No Place to Run

CHAPTER 5

COLD. She was freezing. And she was having hallucinations. Sam. She’d seen Sam. But he wasn’t here. She didn’t know where he was. Only that there was a man who looked an awful lot like him standing over her with an expression of horror on his face. Sam wouldn’t be that horrified to see her, would he? He didn’t know the truth. Yet. No, it definitely wasn’t Sam.

Then a warm blanket surrounded her, and strong arms lifted her up. She settled against a hard chest, those arms still tight around her.

Sophie opened her eyes and glanced up to see a hard jawline. Strong. Firm. With just a hint of stubble, as though he’d been too lazy to shave that morning. It was damn sexy.

Her gaze wandered upward, and then his head moved and his eyes met hers. Blue. Pale blue, like ice. Just like Sam’s eyes. Was she still dreaming? If she was, she wanted to just go along with it. It was a nice dream.

“Hey,” he said softly. “You’re back.”

Back? Where the hell had she been? Her brow crinkled in confusion. “Have I been here before?” she asked. For that matter how had she gotten here? Everything was so fuzzy. She felt funny. Not herself at all. She was having a hard time remembering the smallest of details. It frustrated her because there was something important she had to do.

He shook his head. “No.”

“But you said I was back, as if I’d been here before.”

He gave her a worried look and picked up his pace. “I meant that you were back. Conscious. You regained consciousness briefly when I pulled you out of the water, but then you passed out again.”

“Oh.”

His concern deepened and he glanced over, and it was then that Sophie saw another man striding beside them. Big. Mean-looking. He was scowling at her.

Sophie shrunk against the man carrying her and gave an involuntary shiver.

“It’s all right,” he murmured soothingly as he hoisted her higher in his arms. “No one’s going to hurt you, I promise.”

“Who is that?” she whispered.

Again he glanced sideways. “That’s Garrett. He’s my brother.”

“He’s big and mean-looking,” she muttered.

He shook against her as he laughed. “He’s harmless.”

A snort sounded, and Sophie guessed that Garrett didn’t appreciate his brother’s assessment.

Then Garrett leaned over to stare at her. “The question is, who are you?”

She shrank back and would have crawled over her protector’s shoulder and hidden behind him if she could have.

“Back off, Garrett, you’re scaring her.”

Garrett scowled again and gave her a look that suggested he wasn’t finished. Anger surged over Sophie. Damn it, she’d had enough of overbearing, asshole males.

“Easy,” the man carrying her soothed, as though he sensed her tension.

He mounted steps and then carried her past another man—just what the hell kind of mess had she landed herself in now? At least they weren’t carrying guns, and so far they hadn’t tried to kill her. That was a plus, wasn’t it? Maybe they could tell her how to find Sam.

“Where am I?” she asked faintly as he settled her onto a bed. Not waiting on a response, she curled into a ball and reached for the covers and a pillow simultaneously. God, she was tired. She hurt from head to toe.

“Oh, no you don’t,” a male voice reproached. “You can’t go to sleep yet.”

She shoved at him with a hand and snuggled deeper into the pillow. It felt good. Her muscles started to relax into the warm covers, and then they started screaming in protest.

Her mouth and eyes flew open as pain overwhelmed her. Her arm. Fire. The numb had worn off. And then she remembered. Going overboard. Getting shot. Escaping.

Her hand climbed up her arm, feeling for the wound. It couldn’t be too bad, could it?

“Easy,” the Sam look-alike murmured. “I’d say some of the shock has worn off and now you’re starting to feel it.”

She shook violently, her fingers still gripping the area of the gunshot. A gentle hand grasped her fingers and pried them away from her wound.

“H-hurts.”

“I know. You should be in the hospital.”

Her head flew up. “No.”

“Here’s the bandages,” Garrett said as he strode into the room. “Van’s bringing some water and washcloths so you can clean the wound.”

Sophie clutched the covers to her chest and stared cautiously at Garrett.

Garrett didn’t look any more impressed with her than she did him. He regarded her with what she could only describe as deep suspicion.

A moment later, the third man crowded in behind Garrett. He at least didn’t look like he’d like for her to be anywhere but here, but caution radiated from him nonetheless.

“This is my brother Donovan,” fake Sam said as he jerked a thumb over his shoulders.

“How many brothers do you have?”

He grinned. “Five. Only two are here, though.”

“There’s three more?” she asked, trying to keep the horror from her voice.

The room spun crazily around her, and she was so cold that her teeth were going to break from chattering. There was something important she had to do, but she couldn’t remember anything beyond keeping her baby safe.

