Everly

“Yes! Go, go.” I ushered Mack out the door.

He shot me a nervous look. “You sure?”

“Of course I am.” I rolled my eyes. “One of us has to go and look, and it makes more sense for you to visit his ex’s place than me.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Mack nodded. “Piper only just went down. She ate dinner—I even bathed her. You should just be able to kick back in front of the TV and relax.”

Relax? Unlikely. “And you’ll call me as soon as you—”

“I have my phone right here.” He waved the mobile in the air as proof. “As soon as I’m down there, I’ll give you a buzz.”

“Thanks.” I breathed a sigh of relief, waving him off as he walked over to the four-wheel drive. “Bye!”

“Bye.”

I closed the door, watching as the car disappeared into the darkness down the street. This was so strange—so unlike Cam. He never missed our nights together, and he certainly wouldn’t want to be so late getting home to Piper.

What if something’s happened?

He was a big, strong man. Those hard muscles … those arms … He could take care of himself.

But what if when Giselle got out, Wayne had picked her up? What if the two of them had gone straight to her place and they’d found Cameron there, going through her stuff?

I’d wanted to call the police, but Mack had convinced me I was overreacting. And what would I say, anyway? ‘Hi, my boyfriend went to his ex’s house, but I think she’s come home with her new boyfriend and potentially is holding him hostage because he hasn’t called me in six hours?’ I could only imagine them laughing down the line.

No, sending Mack in seemed the easiest thing to do. And if something had happened …

Nothing has happened.

Everything will be fine.

I closed the front door and went back inside. As I sank into the couch, I glanced at my handbag, the white paper bag inside it burning a hole in my brain.

There were no more reasons not to do it.

No excuses.

I took a deep breath and removed the pregnancy test from the bag, reading through the instructions, Lord knew why. Was I stalling? It was peeing on a stick, for Christ’s sake. Hardly the sort of thing you needed a brochure for.

Still, I noted the time of day it said to test—first thing in the morning.

I’d wait until then. Do it tomorrow. When I woke up.

Here or at my place?

At mine. Yes, I would—

I ripped the foil off the test kit and walked into the bathroom. What am I doing?

But I already knew. I was taking a chance. I wasn’t hiding from my future—I was facing it head-on, just like I’d once been so afraid to do. I stared at the stick, bit down on my lip. Whatever happened—a negative, a positive—I would be okay. I wanted a family, but this stick wouldn’t give me that, because I already had it. I had it with Cam, and that love—that’s what had been missing from my relationship with Bentley. Not a child.

After the test, I placed the stick on top of the toilet and flushed, washing my hands in the basin. Three minutes. One hundred and eighty seconds.

The longest of my life.

I needed a wine. I made my way into the kitchen, opening the fridge and—

No! No wine.

Just in case I am pregnant.

I poured a glass of water instead, glancing at the clock on the oven. Two minutes down, one to go.

This was it. In just sixty seconds time, I’d find out whether I was going to be a mother or not.

I couldn’t help the tiny buzz of excitement zipping through my body. It happened every time, no matter how many negatives I’d had, no matter how much the odds seemed stacked against me. Hope was uncontrollable. You couldn’t squash it, push it away, not when it came to something like this.

The clock ticked over.

Finally.

It was time.

I walked up the hall, ready to face the music. Ready for whatever that little plastic stick had to tell me. Ready to tell Cameron when he got home. When he comes home …

A rush of noise came from the living room. The sound of the door opening, then something else—cicadas, the beach … life. He’s home.

I turned and raced for the front of the house. I could tell him now. We could view the results together, work out what to do next together.

Excitement thrummed inside me. I rounded the corner into the living room, a huge smile on my face, and—

I froze.

My smile dropped.

The door slammed shut.

Giselle stood there, a wicked smile twisting her lips.

A gun was aimed at my face.