Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(78)

Covering his hand on her belly, she blurted, “I want to shower.”

He smiled, but said dryly, “Let’s get that ankle fixed up first.”

“It’s gonna need surgery,” she told him. “Which means I won’t be able to go home for a while.” Sarah wasn’t an idiot. She’d seen enough bone breaks to know that hers was bad. If she didn’t need surgery, it would be a miracle.

“They’re gone,” the remaining police officer informed them.

“This is gonna hurt,” Cole warned her.

“I know,” Sarah said. And she did. Every time Owen had carried her into the bathroom, it had hurt like hell. But she’d endure any kind of pain if it meant getting out of this cabin and going home with Cole. “I can take it.”

Cole kissed her temple, and the feel of his warm lips against her skin made everything within her melt. Having him near was better than a thousand Oxy pills.

“Hang on,” he said, and Sarah braced herself when he stood.

It did hurt. But she swore the pain was less than in the last week, because she was in Cole’s arms. He carried her out of the cabin, her prison for the past seven days, and simply smelling the fresh mountain air felt amazing. She hadn’t realized how stuffy the cabin was until right this moment.

She relaxed fully into Cole’s arms and closed her eyes as he carried her down the dirt driveway toward where she assumed the car he’d arrived in was waiting.



Hours later, Cole sat next to Sarah’s hospital bed. He was exhausted, but refused to leave her side. She’d been right—she’d needed surgery to fix the broken bones in her ankle. Luckily, the breaks were fairly clean, and the doctor said he didn’t think there would be any lasting damage.

While she’d been in surgery, Logan had called to let Blake know Owen had already been placed in a group home for mentally disabled adults, up in Denver. Since Sarah wasn’t pressing charges, Owen could hopefully settle in quickly and live his life.

It didn’t seem fair to Cole, but he understood Sarah’s decision. Even agreed . . . to a point. If it had been anyone other than his woman taken, he wouldn’t have hesitated to make the same decision. But he was so torn. He couldn’t forget the agony of the last week. The not knowing if Sarah was alive or dead. If she was being tortured or violated. The fact that she was fine didn’t do much to make him feel better about her being kidnapped in the first place. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

But his woman was the way she was, and he wouldn’t change one thing about her. She wouldn’t be his angel if she were vindictive and vengeful.

He shifted and rested his hand on her belly . . . and smiled.

Sarah was pregnant.

He’d told the doctor it could be a possibility before she’d been taken back for surgery. After hearing it had been less than two weeks since she could’ve conceived, the doctor had warned them that it was probably too soon to tell, but when he’d confirmed the test was positive, Cole couldn’t stop beaming.

In a week or two, they’d repeat the test, just in case it had been a false positive, but Cole knew it hadn’t been. Sarah was going to have his baby. They were going to be a family.

He had a ring in his pocket, and he’d make Sarah his wife as soon as reasonably possible. He had to call his parents and brother and let them know, as well as figure out a hundred other details, but the sooner he made things official, the happier he’d be.

Cole had already talked to Blake, who was going to arrange to have Sarah’s things moved into Cole’s apartment. There was no way she was moving into that studio apartment now. Nope, she’d be right by his side so he could pamper both her and his child for the rest of their lives.

Sarah’s eyes fluttered, and Cole waited patiently for her to fully wake up and remember where she was. He hated the way her body stiffened, as if she thought she was still back in that cabin, but when he squeezed her hand, she relaxed.

Turning her head, she saw him sitting by her side. “Still here?” she asked groggily.

“Where else would I be?” he asked.

“At home? In bed? Like a normal person?”

“I’ll go home when you do. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

She rolled her eyes, and Cole knew he’d never seen anything more beautiful. Even after a week in captivity, no shower, and having just undergone surgery, she was still the most enchanting woman he’d ever seen.

His hand was on her belly. Her hand came up and covered his. “Why am I not surprised you knocked me up the first time you took me without a condom?” she asked. “I’m not sure this bodes well for the future of my figure.”

Cole grinned, brought her hand up to his mouth, and kissed the back of it. “You’re going to be beautiful pregnant. And I want to give you as many babies as you can handle. And when they become too much, I’ll hire a nanny.”

“What if I said I wanted twelve kids?”

“Then I’ll hire two nannies,” Cole said immediately. “I want you to have the family you were denied growing up. I want to surround you with all the love you deserve. You can have babies until the doctor says it’s not safe or whenever you say you’re done. We’ll go and talk to the program manager at the Adoption Exchange as well. I know there are some amazing older kids who need someone like you to love them. Like us. You’re going to be the best mother any kid could ever have, and I can’t wait to see the influence you have on them.”