She clutched her belly when she realized she still hadn’t felt her baby move. Tears scalded her cheeks, and she sniffed loudly, but she couldn’t manage to get air through her nose.

Through the haze and confusion she remembered the one thing she had to do above all else.

“Sam,” she croaked out. “I have to get to Sam. They’ll kill him.”

She sank lower in the bed as the room dimmed around her.

“I’m here, Sophie.”

“Sam?” No, it was that guy who looked like him. She shook her head. “No, Sam K-kelly. Have to get to, Sam. Important. They’ll kill me too. My baby.”

Her teeth clanked together until her jaw ached.

Why couldn’t she pull herself together? Why did she feel so disjointed and murky? The room spun crazily around her, like she was stuck on some Ferris wheel from hell. Her stomach knotted and boiled. The god-awful pain was making her nauseous, and the last thing she wanted to do was puke.

Nothing made sense. She’d heard herself babble on, but she couldn’t even remember about what.

Sam. That came back to her. It was her one constant.

She tried to say his name again, but found her lips stiff and uncooperative. Her lashes drifted over her eyes, and she tried to rub at them so she could see.

Darkness crowded in until the room was so dim she couldn’t even make out the men. It hurt to fight the growing dark. And so she gave up.

Sam watched as she drifted into unconsciousness again. He glanced up at Garrett and Donovan to see them both staring holes through him.

“What the ever loving hell?” Garrett finally said.

Sam dragged a hand through his hair and cupped the back of his neck. “Christ, I don’t know.”

“Who is she?” Donovan demanded.

Before he could answer, Garrett’s eyes narrowed and he stared between Sophie and Sam.

“It’s the chick you were involved with in Mexico isn’t it?”

Sam ignored Garrett and raised the covers higher over Sophie so she’d be warmer, but he was careful to leave her arm uncovered. The blood still seeping from the wound disturbed him. Hell, the whole thing disturbed him.

“What the hell did she mean by needing to warn you?” Donovan asked. “This stinks to high heaven, Sam. You should call Sean and an ambulance. Let him handle things.”

Sam shook his head. “We’re not calling the police. Not until I know what the hell went on here.”

His gaze dropped to her belly. He pushed aside the covers more, and he couldn’t help but slide his palm over the swell. Her skin was cold to touch, but the hard little ball of her stomach fascinated him.

“Oh hell,” Garrett muttered. “Oh hell no.”

“What?” Donovan demanded.

Sam knew. He swallowed and looked up at his brothers. “It could be mine. I won’t know until I can talk to her, but we were together five months ago. She sure looks like she’s about five months along.”

“Holy shit,” Donovan blew out.

“I’m with Van. This stinks like a roadkill skunk,” Garrett said grimly.

Sam gestured toward Sophie. “I need to bandage her while she’s unconscious. I need you to help me with her arm. If the bullet’s still in there, we aren’t going to have a choice but to get her to the hospital.”

He glanced at the wound. Bullet or no bullet, it needed stitches. He didn’t know how the hell he could keep her out of the hospital or why the hell he should.

Donovan eased onto the bed on the other side of Sophie, his expression grim.

“It looks like someone beat the hell out of her, tried to choke her, and then shot her. Not necessarily in that order.”

Anger tightened Sam’s jaw. “Yeah, that’s what it looks like. It’s a wonder she got away.”

“If she got away,” Garrett said sourly.

Sam shot him an irritated look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I find it pretty damn strange that she shows up half-drowned and beat up, with a bullet wound, and talking some shit like she has to warn you. Where the hell has she been for five months if you were so hot and heavy with her? She had to know you could protect her.”

“So what are you saying?” Sam asked calmly. “You think she beat herself up, shot herself, then threw herself in the lake when she’s pregnant as an elaborate scheme to get to me?”

Garrett had the grace to look a little abashed.

“Look, I know you’re a suspicious bastard. I’m having my share of what-the-fuckitus at the moment myself, but until I hear what she has to say, I’m reserving judgment.”

“Good call,” Donovan murmured as he examined Sophie’s wound. “Looks like a through-and-through. No bone. Flesh wound. It’ll hurt like hell and will probably get infected after she spent so much time in the lake, but I don’t think it’s too serious. I’d be more worried about her pregnancy.”

Donovan’s statement hit Sam like a hammer. Yeah, he’d seen her belly. He’d even calmly and matter-of-factly told his brothers that the baby could be his. But not until now had he really let it sink in.

There was a baby. It might be his. He might be a father.

