Pia did what Ryder said. She stopped at a convenience store, going out of her way to the next town over just to be safe. In her car, she opened the package and looked up his number on her real phone.

 

“Hey, it’s me,” she said.

 

“Oh, good. Hi, Pia.”

 

“When can I see you again?”

 

He sighed. “I don’t know. We shouldn’t see each other right now to be safe.”

 

“Are you kidding me? I won’t get to see you at all?”

 

“Just for right now. I need to make sure you’re safe.”

 

“But if I’m with you, I will be safe.” She tried not to let her voice get hysterical, but after their night together and all that had happened, the last thing she wanted to do was spend more time away from him. She already missed him so desperately.

 

“Believe me, I want to see you, too, but—”

 

“We can go somewhere far. Get a hotel or something?”

 

“We’ll see. I’m hoping it won’t take that long until we can get on the run.”

 

“Is that what we’re doing?” She hadn’t been sure what the final plan was going to be.

 

“I don’t know for sure yet. But whatever is going to happen needs to happen quickly. I don’t want you in a stressful situation, and I want to be there for you.”

 

“And I want you here.”

 

“Soon. I promise.”

 

“Okay.” She let out a breath, her heart heavy.

 

“I’ll talk to you soon. But keep the phone on silent, okay? We don’t want to give away the fact that you have this phone.”

 

“I will.”

 

***

 

By the next day, she didn’t think she could make it. She felt so tried and had been crying all morning. She knew it was the emotions of the pregnancy and the stress of the situation, but still. All she wanted was him.

 

She decided to call out sick from work, but left the house at the same time that she usually did so her father wouldn’t think anything was up. She drove away, then picked up the prepaid phone and called him.

 

“Hey.”

 

“So, I called out sick today.”

 

“Why? Are you okay?”

 

“Kind of.”

 

“What’s wrong?” He sounded so concerned. She liked that.

 

“I feel like I’m going to die if I don’t see you soon.”

 

He sighed. “Is that all?”

 

“Isn’t that enough? I called out sick, but I left the house at my usual time. When can we meet? I have all day.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. I need to see you.”

 

“Okay.” He gave her the address of a hotel about an hour away.

 

“I’ll see you soon.” She hung up and a grin stretched across her face. She turned up the music and sang along, feeling happier than she had since the last time she saw him.

 

When she pulled into the parking lot, she texted him. I’m here.

 

Room 205.

 

She hurried to the room and knocked softly on the door. He pulled it open and took her into his arms. They kissed desperately, like they hadn’t seen each other in years. He pressed her against the wall, just beside the door.

 

She hopped up to wrap her legs around his waist. His hands were all over her. He didn’t bother being careful today. He was slightly too rough in groping her breasts, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t want him to go back to being too gentle.

 

He reached to her back and yanked down her pants, still holding her up in the air, against the wall. She kicked her shoes off, then her pants hit the floor.

 

“I want to devour you,” Ryder said, growling in her ear.

 

“Yes. Do it, then.” She tugged at his earlobe with her teeth and ran her nails along his back.

 

He hoisted her higher so that he could unzip his jeans and shove them to the ground. In seconds, he pushed inside her.

 

She wasn’t quite wet yet and the feeling of him shoving in deeper stung, but she liked it. Just like she got pleasure off him pounding her hard and fast, she liked the tinge of pain.

 

“Yes!” she cried out, for the first time not having to be quiet.

 

He pounded her against the wall, gripping her hips and moving her up and down on his cock.

 

She cried out again as she came. He moaned and thrust several more times, coming himself.

 

They panted for a moment, until he set her down on the ground.

 

“Damn, woman,” he said. “You do crazy things to me.”

 

She went over to the bed and flopped down, half naked, still throbbing with the after effects of their sex.

 

He crawled in beside her and held her close to him.

 

“What is it about your cock that’s so amazing?” she asked, curling against his chest.

 

“It’s not the tool, it’s how you use it,” he said.

 

“Well, you use it good.”

 

He kissed the top of her head. “You don’t do too bad yourself.”

 

They lay there for a long while in each other’s arms. She dozed off, safe and warm. She awoke with a start a short time later. Someone was banging on the door.

 

She sat up and Ryder looked at her, then held a finger to his lips. He was up and dressed in seconds.

 

He bent down to get his gun and the door slammed open. Pia let out a shriek and snatched the covers up to cover herself. She’d never bothered to get dressed after they had sex.

 

Five men burst into the room, shouting at them and pointing guns.

 

“Get down on the ground,” one screamed at Ryder.

