Deadly Vows (4 page)

She sighed, letting her hand rest on her stomach. She wanted to open the door, run out into the night and disappear into the darkness. Wanted to forget about Vincent Martino, forget about the trial, forget everything but creating a good life for her child. She wanted to, but couldn’t. Vincent Martino was a cold-blooded killer. Olivia had watched him shoot a rival crime boss. If Olivia didn’t testify, he might go free. Free to kill again. That was something Olivia couldn’t allow.

“Miss? Can I help you?” A woman asked, her voice coming behind Olivia.

Olivia jumped, her heart slamming against her ribs as she turned to face the woman. “No, I was just…”

What
was
she doing? Hiding from the federal government and hired assassins didn’t seem like an answer she should give.

“I heard you come in several minutes ago, but I was on the phone with a parishioner. Couldn’t get the poor old soul off the phone. You know how that is,” the woman said, smiling from behind large, broad-rimmed glasses.

“Yes.”

“I did finally manage to convince her that choir practice
shouldn’t be canceled just because she couldn’t make it. And, now, I’ll be happy to help you with whatever it is you need.” Her smile continued as she drew closer, her gold-green eyes resting on Olivia’s face, dropping to her clothes and then returning. “Are you all right?”

“Fine. I’m just waiting for a friend. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course it is,” she responded, her wiry gray hair bouncing as she cocked her head to the side. “I hope you don’t think I’m being nosey, but it looks like you’ve been in an accident. Is there something I can do to help?”

An accident?

For a moment Olivia wasn’t sure what the woman was talking about. Then it clicked. The fire. Heaven knew what she looked like after standing in the smoky kitchen and crawling across the floor. The rag she’d wrapped around her face had probably streaked whatever soot and grime had been there. She started to wipe at her cheeks, but stopped herself. The damage was already done and the mess she was in couldn’t be hidden. She needed to answer the question in such a way that the woman didn’t feel the need to call the police. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine. It’s just…I was in a house fire.”

“That explains all those sirens I heard. It sounded like the entire fire department was racing through town.”

“It was an extensive fire. I think my house is totally destroyed. The firefighters are still working to control the blaze, and I just couldn’t bear to watch it burn. I started walking and found myself here. It seemed like the right place to stop.” The words spewed out, and Olivia bit her lip to keep from saying more. Too much information, and she might give something away that she shouldn’t.

“I’m glad you thought so. You’ve been through something
terrible, but thank the good Lord you survived. Why don’t you have a seat? I’ll get you some hot, sweet tea. Is there someone you’d like me to call for you? A friend or family member who can take you in until your house is rebuilt? If not, I’m sure someone in our church can help you out.”

“I’ve got my…” Husband. The word was on the tip of her tongue, but she refused to give it voice. She’d put Ford in a box after she’d left Chicago. A box she’d titled The Man I Used To Be Married To. Changing the title just might change how she saw him, and that could only lead to hurt. “Friend. He’ll be here shortly.”

“Good. I’d hate for you to be alone at a time like this. Especially in your condition.”

“Condition?”

“You’re not pregnant?”

Surprised, Olivia glanced down at her stomach. She’d noticed the slight pop to her belly. Now, in the course of several hours, two other people had commented on it. One of them was a complete stranger. How long would it take Ford to notice? “I didn’t think it was that noticeable.”

“I’m sure it’s not, but I’ve got three daughters and nine grandkids. I can spot a pregnant woman a mile away. Now, how about I get you that tea?”

“That’s okay. I’m fine. I’ll just wait here until my friend comes if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is. I’ll be in the office if you need anything.”

“Thank you.” Olivia smiled, but it fell away as soon as the woman disappeared into an office at the end of the hall.

In the two and a half months it had been since she’d taken the first pregnancy test and realized she was carrying Ford’s child, she’d felt guilty for not letting him know. That guilt had been tempered by the reality of her situation. If
she contacted him, there was every chance the Martinos would find her. It had been a valid excuse for keeping him in the dark, but there was no excuse now. She’d been found. Ford had reentered her life. Telling him about the baby was the only logical thing to do.

