that was just too stylishly dressed for this small town, not like some soldier. “I’m going in. You,” he jabbed his finger at King, “Wait here!”
King frowned hard. “This isn’t your show, Marko. You already let her slip through your fingers once. Perhaps you aren’t the best candidate.”
“She’s my responsibility! And Jenny says Thea’s averse to any other male’s touch. That makes me the only candidate.” He turned to glare at the rest of the team. “All of you will keep your fucking hands off her!” He didn’t wait for a response. Just turned and headed around the building.
Stopping at the side of the building, he took a moment to look down and adjust his clothing. He untucked his t-shit to look more casual and then took a step around the building before jerking back around the corner. Leaning forward, he peeked around the edge of the building and watched as Thea exited a newer blue, extended cab, Ford. She muttered to herself as she jammed the keys in her purse and made her way into the store.
Marko stepped out from around the building and made to follow, but halted. His eyes jerked to the truck and then back to the store as an idea hit.
***
Thea jerked the door of her truck open and climbed in before exhaling a loud breath and fishing the keys out of her purse. She hadn’t bothered locking the doors for two reasons. One, there were like six people living in the town of Cascade, and she knew from where she grew up that small towns were tight-knit and watched out for each other. The second reason she hadn’t bothered locking her truck was that it was a rental, which meant there wasn’t a single personal item of hers in the thing.
Keys slid into the ignition, the truck started. Thea eyed the backup camera on the rearview mirror as she maneuvered the truck out of the parking lot and steered toward the road that led back to her cabin.
A few miles in and she eyed the grocery sack in the passenger’s seat. She’d bought four more pregnancy tests. She’d wanted to buy a dozen, but those little suckers were pricey. She’d also found a bottle of women’s daily vitamins before she’d stopped at the produce section to snag some apples, oranges, and bananas. Driving back to Wolf Creek, she felt a little proud of herself for how well she was handling everything.
“See,” she murmured rubbing her belly. “I’m not a total screw up. We can get through this together, little one.”
“Thea?”
A voice behind her had her screaming at the top of her lungs. She jerked on the steering wheel as her head whipped around to look behind her.
“THE ROAD!”
She barely caught a glimpse of Marko or registered his shout before her head shot forward again, and she fought to keep the truck on the road. One foot slammed on the brakes, and the truck slid on the icy road before it hit the grassy patch at the side of the road and rocked to a halt.
“Jesus!” she breathed, hands white-knuckle tight on the steering wheel.
Behind her, Marko hissed, “Ffffuck!”
Thea shoved her door opened and stumbled from the truck, her limbs shaky and legs wobbly from the near crash. She paced up the road a few yards and then bent over, elbows on her knees as she caught her breath.
“Thea?”
Her head shot up, and her eyes narrowed on Marko. “What in the fuck are you doing in my truck? You could have gotten us killed.” She paled then and looked down at her stomach before slowly standing. Turning she gave Marko her back and rubbed her belly. The realization of how close of a call that had just been finally sank in and now she was good and pissed. Her mind went back to the vow she’d made after watching that mama antelope doe. Turning, she glared at Marko. “Get away from my truck!”
“Thea, we need to talk.”
“We don’t need to do anything.” She stomped up to the still open driver’s side door. “Least not anything we haven’t already done,” she muttered. She made to climb in, but Marko caught her arm and instinctively, she gasped and jerked out of his hold, looking down at her arm. Surprisingly, it hadn’t hurt. Still, Marko took a step back.
“Thea? Did I hurt you?”
She wanted to tell him no. She wanted to tell him that his was the only touch she could stand. No, she more than merely tolerated his touch. She longed for it. But, he’d never know.
“You need to come back to StoneCrow,” he implored. “You shouldn’t have snuck off. Jenny needs to monitor you. She needs to run more tests.”
His words hurt like nothing else ever had. Part of her had naively hoped that he came looking for her because he wanted to. She’d hoped that the intimacy they’d shared had been more than just mere sex to him. It certainly had been to her. His words cemented it though. He wasn’t here for her. He was here for Jenny. Apparently, StoneCrow’s little lab rat had escaped, and he’d been sent on a retrieval mission. Nothing more.
