Chapter Eleven
Pregnant. Rio went dead still as he absorbed the word. Was this some trick to try and escape? His instincts warred against each other. She’s cartel. She’s pregnant. She’s cartel. Celeste, here. Pregnant. Cartel…
Celeste stopped struggling, only her fingers moved, clutching at his vest. Her body jerked, and he swung her forward, catching her in his arms. Her hair cascaded off her face, and she blinked rapidly, her mouth open as she tried to drag in air.
Oh hell. What had he done? The thought got him moving, his legs dragging as if they were pushing through knee-deep muck. Flicking his wrist back, he twisted the doorknob, pulling until he could kick the door open the rest of the way. She needed the medic… Parker would know what to do. Fuck, what if she traveled with Ayala. “Parker!” No, he had a leg wound. First aid should have been quick. Unless there were others. She might have stayed behind to patch up someone else. Gatlin hit the door at the end of the hall ahead of him, bellowing into the twilight.
Celeste jerked. Dropping her legs, he leaned in, pinching her nose before he put his mouth to hers and blew hard, hoping to get air into her lungs. She swallowed, drawing in a shuddering breath. He scooped her up and took off. Gatlin held the door as he approached. Slowing down, he moved through the doorway with care so he wouldn’t clip her head on the way.
The rapid crunch of caliche underfoot drew his attention to the right. Kari Parker ran toward them, assessing the situation as she swung off her backpack. “Kari.” Sweet relief. He’d never been so happy to see the smart-mouthed medic. “I… Please…” He looked down, his gut twisting at the sight. Celeste still struggled to fill her lungs, her skin looking pale under the new tan. “I knocked the wind out of her.”
“You hit her?” Kari ran her hands over Celeste, her brows flattening in a frown. Gatlin held back, letting him do the explaining.
“No.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling like a giant spotlight burned into him. How could he admit the truth? She’d moved in, focused solely on him, braless, emotions shuffling across her beautiful face. His head registered Celeste, the woman he’d fantasized about for endless nights, not the detainee they were questioning. And his body just wanted to fuck the anger right out of her. “I tossed her over my shoulder.”
Kari’s eyes flicked to him, disapproval shadowing the icy blue glare.
“She’s pregnant.” The realization washed over him in a thick curtain. There was a narrow chance the baby wasn’t his. After all, she’d omitted a big part of her life. But he knew with an unerring certainty that he was the father. Strangely enough, he was good with that.
Kari muttered under her breath, reaching for her backpack. “Let’s get her to the infirmary.” Gatlin grabbed the pack out of her hand, leading them to the nearby building. “Why didn’t you stop him?” she hissed. Gatlin just shook his head and kept walking, earning himself a backhanded smack to his bicep.
Celeste tensed in his arms. “Put me down.” The words came out in a pained rasp.
“We’re almost there.” Wedging in an elbow, she pushed against his chest. He tightened his hold. “That’s not gonna happen.” She glared at him, her barely covered breasts rising and falling with exertion.
They entered the building, and he maneuvered into the infirmary, setting her gently on the bed. She reached out, bracing herself on the mattress, refusing to look at him. “Please leave.”
Kari glanced over her shoulder from where she was washing up. “You might want to head out.”
No. Regardless of what she was going through, she was a prisoner. “Just go,” Celeste reiterated. Kari gave a quick nod as she pulled on a rubber glove. Gatlin walked away, holding the door open as he exited.
“I need to—”
“Get out,” they said in unison, glaring at him. Okay, time to retreat. The last thing he needed was to have both women turn against him.
Determined not to make matters worse, he made himself walk away, his footsteps echoing in his head. Gatlin caught his arm, his eyes shifting to the wall before he stepped back in the room, letting the door shut until only his fingers poked out.
“I’m staying, Parker,” Gatlin said with authority. “She hasn’t been cleared.” Rio felt a quiet surge of gratitude for Gatlin’s quick thinking. He’d have to answer a lot of questions for this unasked favor, but it was worth it to get some answers.
The medic huffed. “Fine.” Followed by some muttering. “I’m Kari Parker,” she said, in a more personable tone.
“I’m Celeste.”
“How far along are you, Celeste?”
Rio closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, straining to hear the subdued voices. Less than a minute ago both women had been yelling at him, now they could barely muster a whisper.
“I’m… I can’t be sure.” His eyes snapped open and doubt hammered his heart.
“You know who the baby-daddy is?”
Rio stopped breathing, waiting for her next words.
“I’ve been under a lot of stress and, well, I haven’t had access to a doctor to be sure I’m actually…pregnant.”
He frowned. Did the old man know his daughter was pregnant?
“And if you are?” He waited, glad for once that Parker was so fucking persistent. The silence stretched out until Rio was sure he would bust back in the room demanding an answer.
“Then it’s three weeks and two to three days.”
“That’s pretty precise.” He could hear the smile in Kari’s voice.
“I don’t have any doubt on the time frame.”
“How about we track down a test so we can know for sure?” Parker suggested in a soothing tone.
“Yes, I think I need to know.”
“Good, my bodyguard over there can help out with that. Now, let’s get a chart started for you.”
Rio exhaled in a rush. Well, it was a hell of a thing. The woman he fell for was cartel, and she might be carrying their baby, and she hated his goddamn guts for being law enforcement. Wait till she found out he put a bullet in her father.