Brian held up his hands to show he wasn't trying to startle her. To be fair, she had backed into him.
“How did he get on the property?” Mia asked crossing her arms. Anger flared in her belly. It was supposed to be Brian's job to keep Carter safe. “Where did he get that uniform? Is he one of yours?”
“No ma'am,” Brian assured her. “The man stole Ben's uniform.”
He pointed to the side of the house where an ambulance sat hidden among the sea of police cars. Sitting in the opened back was Ben wearing a blood-stained t-shirt and jeans. He had an ice-pack to his head and was trying to answer the paramedic's questions. Even from this distance, he looked dazed.
“What happened to him?” Mia asked, momentarily losing her anger. Ben was a good guy.
“We found Ben tied up in the backseat of his truck,” Brian explaine
d. “Our perp is his landlord. He's been using Ben's ID badge to get on and off the property. He was able to know Ben's schedule, and thus get access to the security schedule. That's why we couldn't catch him.”
“Is Ben going to be okay?” Mia watched as a paramedic shone a light into Ben's eyes.
“Hillstone hit him hard enough to knock him out. Cut his head open in the process. Ben will be out of commission for a while, but I think he'll be okay.” Brian shook his head. “Hillstone thought this was his last chance at getting Mr. Williamson, so he didn't hold back.”
Mia swallowed hard and looked away from Ben. If Hillstone was willing to put an innocent man in the hospital with a concussion and stitches, there was no doubt he would have killed them both. It made her stomach twist, and she felt nauseous. Her hands went protectively to the small life growing in her belly.
Carter... she needed to find him. She glanced around and saw him walk into his garage. She took a deep breath. She knew he probably wanted to be alone right now, but she needed to talk to him. He needed to hear that this wasn't the end of the world.
She thanked Brian and headed toward the garage. The door was cracked open, telling her that he was expecting her to follow. If he didn't want visitors, he would have closed and locked the door. She took it as a good sign and knocked twice before pushing it open and stepping inside.
Carter sat with his back to her, busy drawing something on his drafting table. The sound of his pen on the screen filled the space between them. He didn't look up at her as he worked.
She walked over slowly, chewing on her bottom lip so hard she was sure she was going to draw blood soon. Her footsteps stopped as she stood off to his left. He was sketching out a new car.
“Carter, I want to explain,” she said softly into the silence. Her hands twisted against one another and that twisted stomach feeling was back. She looked around, noting where the trash bins were just in case her lunch came up.
“How did this happen?” he asked, his voice gruff. The pen flowed across the screen, giving shape to a sleek, fast-looking car.
“Well, I believe it happened in Vegas,” she replied.
His hand paused above the drawing, and he turned to study her. There was a wild gleam in his eye that she wasn't sure of. It looked dangerous as he evaluated her.
“I didn't mean for this to happen,” she said quickly. Her emotions were coming up again and it was only seconds before she knew she was going to burst into tears and start sobbing. The adrenaline of what just happened still pumped through her, but she had to get this out before she broke down. “The doctors said I would never get pregnant. That it was impossible. I'm so sorry. I know this isn't what you wanted. I'm so, so sorry.”
It was all just too much. The adrenaline, the danger, the hurt, the fear, the sorrow, and the shock. Her knees buckled, and she sagged to the floor. Once her knees were down, full body sobs racked her entire frame. Every inch of her cried. It was ugly and raw, but she couldn't hold it back anymore.
Suddenly, his arms were around her, and her face pressed into his strong shoulder. He held her tightly to him as she sobbed. Tears streamed down her face, and her nose ran, but he held her tight. He didn't let her go. He just held her to him, rubbing her back and making quiet, soothing noises as he let her release the torrent of emotions inside of her.
“I'm so sorry,” she whispered once the crying became more manageable. She hadn't cried like that since she was a child, though to be fair, she'd never had her and her child's life threatened before either.
Carter took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, raising her face to look at him. His blue eyes were like the sea after a storm. She didn't see anger there anymore.
“Don't be,” he told her.
“But you don't want kids,” she replied. She wiped her nose on the back of her hand and sniffled.
“You're right. I didn't,” he agreed with a small nod. He smiled gently. “Until I met you. And Alexander, Lily, and Grayson. Now I want everything. Now I want it all.”
Mia's heart stalled. She was going to start crying again but for an entirely different reason this time. He caressed her cheek and smiled as she looked her over.
“I love you, Mia,” he told her, kissing her forehead. He met her eyes and smiled. She could see excitement forming in their deep blue pools. “And I will love our child.”
Chapter 35
Mia