I’ll bet I can loosen them.” He kicked his feet back and forth, working the ropes. “There.” He inched around.
Mindy could see his head and shoulders in the dim light. She’d already felt the comforting softness and smelled the old-leather smell of his jacket. So it was no surprise that even with the darkness leaching the color out of everything, she could see the way it bunched across his constrained shoulders. She could even see the shadow of his too-long hair on the sheepskin collar.
He straightened his leg and barely missed brushing her tummy with the side of his boot. She flexed her cramped fingers and rubbed the indentations on her wrists. Then quickly, she wrapped her right arm around his calf and got her hands behind the boot heel and tugged.
“Pull your foot backward against my hands.”
“You got it, sugar.”
Her heart twisted until she wanted to cry out. “And don’t call me sugar,” she hissed.
He pulled backward, inadvertently pushing his heel into her tummy. “Hey—” he said.
Mindy cringed. “What?” she snapped.
“Have you gained weight?”
“Deke, this is serious.”
He didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds. “I know it is.”
Tugging harder, she finally got a purchase on the boot heel and jerked it off his foot. His knife fell into her lap as something clattered against the crate and onto the floor.
“There,” she said, breathing hard as she pushed his foot off her lap and picked up the knife. She pressed the button that sprung the blade. It snicked into place.
Deke jumped at the sound. “Hey, careful. It’s sharp.”
“I remember that, too.” She slid the knife blade between his wrists. The blade sliced through the thick rope as if it were warm butter.
Deke carefully relaxed his shoulders and moved his arms. He grunted a couple of times.
She knew what he was going through. He hadn’t been tied up as long as she had, but she figured the kidnappers hadn’t been as careful with him as they had with her. His hands had to be on fire as the blood rushed back to them.
She handed him the knife, her heart pounding. When he leaned over to cut the ropes binding her feet, would he see why he’d gotten the impression she’d gained weight?
She held her breath while he cut the ropes. “I had a cigarette lighter in my boot with the knife. I think I heard it fall.”
Mindy felt around with her foot until she touched a small cylinder. “Here it is.” She kicked it toward him.
He grabbed it and sat up, grunting. “Whoa! I can understand why you didn’t want to bend over. I’m still kind of woozy.” He reached a hand out to the wall beside him and stood. His shadow loomed over her “Can you stand up? We need to get out of here.”
Mindy crouched there, her shoulders hunched. Right now, he couldn’t see anything. But as soon as she stood—
Dear God, please help me. When Deke sees me, I’m going to need all the courage you can spare.
He was about to find out that she was pregnant. She had no idea what he’d do.
She did remember what he’d said he’d do.
Years ago, when they were seventeen, she’d had a scare. She was late, and the pregnancy test had read positive. When she’d told Deke, his reaction had been immediate. Shock and abject terror had darkened his features.
You’re pregnant? No. No way. You gotta do something. There’s enough screwed-up Cunninghams in the world already.
She’d been stunned and frightened. But she’d understood. If she’d had the baby, Deke would be gone. But the issue was moot, because a few days later she’d started her period. They’d never spoken about it again.
Now here she was, six weeks away from bringing a Cunningham into the world. And six seconds away from Deke finding out.
“Stand up.” He held out his hand. “You’ll be woozy, but I won’t let you fall.”
Mindy sucked in a deep breath and took his hand. Struggling, bracing herself against the wall, and with a lot of grunting and groaning, she managed to push herself upright.
When their gazes met, his expression softened and his fingers tightened on her hand. “Hey, Min. It’s been a long time.” His mouth quirked.
She swallowed hard. “Long time,” she replied, with a nervous nod.
“I’m so sorry they hurt you,” he whispered. He leaned in closer, a gentle smile on his face.
Then he stopped—dead still. His gaze flickered downward.
Her mouth went dry. She couldn’t move. All she could do was stand there.
She knew what he saw. A dark wool peacoat, navy blue pants and low-heeled boots. Pretty standard wear for this weather.
But the peacoat stuck out to there, and he’d just bumped into her tummy.
Her hands moved to cradle the baby. She couldn’t stop them. It was an innate reaction, a protective instinct. Shielding her baby from what was to come.
Trembling with trepidation, she braced herself.
Deke stood frozen, his face lit by the fading beam of light from the tiny window. As wan and dim as the light was, she still saw the color drain from his face. His blue eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
Mindy cradled her belly tighter.
“Min—?” His voice broke.
She bit her lip as her heart broke.
He shook his head as if to clear it—or to deny the truth before his eyes.
Then it hit—the storm of Deke’s anger. His brows lowered until his eyes were dark and hooded. “Mindy, what the hell have you done?”
She tried to hold her own against Deke’s fiery gaze, but she couldn’t. She had to look away.
“Deke, that kidnapper is coming back anytime. It’s been hours since he checked on me.”
“I’ll deal with him when he gets here.” His voice was tight with what? Confusion? Shock? Fury? She couldn’t sort out all the emotions. For the first time since she’d known him she wasn’t sure what was behind his clipped words.
“How did you—?”
The baby kicked, probably feeling her distress. She rubbed the spot and he calmed down. “How? The usual way.”
“So who’s the lucky guy?”
And there it was. Deke Cunningham’s patented defense system. More efficient than any antimissile missile the government had ever dreamed up. It was as effective and high-tech as the Starship Enterprise’s shields, and as quick to rise to protect his heart.
Although she understood why he did it, his words still hurt. She braced herself. “You are.”
Mindy sucked in a deep breath as she watched her ex-husband and waited for the explosion.
His face was still lit by that small rectangle of light. If he realized it, he’d move—cover his reaction with darkness. But right this second she had a unique opportunity to watch his face as he processed what she’d said.
His eyes widened in panic for a split second, then narrowed. His brows knit in a frown and he blew air out between his clenched teeth. “That’s impossible. We haven’t even seen each other