Except that Ford had made it very clear he didn’t want children. Ever. They’d discussed it before their marriage and Olivia had brought it up several times after they’d said “I do,” but Ford’s stance on children hadn’t wavered. They were too much work, too much mess and too time-consuming. He had other things he wanted to expend his energy on.

One thing, anyway.

His career. Building a real estate brokerage and a fortune.

Maybe telling him about the baby was the wrong thing to do. Despite his tender kisses and sweet words of love, Ford was more committed to his work than he was to anything else. A clean break, a new start, was what they both needed, and she was sure that Ford would be happy enough to go back to his busy schedule and workaholic ways once he was sure she was safe.

But could Olivia go on with her life knowing that she had kept something so important from him?

She rubbed the back of her neck as she stared out into the night. In a few months she’d turn thirty-three. An age when she’d thought she would have her life figured out. Instead she was more confused than ever.

A car pulled up in front the church, idled there for a moment and sped away. Olivia shrank back from the window, her heart beating wildly. Worrying about whether or not she should tell Ford about the baby was a waste of energy. What she should really be worrying about was getting out of Pine Bluff alive.

You shouldn’t be worrying about anything. God is in control. You just have to trust Him.

The thought flitted through her mind, and she tried to cling to it, believe it. But belief was as elusive as a dream, and all she could do was pray that whatever decision she made would be the right one.

A
half hour passed. Then another. Olivia glanced at her watch for what seemed like the hundredth time and frowned. Ford had said to give him an hour. An hour had passed. Should she stay? Go?

She sidled up to the window and peered outside again. It would be easy to lose herself in the velvety darkness. To walk away from the church, the town and her problems. The trouble was, she couldn’t walk far enough to escape the guilt she’d feel if she simply disappeared. Guilt for not doing her best to put a cold-blooded murderer behind bars, guilt for reneging on her agreement to testify, guilt for not letting Ford know the truth about the baby.

A few cars passed the church, and Olivia stiffened. Any one of them could be carrying Martino’s men. She needed to make a decision about what to do, and she needed to make it quickly. Another car approached the church, stopping in front of the building. It had barely parked when the driver’s door swung open and a dark figure jumped out. Olivia tumbled back, a scream hovering on her lips and then dying as she watched the shadowy form move toward
the church. Tall and lanky with broad shoulders and a long, brisk stride, he could have been anyone, but Olivia knew him immediately. Ford.

Relieved, she pulled open the door, stepping aside as he rushed into the church. “What took you so long?”

“Paperwork. Come on. Let’s get out of here,” he said as he grabbed Olivia’s hand and tugged her out the door.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just a feeling.”

“What kind of feeling?”

“The kind that’s telling me if we don’t get out of town soon, we won’t get out at all.” He opened the car door and urged Olivia inside, barely waiting for her to scoot into the seat before he slammed the door closed.

It took him just a few seconds to round the car and get in, but Olivia had already caught his anxiety. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and fear roiled in her stomach. Despite the darkness, she felt exposed, as if a hundred eyes watched from the shadows.

Ford pulled away from the church, driving in the same steady, confident manner he always had. She’d admired that when they’d had to weave their way through Chicago traffic, but right now she’d rather he speed.

“Maybe you could drive faster,” she muttered, scanning the dark street as he pulled onto Main Street and headed toward the edge of town.

“And risk being pulled over by the police?”

“I’d rather be pulled over by the police than found by the Martinos.”

“I’d rather neither happen.” He glanced into the rearview mirror, and Olivia shifted in her seat so she had a view of the road behind them. A few cars followed them
past the town’s limits and onto the highway, but none seemed in a hurry to catch up.

“Do you think anyone is following?” Olivia asked, unable to tamp down her anxiety. She’d been living on the edge for months, jumping at shadows, waking in the middle of the night sure she heard someone creeping through the house. Fear was insidious, and no matter how much she’d tried to believe that the FBI and the marshals were keeping her safe, there hadn’t been a day since she’d seen Vincent Martino murder a man that she’d felt safe.

