Page 16 of Hide Little Traitor

What the fuck was Salvatore thinking hurting an innocent eighteen-year-old, let alone his son’s girlfriend?

She shakes her head slowly, dragging in an unsteady breath. “No. I’m pregnant. I need to make sure the baby is okay.”

It’s a good thing we’re on a quiet street because the entire car swerves with how quickly I turn to look at her.

Chloe squeals, and her hand tightens around mine as I right the car.

Fuck.

“Sorry,” I murmur, brushing my thumb over the back of her hand in comforting circles.

“It’s okay,” she whispers. “If I’d been driving when I found out, I probably would have done the same thing.”

“How far along are you?”

“I don’t know. I found out a few hours before Salvatore’s men came for me. Never even had a chance to process it or to tell Ronan.” The final words come out on a broken sob, and I clutch her hand in mine tighter, offering the only support I can as I pull into the underground parking garage beneath my building.

“Did they know you were pregnant when they took you?”

“No. Not at first. Damon found the test after maybe a day…I lost track of time. But Salvatore knew when he came to kill us. He chose to kill me last as punishment for getting knocked up.”

A deep growl forces its way from my chest, but I force my hand to remain gentle around hers. She doesn’t need my anger. Right now, Chloe needs softness and understanding.

“I’ll make sure the doctor brings the machine,” I reassure her.

I take my usual spot closest to the elevator, but instead of getting out straight away, I tap out a message to the doctor and then turn back to Chloe.

“Any other injuries?”

“My wrist.” She holds up her hand, but the oversized sweater I helped her into before we left the jet cuts off my view. “I had to dislocate my thumb to get out of the zip ties.”

“Did your dad teach you how to do that?”

“No,” she whispers, fresh tears pooling in her eyes. “Damon did. Back before he started hating me.”

The last time I saw Chloe, she was just a kid who had two shadows following her everywhere. The three of them were inseparable, much to Salvatore’s dismay. He wanted his boys to be strong, to be soldiers even before they could fully comprehend the family they were born into.

Although both Damon and Ronan are my godsons I had little to do with the kids and only saw them a couple of times a year at family events, but even back then, those boys looked at Chloe like she hung the moon.

“You did good, Mama.” I give her hand one last gentle squeeze before climbing out and rounding the car to the passenger door.

The nickname that slipped off my tongue with such ease has a new meaning now.

Pregnant.

With Ronan Lombardi’s baby.

It’s a complication, but not one I can’t work around.

Once she’s seen the doctor and is able to get some rest, I want to get to the bottom of whether the youngest Lombardi had anything to do with his girlfriend’s captivity.

But for the moment, Chloe is my priority.

I lift her into my arms and revel in the way she curls into my chest, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

She shouldn’t feel so right in my arms, but she does, and that’s just another thing I’ll need to work through once she’s resting comfortably.

Everything else can wait.