“Do you really think John will find him?” I ask as soon as Brooklyn comes back through the door.

“Yes. I just hope he doesn’t get himself killed in the process.”

Matthew stands. “I can still send some men after him.” He embraces his daughter.

“He thinks he’s better off and more focused alone, and he doesn’t want to risk anyone else’s life.”

“The kids and I need to get going, or we’re going to miss our flight. Besides, I want them out of harm’s way.”

“I’ll run up and get them,” I say.

“I really wish you would come with us,” he says, releasing Brooklyn.

“I’m not going anywhere as long as Jake is missing, but I will help you get the kids going.”

“Okay, Jack’s things are already packed. I have a few more things I need to get for L.J.”

“I’ve rented a van to take us to the airport. It should be here anytime,” Matthew says, heading for the front door.

Within an hour, I’m watching Brooklyn kiss the kids as she buckles them into their car seats in the back of the van. She has tears in her eyes when she stands next to me.

“I’ve never been away from Jack,” she says, sniffing.

“She’ll be okay. She adores your father and Grace is so good with her. Besides, that little girl would follow L.J. to the moon.”

“She does love her big brother.”

“I hope one day when Jake and I have a couple of children, that they love each other as much as your kids do.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder.

“Are you kidding me? If these kids are anything like their parents, they will be a force to be reckoned with,” she says with a laugh.

“Now that the kids are out of harm’s way, what’s next?” I ask as we walk up the front porch steps.

“Some of the equipment we need will be here today. The rest is being delivered tomorrow.”

“Why don’t I go to the lab and get it all set up when it gets here?”

“I don’t want you lifting anything.” She points to my belly bump.

“I won’t. I’ll have them place it right where I want it. I need to run by the house first and pick up my research. I worked on it late last night because I couldn’t sleep. I really think this is going to work.”

“I’m very hopeful. I just wish I didn’t have to give it to the likes of Knox.”

“Regardless if Knox gets it or not, if we can pull this off, think of the lives that will be changed forever.”

“You’re right. I need to take Knox out of the equation. Do you want me to go to the house with you?” she asks.

“No. I’m just going to run inside to grab my research then get to the lab.”

“I’ll meet you there in an hour. Keep your eyes peeled for any signs of danger.”

“I’ll be fine. John gave me a pistol to carry with me. It’s in my purse.” We walk inside, and I take my bag off the counter. “I’ll see you in a little while,” I tell her and walk out to my car.

The short drive to my house, all I can do is think about Jake. I feel lost without him. I miss his touch and his beautiful smile. He always makes me laugh.

His arms wrapped around my belly and he splayed his hand wide. “I love this little bump,” he said and kissed my neck.

“You’re not the one getting fat,” I said and leaned my head back on his shoulder.

“You’re not fat, and I think it’s sexy as hell,” he said as his hands traveled to my breast.

“Mmmm, now that I like.” I turned my head to the side and kissed him softly.

“I like the baby hormones too.” He pressed his hard cock into my lower back.

“I think you’re the one with the baby hormones. You’ve been insatiable ever since I told you I was pregnant.” I turned in his arms, and his hands slid to my ass.

“You should stay pregnant forever.” One of his hands pushed my spaghetti strap off my shoulder, and his lips landed on my collarbone.

“Unless you can get pregnant, that’s not happening.” I chuckled.

He stepped back. “I would look like an old man with a beer belly.” He released me and walked over to the bed. He stuffed one of the decorative pillows under his shirt and walked back over to me. “See,” he said, pointing at his stomach.

I couldn’t help but giggle at him. “God, I hope my belly won’t be that big.”

He tried to wrap his arms around my waist, but the pillow got in the way. He looked between us and then bent over to look at his crotch. “How the hell is this going to work?” He pointed to his cock.

I laughed and pulled him over to the bed. “I guess we are going to have to be creative. Maybe even a little kinky.” I winked at him.

“Oh, I’m liking the sound of this.” He whipped the pillow from beneath his shirt. “You’ve got me so fucking hard talking about being kinky, we are going to start right now.”