 

Ryder kicked him and hit the guy in the knee. He buckled, but didn’t fall. Before he could turn, though, another guy had punched Ryder in the jaw.

 

Ryder stumbled back, and was kicked by the third guy. He landed on the ground and scrambled to his feet, trying to get closer to her.

 

As Pia watched in horror, the last man came to her and barked, “Get dressed unless you want the whole world to see your skanky twat.”

 

Her face reddened as his crude language, but she didn’t want to go anywhere half naked, and she didn’t want anyone in the room to see, either. She hurried to yank her pants on.

 

She stood to zip them—they were snug already—and looked back over her shoulder to see Ryder on the ground, being kicked and beaten.

 

“No!” she screamed.

 

She dove forward, intending to jump in the middle of the fight. She hadn’t even stopped to think about it. She only knew she couldn’t lose him. But when the man’s arm came around her hard, knocking the wind out of her, she remembered that she should have been protecting her stomach.

 

Tears sprang to her eyes. Both from the pain and not being able to breathe, but also from worrying that he may have just hurt the baby.

 

Her father knew. Somehow he’d found out. She hadn’t been careful enough or something. He knew. And now that he knew, all three of them were in danger. Maybe he still didn’t know about the baby. That would have to make things easier. Would have to make it a little better.

 

For all he knew, maybe they’d only slept together. That was bad enough, clearly, but not nearly as bad as her being pregnant and making plans to run away with him. Would that happen now? Would they get to go off alone and be together and have a family like they wanted to? Or would he be dead before the night was over? Would she be dead?

 

Maybe there would be some poetry in that. They would all be dead together on the same day. At least they’d be together, right? Or maybe Ryder’s crimes wouldn’t let him go to heaven. Well, fine. Wherever he was, she would go, too. She would be with him somehow, no matter what it took.

 

The man grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the door.

 

“Ryder!” she shouted as he yanked her forward.

 

He looked up and raised his hand toward her, but then was punched again and fell back to the ground.

 

She screamed one last time before the man covered her mouth and picked her up, carrying her while she kicked and flailed. Outside, another man waited in a car. He opened the door when he saw them approach.

 

Pia was thrown into the backseat, the door slammed shut behind her. Both men jumped into the car and they sped off. She sat up to look out the back window, but didn’t see any sign of him.

 

“Who are you?” she yelled at them through tears. She could barely breathe she was crying so hard.

 

“All you need to know is we work for your father and he’s not too happy that you’ve been out whoring around.”

 

She spat on him. “Shut up! You don’t know anything.”

 

He held up a Taser and turned toward her. “I will use this if you don’t sit your little ass down and shut the hell up.”

 

She didn’t care so much about herself, but she worried what it might do to the baby. She sat down, looked behind her again, but stayed quiet. What were they going to do with Ryder? Kill him? Take him somewhere? How badly would they beat him?

 

And what would her father do now? If he sent five men after them, he had to be extremely pissed. How in the world had he even found out? What tipped him off?

 

She thought she’d been careful. But apparently not careful enough. She felt wretched in more ways than one. She didn’t know how, but it had to have been her who’d given them away. Ryder was much too careful to mess up like that. Just minutes ago, she’d felt so safe and happy. Now the worst had happened. And it wasn’t over yet.

 

They arrived back at her house some time later. It felt like it took hours, but that was likely just because she was so upset and her mind was racing. They pulled into the garage and she tried to open her door.

 

“Nice try.” The man opened her door from the outside and each of them had a hand on her.

 

“Let go of me. This is my house!”

 

“We have orders.”

 

“What orders? Let me go!”

 

They dragged her through the house and to the stairs. They took her up to her room. For a moment, she thought they were just going to toss her in and leave. But they entered the room. One of them took out handcuffs and tightened one circle around her wrist, then the other one around the wooden leg of her headboard. She sat on the bed, somewhat awkwardly, twisting to face the door.

 

“Just get some rest, now,” the man said. “Your father will be in to see you soon enough. I’m sure he has plenty to say.”

 

They left the room, turning off the light behind them and shutting the door. Pia blinked in the dim light. Some light came in through the window, but the curtain was still closed, blocking the afternoon sun.

 

She heard voices outside. The same men talking. They must be outside her door, keeping watch. Guarding her to make sure she didn’t get out of the room. And with handcuffs and no phone, it wasn’t like she could do much else.

 

She lay back on the bed, curling into a ball with her other hand on her belly.

 

“You’ll be okay, little one,” she whispered. “I’ll make sure of it. Nothing will ever hurt you.”