A Baby Before Dawn by Linda Castillo Page A

length of her, followed by a burst of cold, hard fear. Not so much for herself, but for her unborn child. How was she going to keep her baby safe when she couldn’t even keep herself out of harm’s way?
    “I’m not going to let those bastards get anywhere near you.” Grinding his teeth, he brought his fist down on the counter hard enough to rattle a saucepan. “Damn it.”
    “You’re worried about the baby,” she whispered.
    He spun on her. “I’m worried about both of you!” As if realizing he’d shown her more emotion than he should have, he lowered his head and raked a hand through his hair.
    She used to love running her fingers through those light brown tresses, long and always unruly. Every time they made love she’d—
    Chase’s words cut off her reverie. “This shouldn’t have happened. Damn it, Lily, you shouldn’t be in this situation.”
    “I am. We can’t change that. Now we have to deal with it.”
    He looked up at her and his gaze burned into hers with such intensity that she thought she could feel the heat emanating from its depths.
    “The man I’ve been talking to is Ben Parker,” he spit. “He’s an FBI agent.” He shook his head. “I just don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
    “You don’t trust Ben?” When he didn’t answer, she said, “I see it in your eyes. I hear it in your voice.”
    He scraped a hand over his jaw. Lily couldn’t ignore the scrape of whiskers against his palm. It was such an intimate, masculine sound. One she’d heard a hundred times before. One she’d always liked.
    “I know this sounds crazy,” he said. “Maybe even paranoid. But Ben knew we were at South Station and within minutes of my telling him, we were ambushed.”
    The words made her feel a little sick inside. As if they were up against something that could not be defeated. Setting her hand over her abdomen, Lily went back to the table and sat. “You think he revealed our whereabouts?”
    “I don’t know.” He started to pace, restlessly eating up the width of the boat, like a tiger in a cage. “Ben is a good man. A good agent. He’s tough, loyal as hell. Lily, you know I choose my friends carefully, and he’s one of the best.”
    “Do you trust your instincts?”
    “I used to.” He laughed, but it was a dry, humorless sound. “Now I’m not so sure.”
    “What do we do now?”
    “We stay put. Once I get you to a safe place, I’m going to figure out who’s behind this. I’m going to stop them. Find their weak point. Keep them from getting to anyone else.” Chase picked up the phone he’d set on the table, glanced at the display and laughed. “Phone battery is about shot.”
    “I saw some electrical components in one of the cabinets when I was looking for food. Maybe there’s a charger we can use.” Energized by the prospect of doing something proactive, Lily rose quickly. The stab of pain low in her belly came so hard and fast she couldn’t withhold the gasp. Bending slightly, she grasped the back of the bench seat and leaned heavily.
    “Lily!”
    Before she could return to the bench, Chase darted to her and set his hand gently against the small of her back. With his free hand, he took her arm and guided her back toward the bench seat.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Is it the baby? What?”
    “It’s okay,” she said, more embarrassed than concerned. By the time she sat, the pain had already subsided.
    “It’s not okay. You’re in pain. You practically doubled over. I saw your face.”
    “It happens every so often.” Leaning back in the seat, she set her hand against her belly and smiled. “I think she’s trying to tell me something.”
    Chase blinked. “She?”
    She glanced up at him, more moved by his concern than she should have been. “It’s a girl.”
    “A girl?” He gave her a look that made him seem just a little bit lost. “How do you know?”
    “There’s a test. A sonogram. If there’s no…you know…then we know it’s a little