As I pull into my driveway, a piece of gravel flies up and smacks the windshield, scaring me half to death. I put the car in park and inspect the crack the rock made. I’ll worry about it later. I grab my purse and keys and head inside the house. I don’t know why, but as I insert the key into the painted red door, my hand shakes. A feeling of uneasiness comes over me.

As I open the door, I peek inside. Nothing looks out of place, and all I hear is quiet. I shake it off and head to my office in the back of the house. Before I take the file off my desk, I pick up the picture of Jake and me sitting on the corner. He’s leaning over my shoulder with a huge smile on his face. This was taken not long after we met. I press a kiss to his face and jump when I hear a noise.

I snatch the file off the desk and put it in my purse. Taking out the pistol, I walk over to the office door and slowly close it. Just before it’s closed, a large hand breaks in between the door. I scream and push as hard as I can against it.

He gets both hands in between. I lean over and bite one of his hands, and he yells out.

“You fucking bitch!”

He pushes so hard I fall back onto the floor, and the gun topples out of my hand. I quickly pick it up and get off the ground at the same time. The gun goes off, shooting him in the foot. He screams again. I’m so startled, I barely see another hooded man come into the room. He yanks the gun from me and twists my arm behind my back.

“You can’t take care of a pregnant woman?” he taunts the guy on the floor.

He’s twisting my arm so hard, I’m afraid it will break if I try to elbow him in the gut with my other arm. I lean forward slightly and stomp on his foot. He releases me, and I run by the man on the ground, but not before he grabs my ankle.

I’m filled with fear as I try to catch myself before the baby slams into the wooden floor. I roll to the side. My head bounces off the corner of the door, and my entire body slams down hard.

I try to get to my feet, but a wave of nausea hits me, and I’m blinded with blood dripping into my eye. I fall back over and protectively shield my belly. The man that was twisting my arm reaches down, pulls me off the floor, and shoves me through the door. The other man hobbles behind me, cursing the entire way.

“No!” I scream as he pops the trunk of his car. I fight him as hard as I can, but I’m afraid of him hurting the baby. He picks me up in his arms and roughly tosses me into the trunk. The other man holds my head down, barely getting his hand out of the way before the trunk closes.

I kick and scream, beating my fists on the inside of the trunk.

“You be quiet in there!” One of them pounds on the car. “Don’t make me drug you. God knows what effects it will have on the baby!”

I still at his words. I have to protect this little one at all costs. I need to keep my wits about me. Placing the heel of my hand over my brow, I press hard trying to stop the bleeding. With my other hand, I feel around the dark trunk for anything I could use as a weapon. It’s empty, not even a set of jumper cables. I feel for the edge to see if there is a compartment for a spare tire. The lip of the carpet comes up as I pry my fingers under it. Maneuvering my body so that I’m raised up as much as I can, I pull up on the carpet and reach under it, feeling for the jack. It’s bolted down.

My head bumps against the trunk as the car drives over something, causing me to fall back down. I get up again and start working on loosening the bolt. It doesn’t budge.

“Lefty Lucy,” I tell myself and try again. I turn as hard as I can, and it finally moves. I take the bolt out and shove it into my pocket. Snaking my arm further under, I can’t reach the other side. I yank at the jack, hoping it will pop off, but it won’t.

I lie back down and take the bolt out of my pocket, clutching it to my body. It’s not much, but maybe I can do enough damage to one of them to get free. A sharp pain in my lower belly has me gasping in pain. I curl into a fetal position and hold my belly in my hands.

“Not yet little one. It’s too soon,” I say, trying to breathe through the pain. Tears fill my eyes. “We are going to be okay,” I chant several times, trying to convince myself.

The bumping of the car finally stops. I hear the doors open and footsteps crunching on the ground. Light floods the trunk as it opens.

“Are you going to behave, or do I need to restrain you?” a gruff voice asks.

I don’t want to give them any more reason to hurt me, so I slowly climb out of the trunk. I’m surrounded by trees, and I can hear a creek flowing nearby. There is a small cabin sitting further down an overgrown pathway. Two armed men dressed in all black are standing outside the door as we approach it.

“What the hell, man? You weren’t supposed to hurt her,” one of them says, scowling.

“She’s a feisty little bitch,” the one I shot in the foot says.

The door opens, and I’m shoved inside.

“Zoe?” I hear from a voice in the dark house.