Holy shit.

Talk about coming from left field. This wasn’t something he’d contemplated in his wildest dreams. He’d left it to his brothers to settle down and have babies. He figured Ethan and Rachel would pop out a couple before he would ever consider settling down and providing grand-children for Mom and Dad.

He winced. Holy hell. Ma would shit a brick over this.

He was thirty-six. Well past the age most men thought about having families, wasn’t it? But he damn sure assumed that if and when he got around to doing it, it would be on his terms, preferably with a woman he’d married and after thoughtful consideration. Babies and his career didn’t exactly mix.

“You okay, man?” Donovan asked softly.

Was he okay? He felt like someone had yanked the rug out from under him. Like someone had suddenly changed all the rules and altered the entire course of his life.

Okay, so it sounded dramatic, but hell, it was! A baby changed everything. And then there was Sophie. Why had she disappeared? No, he hadn’t given her any promises. He hadn’t been in a position to offer her anything at all. Not even his true identity . . .

“Fuck,” he bit out.

Garrett glanced sharply at him.

“How the hell did she know where to find me? She knew me as Sam. Just Sam. Some guy coming through the bar where she worked. Not Sam Kelly. I could have been from anywhere for all she knew.”

“I’d say you probably indulged in some heavy pillow talk,” Garrett said dryly.

Sam shook his head. “Do you think I’m stupid? Besides, talking wasn’t exactly what we were doing when we were alone.”

Donovan snickered but then quickly sobered. “So what the hell do we do? It’s a little too coincidental that the chick you have a fling with, while undercover, just happens to show up looking like death warmed over muttering dire warnings about people trying to kill you—when in fact she wasn’t supposed to know anything about you. And certainly not where you lived.”

“That about covers it,” Sam said as he stared down at Sophie’s still form.

The sheet over her belly bumped. Just a little twitch that he almost missed. Perplexed, he leaned over and drew away the sheet. Her soaked shirt had ridden up, exposing the smooth expanse of her stomach.

He remembered touching her, running his hands over her lush body, though it had certainly changed since they’d last made love.

He put his hand to the side of her belly, only to feel the tiny little bump against his palm. In awe he stared. It was the baby.

“Guess the little critter is okay,” Garrett mumbled.

Sam couldn’t form a response. He was too befuddled. Was this his child he was feeling against his fingers?

“You should get her out of those wet clothes,” Donovan offered. “You and Garrett both need to get into dry clothes. I’ll go warm up some soup and find out if we have antibiotics in our stash of medications. She’ll need that and something stronger than ibuprofen for pain. Not to mention I’m not sure what she can take being pregnant.”

Sam stirred and shook himself from his trance. Then he scowled. No one but him was going to see her naked. He focused his frown on Garrett until Garrett finally got the message and walked toward the door, muttering under his breath the entire way.

“Get the soup and find what medications you can,” Sam said to Donovan. “After I get her out of these clothes and into something warm, I’ll assess her injuries. When she wakes up and can tell us what the hell is going on and why she doesn’t want us to take her to the hospital, we’ll figure out what to do next.”

Donovan nodded and headed out of the room after Garrett.

Sam turned his attention back to the woman lying in his bed. His woman. His child?

He shook his head in denial She wasn’t his.

He fingered a strand of wet hair, pulling it carefully away from her neck.

“Where have you been, Sophie?” he asked softly. “What secrets are you hiding and who the hell wants you dead?”

Sudden rage rolled through his body. Whoever wanted her dead had also tried to kill his child. His child.

So many questions buzzed around his head he was about to go crazy. If he didn’t take care of her, she wouldn’t survive to give him any answers. She still shivered, even in her unconscious state. He needed to get her out of her wet clothes and he needed to get her warm.

He shucked out of his clothing and wasted no time getting something dry on. Then he returned to Sophie.

Carefully, he peeled the soaked layers from her body, paying special care to her injuries. A variety of bruises dotted her body, and his jaw tightened as he studied the dark fingerprints at her neck.

Her nipples puckered and stood erect as chill bumps chased down her body. Her body was slim and curvy except for the mound of her belly. Sam stared unabashedly at her nude form, mesmerized by the changes her pregnancy had wrought.

She seemed too small and too thin. She’d been a little bit of a thing to begin with, but shouldn’t pregnancy fill a woman out? Make her more curvy? He’d certainly heard his mom complain about gaining a cup size with each of her pregnancies and how her hips had expanded exponentially. Other than her nipples being darker, the only change in Sophie was the bump riding low on her belly.