“I don’t know.” Ford’s voice was tight, and Olivia shifted back around so she could study his face. He looked tense, the thin scar that cut across his cheek adding a dangerous edge to what had always been almost too-handsome features. Blond with striking blue eyes and a quick smile, he was the kind of guy who attracted women without effort. Olivia doubted the scar had changed that. Not that it mattered. Soon they’d be divorced, and Ford would be free to attract whomever he wanted.

“Ford, you shouldn’t be here with me. You should be back in Chicago, running your business, making your deals. Going on with your life.”

“Do you really think that would be a possibility, Livy? Do you really think I could just forget you and move on?”

“Isn’t that what we planned to do? We agreed to separate, to try things on our own for a while.”

“And we realized it didn’t work.”

“It was working just fine.”

“You’re saying you were happy to have me out of your life?” he asked as he took the ramp onto the interstate.

Olivia wanted to say yes. Not just say it, shout it. When she’d walked out of their Chicago penthouse, she’d been
desperate to prove she could be happy without Ford, because being happy without him had seemed much better than being miserable with him. Being happy without him would have proven that she didn’t need Ford. That her life could be fulfilling and wonderful without the only man she’d ever loved.

She frowned.

Only man she’d ever loved?

Maybe, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t love someone else. She just hadn’t given herself a chance. Ford had bowled her over with his charm and intelligence, and she’d been drawn to his charismatic personality in the same way everyone else seemed to have been, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t love someone else if she chose to.

“I’ll take your silence as a no, and assume you’ve been as unhappy with the separation as I’ve been,” he said, breaking into her thoughts, but not sounding nearly as self-satisfied as she expected.

“Ending our marriage wasn’t an easy thing to do.”

“We didn’t end it, Olivia. We’re still married.”

“Until we can sign the divorce papers,” she said, knowing she sounded truculent and irritated. Ford had a way of doing that to her, his confidence only highlighting her own insecurities.

“If you still want a divorce after we get through Martino’s trial, I’ll give you one.”

“But you think I won’t want one.”

“I
hope
you won’t. I want another chance, Olivia. I’ve spent a lot of our marriage focusing on things that don’t matter. I plan to spend the rest of it focusing on you.”

They were sweet words. Words that she wished she could believe in, but she knew her husband. Whatever he
was feeling would only last until the next big deal. Then, he’d get caught up in his work and forget that he planned to put her first.

It won’t take the next big deal for that to happen. He’ll turn tail and run as soon as he finds out about the baby.

The thought whispered through her mind, reminding her that she was keeping something very important from Ford. Something that would change the way he thought of their relationship and their future. Maybe he did think he’d be willing to devote more of himself to Olivia, but she was sure he’d be appalled at the thought of having to share his time and his love with a baby.

She had to tell him anyway. Putting it off wouldn’t change anything. Ford had a right to know he’d fathered a child no matter how unhappy the news would make him.

She cleared her throat, tried to get the words out. “Ford, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Go ahead. I’m listening.” He glanced in her direction, offering a quick smile before turning his attention back to the road.

This was it. The opportunity she’d both longed for and dreaded since the day she’d found out she was pregnant.

Give me the words, Lord. Help me say what needs to be said without defensiveness.

“That night in December when you came to see me…”
Just say it!

“I was an idiot, and I’m sorry. I should never have taken that phone call. No real estate deal is worth losing you over.”

“It’s not that…”

A shrill ring interrupted her words, and Ford pulled a cell phone from a clip on his belt, glanced at the caller ID and frowned. “It’s the FBI.”

“The FBI?” Olivia repeated, trying to switch gears from worrying about how to reveal the news of her pregnancy to worrying about why the FBI was calling Ford.

Not that there was any question about why. Olivia had only met with Special Agent Jackson McGraw twice, but it was enough to know that he was as determined and meticulous as Ford. He was trying to find Olivia, and he’d call until Ford answered, ask until he was given what he wanted.

“I’ll call back later. What were you saying?” Ford slid the phone back onto his belt, apparently determined to let Olivia finish what she was saying. It was a first. Over the course of their marriage, she’d been interrupted by phone calls so many times she’d given up on having meaningful conversations with Ford.

“You pick now to ignore a phone call?” she asked, not sure if she should be flattered or appalled.

“I promised myself that if I found you, I’d do what I should have been doing for the past ten years—put you first.”

