Page 53 of Stolen Salvation

“Uh, no we don’t. There’s no denying that line.”

Charlie peered over Snow’s shoulder and sure enough, a strong pink line was already clear in the test section. She was pregnant with her ex-husband’s baby and had no idea if she wanted to cry or dance. “Looks like we’re having a baby.”

Duchess rested her hand on her shoulder and Charlie glanced at her, panic rising in her chest. Her vision went blurry as the world became a distant cloud of noise.

“She’s gonna pass out. Lotus, grab her arm.”

Charlie was marched to the couch in the airy living room and pushed into a seated position with her head between her legs. Snow sat beside her and counted her breathing with her until she felt like she wasn’t going to faint.

Slowly lifting her head, she looked at her new friends and knew whatever happened she wasn’t alone. “God, what is Noah going to say?”

“Bishop will be ecstatic. He adores you, any fool can see that. And that was before we saw you together. You’re like one of those sappy romance novel couples Duchess reads. You’re meant for each other and if he doesn’t react as we want, we’ll just kick his ass and set him straight.”

“Thank you, guys. I wasn’t expecting this.”

“We got you, and until then, our lips are sealed.” Duchess motioned zipping her lips and gave a warning glare to the other two who did the same.

Charlie laughed and felt lighter than she had this morning. She was pregnant but she’d figure it out.

Chapter 19

“We found them!” Bishop barrelled through the door of the rectory and found Charlie, Lotus, Snow, and Duchess in the living room laughing and eating chocolate truffles.

Charlie jumped to her feet and rushed to him as Duchess stood. “Tell me.”

“The last building Reaper and I were watching was real quiet. But then we had Nkosi put in a call to the number and not long after, a van rolled out and it was the same one we caught on CCTV the night Andrea went missing.”

They’d thought they’d caught a break when the van had been spotted as it traced back to the clinic. The CCTV had lost it in a dead zone and hadn’t picked it back up. It was that which helped Watchdog narrow things down, though and get the building on the radar.

“The van picked up the woman from the clinic Titan and Hurricane were watching, and the same van just entered the building we were watching.”

“Which building?”

Duchess was already laying blueprints over the coffee table.

He pointed at what looked like a country house or retirement home. “This one here.”

“This is registered as a private residence but the ownership traces back to the clinic. Let me get Watchdog on the call with us.”

“Shouldn’t we let Bás know?” Lotus asked, hopping from foot to foot with barely suppressed energy. Of all the people in Shadow, she seemed to need the constant stimulation of the hunt the most.

“No, he’s off the grid meeting with a team who might be able to help us in the US.”

Bishop looked at Charlie and then Duchess. “We’re expanding?”

“Not exactly but we’re stretched too thin. We need more people as we evolve.”

Bishop shrugged. He agreed but he was more interested in the now than asking questions about the future.

Watchdog popped up on the monitor Duchess had set on the table beside the couch.

“Morning, humans. Did you know Loch Ness might actually be a giant whale dick and not a monster at all?”

Reaper made a face of disgust. “Eww, gross, I did not need to know that.”

“It’s true, whales mate in groups of three, so the second male just hangs around with his wang out until it’s his turn.”

“As much as I want to discuss whale dicks, we have a possible location on the girls.”