“Is it mine, Sophie?” he whispered. “Why did you leave?”

He carefully slipped one of his flannel shirts around her and buttoned it up over the bandages Donovan had secured to her wound. He worried over the blood that had seeped through the gauze. Any blood loss couldn’t be good for a pregnant woman, no matter how slight the wound was. And then there was the fact she’d obviously been in the lake for a while. Her skin was still cold to the touch and her lips had a bluish tinge that he didn’t like at all.

So many questions. The smart thing would be to call Sean and get Sophie to the hospital. She was hurt and she was pregnant. But every time he looked toward the phone, he remembered the fear in her eyes and the conviction of her words.

She certainly wasn’t lying about a threat. Whether it was to her, him or both of them, he couldn’t afford to take chances with her life—and her child’s.

He crawled onto the bed, piling more covers over her cold body. He lay on his side and pulled her carefully against him, giving her the benefit of his body heat. Then he pulled the covers tight around them, sealing in the warmth.

Gradually she stopped shivering and seemed to settle. Her lips parted against his chest, and a breathy sigh escaped. She tried to nestle closer but whimpered when her shoulder bumped against his body.

“Careful, honey,” he whispered and pulled her hand down to wedge between their bodies so he could render her immobile.

“C-cold,” she murmured restlessly against his skin.

“I know. You’ll get warm. Just lie still so you don’t hurt yourself.”

“S-sam? Is that really you or am I still dreaming?”

He wasn’t quite sure what to make of her confusion. Shock and cold—not to mention a bullet wound—could make a person pretty damned “off.” Suspicion crept into his mind even as he wanted to discount it all as some bizarre coincidence.

Only an idiot ignored the obvious. Coincidence, my ass.

“It’s me, Sophie. I’m here. You’ve been hurt. I need to get you to a hospital. You need to make sure your baby is okay.”

It took everything he had not to interrogate her then and there. Only the knowledge of how very fragile she was restrained him.

She shook her head against him, then moaned low in her throat.

“Don’t move. It’ll only hurt worse,” he cautioned.

“Can’t go to hospital,” she said hoarsely. “He’ll find me.”

Sam’s brow crinkled and he stared down at her face pressed so firmly against his chest.

“Who, Sophie? Who’ll find you?”

“My father’s—his men,” she corrected.

As what-the-fuck statements went, that was a doozy. Sam stared down as her eyelids fluttered shut once more. He wanted to beat his head in frustration, and then he immediately felt guilty when he remembered that the woman in his arms had obviously had a pretty shitty day—or week for that matter.

“Sophie.” He waited for a response. “Sophie,” he said a little louder. “Honey, wake up. I need you to talk to me here.”

She moaned and dug her face into his chest, a gesture that told him more than words that she wanted him to shut up and go away.

This was making him crazy. Van would be back any second with medicine and whatever else he’d managed to dig up. Going with that thought, Sam checked the covers to make sure she was shielded from any prying eyes. Not that Van was an asshole, but hello, a half-naked woman would draw any red-blooded man’s eyes. Wouldn’t matter if she was dead.

He sighed when she went limp again. Goddamn it. This was not his day, his week or even his month. Had he really been thinking just an hour ago that he missed her? It was almost as if he’d conjured her up, and while he’d had plenty of fantasies about her being in his bed again, this damn sure wasn’t what he had in mind.

Donovan knocked once, then without waiting for an answer, stuck his head through the door. Seeing Sam and Sophie, he came on in, a med kit in one hand and a syringe with a capped needle in the other.

“What the hell is that?” Sam demanded when Donovan came closer to the bed.

“Antibiotics. Got it out of the field kit.”

“How do you know it’s safe to give it to a pregnant woman?”

“The Internet is a useful thing,” Donovan said calmly. “Amazing what you can find. I don’t even know why people go to doctors anymore.”

“I’m supposed to trust my child’s safety to some web-site you Googled?” Sam asked in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. You got a better idea? I still vote we call Sean and get her the hell to the hospital. And you know I’m right.”

Sam sighed, then gestured for Donovan to come closer with the stuff. He also carried an assortment of bandages and ointments along with a suture kit.

“Whoa, I’m not letting you stitch her up. That’s crazy.”

“So is letting her arm rot off from infection.”

“Damn it, Van. You’re the most infuriating son of a bitch.”

At that Donovan cracked a slight smile. “You and Garrett are so easy, I swear. I think you were both born with corncobs up your ass. I was trained as a medic, remember? I can do all sorts of amazing things. Fly airplanes and choppers, and I can sew limbs back on. They might rot off later, but hey that’s not my problem.”