“I appreciate the thought, but putting me ahead of work is one thing. Putting me ahead of a phone call from the FBI is something else. You’d better call back and see what they want.”

“I already know what they want. They want me to tell them where we are so they can get you back into the witness Protection Program.”

“They’re the FBI, Ford. You can’t ignore them.”

“I just did.”

“You’re being unreasonable.”

“I’m being cautious. Who’s to say James was right? Maybe the leak isn’t in the marshals? Maybe it’s in the FBI.”

“A leak doesn’t mean everyone in the FBI and U.S. Marshals is crooked.”

“You’re right, but I’ve had federal agents following me off and on since I flew into Billings a few weeks ago. It’s possible the marshals let them know I’d arrived in Pine Bluff and that I was getting close to finding you.”

“You’re sounding a little paranoid, Ford.”

“I’m sounding like a guy who’s been searching for his wife for months. A guy who will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

The phone rang again, and Ford frowned, pulling it out and glancing at the caller ID again. “They’re persistent. That’s for sure.”

“They can probably trace us using the signal from your cell phone, so you may as well see what they want.” And while he was talking, Olivia would plan another way of breaking the news about the baby. So far, she’d botched the job, but eventually she’d have to get the words out.

“All right, but we’ll pick up our conversation as soon as I finish.” He pressed the phone to his ear, nearly barking a greeting.

Olivia stared out the window, watching as the dark landscape flew past. She’d driven along this road a month ago, heading from Billings to Pine Bluff, not even knowing her destination. The female marshal who’d sat in the backseat of the car with her had made small talk, but Olivia remembered little of the conversation. Her mind had been on the two witnesses who’d been murdered and on her own mortality. Dying wasn’t something she wanted to do, but she wasn’t afraid of doing it. What she feared was never having a chance to experience motherhood, to hold her infant, play with her baby, watch her toddler explore the world. She wanted those things with a desperation she hadn’t thought possible.

“What are you talking about, McGraw?” The volume of Ford’s voice rose, and Olivia’s gaze jumped to him.

He shot a look in her direction, something akin to horror in his eyes.

Had someone else been murdered? Another witness?

“Give me a half hour. I’ll call you and let you know what we’re going to do.” Ford tossed the phone onto the console.

“What’s going on?”

“Special Agent McGraw wants you back under marshal protection.”

“That’s not news.”

“No. It isn’t.” His voice was tight with an emotion Olivia couldn’t quite put her finger on. Anger? Frustration? Fear?

She didn’t know, but her own anxiety rose. “What’s going on, Ford?”

He shook his head, his jaw clenched as he took an exit ramp and pulled into a rest stop. They were the only car in the lot, but Ford pulled into a spot far from the building and shrouded in darkness.

Obviously, there was more going on than what he’d said. Olivia braced herself as he turned off the car and shifted in his seat, sure that whatever he had to say wouldn’t be pleasant. Silence pressed in around them, carrying its own rhythm and pulse. Olivia could feel it seep into her pores, whisper in her ear. Something was wrong.

Ford’s eyes were black as pitch, glowing darkly in the dim light cast from a distant streetlight. He studied Olivia’s face, his gaze dropping from her eyes, to her cheeks, then to her lips, the intensity of his gaze a heated caress that left her breathless.

Finally, his gaze dropped away and landed squarely on
her stomach. “Special Agent McGraw had some interesting things to say.”

“He did?” Olivia asked, knowing exactly what those interesting things must have been.

“He said it’s imperative that we get you back under federal protection. He also said it’s not just your life we’ve got to worry about.” He lifted his eyes, looked into her face, his expression unreadable. The sick hollow feeling Olivia had had for months gnawed at her stomach, but she wouldn’t deny what she knew he was asking, wouldn’t put off the inevitable any longer.

She took a deep breath, trying to fill her lungs with air and her heart with confidence. No matter what Ford’s response, she was having a baby. Finally, after years of dreaming and wishing and praying, she would be a mother with or without Ford’s presence in her life.

She straightened her spine, looked into Ford’s eyes and told him the news that had filled her with joy. The news she knew would fill him with horror. “That’s what I was trying to tell you, Ford. I’m pregnant.”