She’d die before she ever let them drag her back to be poked and prodded while she was with child. Nope, the little life struggling to grow in her belly needed her, and she was going to give her child every chance to thrive.
Thea leaned into the truck and snatched up her purse before rifling through it as she talked. “I’m not going anywhere. You need to go away and pretend you never saw me.”
His tone was firm as he replied, “That ain’t happening, honey.”
“The fuck it’s not.” Thea stepped away from the truck and faced him before lifting a hand. “And I’m not your honey.” She saw shock flash across Marko’s features the moment he realized she held a gun and it was pointed straight at him.
She commanded, “Get. Out. Of. My. Way!”
But he didn’t budge. His eyes narrowed to thin slits, and he dipped his chin like he was challenging her.
She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she wasn’t about to let him drag her back to StoneCrow where they’d discover she was pregnant. She wondered if her pregnancy would even prevent Jenny from torturing her with all those damn needles. “Marko, I’m warning you.” I should just shoot him. He’s a Walker. He’ll heal quickly.
“Shoot,” he challenged.
Marko was staring at her just as intensely as she was staring at him. She kept the gun leveled on him, eyes steady, jaw ticking. Why? Why be there for her now? He’d abandoned her at the estate. After all they’d shared, she’d woken alone, and the hollowing feeling in her middle had only intensified with each passing minute that no one had come to check on her. She’d been sick…crazed! And, Marko had taken such tender care of her. He’d been such a gentle lover that she’d convinced herself that there had been emotion involved in what they’d shared. She’d been wrong, and he’d left her feeling unimportant, insignificant. And now he wanted to take her back to StoneCrow? For what? Tests!
She barely kept a hand from dropping protectively over her belly. She had bigger concerns now than her damaged pride and wounded heart. She had a child to worry about. A child she wasn’t about to subject to more testing. If she went back, she’d have to come clean, and things would get complicated. Hell, she wasn’t even sure Skin Walkers would let her keep her baby. If she and Marko weren’t a couple and he wanted their baby, she was pretty sure Monroe wouldn’t let her just waltz off back to her own life with a Skin Walker child. The thought had her mouth going dry as fear filled her.
She shook the pistol once. “I mean it. Leave me alone.”
Suddenly, a blinding light flashed from Marko just as a high-pitched whine filled the air. Startled, Thea pulled the trigger as she flinched.
In front of her, Marko went down, and Thea’s heart stopped. Her eyes shot to where blood was seeping out of a hole in his shoulder, but she knew it shouldn’t be as agonizing as he was making it seem.
On his hands and knees, he threw his head back and roared a terrifying sound that had Thea stumbling backward.
I shot him! Holy shit! I shot him. I actually fucking shot him! She feigned a confidence she didn’t feel as she stated with a trembling voice, “Th-that’ll be the last…last warning you get.” Ghaa! The last warning you get? Who was this person that had taken over her body? She didn’t even know what was happening right now, but she masked it well as she stared curiously at Marko.
His hands fisted in the snow and he gnashed his teeth as his back arched in what looked like a painful convulsion. Were Skin Walkers allergic to bullets? Thea looked down at her pistol then back up.
Marko lifted his head. His eyes were all blown out, and long sharp incisors punched through his gums. He looked like a wild animal and the sounds coming from him sent chills blasting down her spine. She backed toward the truck.
“You can’t get away from me. I’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth.” His eyes dipped and landed on her stomach. And, for the first time since laying eyes on him again, Thea felt genuine fear.
“I’m coming for you. And, I’m coming for my child.”
He knows! She went dizzy with the knowledge. Shaking her head, she reached for the truck door with a shaky hand.
Marko’s eyes drifted back up to hers, but pinched shut as his body convulsed again and a loud roar left him.
Thea didn’t wait for any more threats. She scrambled up into the truck and threw it in gear. The truck's tires kicked up gravel and snow as she gunned it and peeled out, giving a wide berth to where Marko was still on his knees in the center of her lane, glaring at her like he actually hated her.
Thea’s eyes caught one last glimpse of him as he turned his head and watched her tear down the highway. He was frowning so damn hard, but his eyes promised retribution.
Oh, dear God, what have I done!