“Irreverent bastard,” Sam muttered. “You’ve spent too much time around Joe.”

Donovan grinned again. “Joe always was my favorite sibling.”

Sam waved impatiently at him. “Give her the shot, but I want to take a look at her arm and side again before I turn you loose with a needle and thread.”

“You make it sound like I’m about to embroider a pillowcase,” Donovan said dryly.

Donovan uncapped the syringe and moved to the opposite side of the bed. He looked apologetically at Sam as he moved the covers aside to bare the curve of Sophie’s hip. Sam scowled, but he held his tongue while Donovan efficiently swabbed the smooth skin above her buttocks and then plunged the needle into her flesh.

She flinched and let out a startled cry. She curled her hands into Sam’s shirt and trembled, but her eyes didn’t reopen. Sam instinctively pulled her closer, murmuring soothing words in her ear. But he glared his displeasure at his brother as he withdrew the needle and recapped the syringe.

Donovan rolled his eyes and moved onto the bed with one knee to begin to peel back the collar of the flannel shirt she wore. When he got to the bandage on her upper arm, he carefully pulled at it. The padding came away bright red, and Donovan frowned as he wiped at the fresh blood oozing from the wound.

“She needs stitches, Sam. I know you don’t like it, but if you’re not going to do the right thing and take her to the hospital, I need to stitch her up. I can give her a local to numb it. It won’t be as good as the stuff they give you in the ER, but if she stays under, she won’t feel it.”

Sam swore under his breath, closed his eyes and blew out a sound of resignation. “Okay, do it. Be quick about it. I don’t want to make this worse than we have to.”

Sam tucked her face into his neck, then smoothed his hand up her arm until he reached the spot Donovan was prepping. It was ridiculous that he was acting like a nervous woman over this. He’d patched up his share of bloody wounds on the battlefield. He’d seen things that would make even the most hardened soldier blanch. But the sight of Sophie, pregnant and vulnerable in his arms, while his brother was about to stick a needle through her skin, made his insides churn.

“Hold her,” Donovan murmured as he prepared to place the first stitch. “If she jerks, it’ll make it hurt more, and I don’t want to do any more damage.”

“Just do it,” Sam growled.

He curled Sophie tighter into him, offering her his strength and his protection. When the needle pierced her skin, he wasn’t sure who tensed more—him or Sophie.

Her face twisted and her eyes flew open in alarm. She seemed to look right through him. Her mouth opened in a soundless cry, and then when she spoke, it came out broken and hoarse.

“Please,” she begged. “Don’t hurt my baby.”

Sam’s gut twisted, and even Donovan looked up, his eyes narrowing.

“What the hell?” Donovan muttered.

“Get it over with,” Sam ordered.

He turned back to Sophie and pressed his lips to hers in an effort to stop the whimpering sounds that hit him like darts.

“Shhh, Sophie, it’s Sam. I’m here. Nothing’s going to hurt you. I swear. Your baby is fine. I’m fine. Do you understand?”

“Sam,” she slurred out. “Have to warn Sam. No longer safe. I stayed away but now they found me. Sam has to know.”

A single tear trailed down her cheek, and Sam kissed it away, savoring the contact after so many months. He didn’t care what Van thought. Didn’t care what he saw or that he’d tell Garrett and they’d both be on his ass. Right now this was his woman in his arms. His child. And he wanted to know who the hell had threatened her. Who she was so afraid of. And why she thought she had to protect him.

It made him furious.

“Aren’t you finished yet?” Sam hissed.

“Almost,” Donovan muttered.

Donovan set the needle to her flesh to do the last two stitches. Sam just prayed he’d hurry the fuck up.

Again Sophie tensed and let out a low sob. Sam wanted to moan with her.

“He’ll be so angry,” she said in a broken voice.

She was babbling now, flinching with each stitch, though she didn’t struggle. She seemed to have resigned herself to the hell she was enduring. Sam only wished he knew what was going on inside her fevered mind.

“He’ll hate me. He’ll never understand. Have to tell him the truth.”

Donovan tied off the last suture and cast a worried glance in Sam’s direction. Sam didn’t need Donovan to tell him this was crazy. It went beyond bizarre. There was some seriously weird shit going on.

The question was, how was Sophie involved? And if she was in trouble, why the hell hadn’t she come to him before now?

His hand slid down to palm her belly, and he felt the reassuring little wiggle of the baby inside her womb.

And if this was his child, what the hell did that mean for him and Sophie now?