Ultimate Fear (Book 2 Ultimate CORE) (CORE Series) (29 page)

“I’ll promise not to apologize anymore if you do, too.”

He hugged her tighter and turned them toward their bedroom door. “Promise,” he said, and led them into the room.

Their bedroom had remained almost the way she’d left it. Dante had removed the carpeting and kept with the dark hardwood floors that were throughout the house. The wall color was still a light pewter, but he’d painted the wood around the windows white, along with the house’s original crown molding. The small, chocolate and dark grey area rug between the dresser and bed accentuated the pewter and cream-colored comforter and pillows. Their wedding picture, along with several photos of their baby girl hung on the walls, and the cream window sheers she’d attempted to hem years ago billowed with the breeze.

“The room looks beautiful,” she said.

“Wait until you seen the master bath. I finished updating it the way we’d talked about.”

She turned and took his hand. “Later. I’ve missed our bed.” She really had. After sleeping on a twin bed for the past three and a half years, she couldn’t wait to spread out on their king-sized mattress.

“I’ve missed having you in our bed,” he said, his voice taking on that husky tone she loved.

No longer anxious over being in their house, and needing to be with him, she whipped her shirt over her head. “Then what are we waiting for?”

His eyes on her breasts, he quickly shed his clothes. When they were both naked, he lifted her in his arms and set her on the center of the bed. “I love you, Jess.” He brushed his lips along hers. “Welcome home,” he murmured, then settled between her thighs and filled her.

Home
.

As he slowly made love to her, she knew in her heart that anywhere with Dante would be home.

Chapter 11

WITH HER PURSE loaded with a map, snacks, a couple bottles of water and a can of pepper spray, she strolled through the less desirable streets of Chicago. She wasn’t afraid of being attacked. God was on her side and His angels hovered around her, their strong wings gently flapping and guiding her along her chosen path.

Since moving to Chicago and settling into their apartment, for the past week, Wayne had been under the impression that she’d spent her days searching for a job. To keep him off her back, she’d pick up applications and fill them out, then leave them on the scratched kitchen table that had come with their furnished apartment. So long as Wayne
thought
she was looking for employment, he’d leave her alone and she could go about her business. As it was, he’d hardly spoken to her since the day they’d left Missy Schneider’s house. He’d even taken to sleeping on the couch, as if lying with her was a horrible, disgusting thing.

While their sleeping arrangements bothered her, she knew in her heart how to make things right between them again. She knew what they needed and that was for them to be a family. Now all she needed was the baby.

With a wistful sigh, she shaded her eyes from the mid-morning sun, then crossed the street. According to the map, a few blocks away from where she walked were pockets of neighborhoods where the downtrodden lived. When she’d originally begun her search, she’d chosen the nicer, wealthier areas of Chicago, and would also go to the park, looking for mothers-to-be playing with their toddlers. But going after one of those moms could bring unwanted attention to her and Wayne. The wealthy would be concerned if one of their own had ended up like Missy, but would they care about the lazy, thieving women living on welfare and taking advantage of the system?

Because she was a good Christian, she cared about all of God’s children, but she did have a problem with those who were lazy. Sloth was one of the seven deadly sins. She and Wayne had always been hard workers and had never depended on the government or anyone else for financial help. They’d paid their own way and made the best from what God had given them. Right now, God had given them a meager, two bedroom apartment. Aged, the furniture dated, but now thankfully clean thanks to her, and not in the best part of Chicago, she would have preferred something nicer. But the cost of living here had been more than either of them had anticipated. To keep within their budget, they’d suffer through and, hopefully, would be able to afford to move once Wayne picked up a few side jobs and they were able to save more money.

Yes, the lazy were, to her mind, just as bad as the greedy. Those who were filled with greed might work hard to maintain their gluttonous, lustful ways, but the lazy took advantage of those who worked hard. She never understood how a woman could pay for groceries with food stamps, yet she carried the newest cell phone and spent money on long, fake nails. What was worse, their society accepted and encouraged this behavior. She didn’t. She also believed that women who lived off the system, who took care of themselves before their children, didn’t deserve to
have
a child. What life could they give them? Wayne had once told her that one in five children went to bed hungry. That statistic had also claimed that the households those one in five children lived in had cars and cable TV. What that showed her was people were selfish and self-centered. They focused on the material things, rather than taking care of their families.

She and Wayne were more than capable of taking care of their family and giving a child a happy, healthy home. Their current apartment was no place to raise their son, but it would work for a newborn. Once the baby grew and started walking, they’d hopefully be ready to leave Chicago and move to where they could buy a house with a nice size property their son could run on, in a neighborhood where society’s lazy misfits couldn’t afford.

She pictured it now. A lovely, modest home in the suburbs. Maybe a white picket fence, a cute little puppy for Elton to play with, picnics on the lawn and—

Her stomach tightened and tingled as a ray of light fissured through the four story buildings lining the alley to her left, landing directly on a young, pregnant woman sitting on the sidewalk. Just like with Missy, the light served as a beacon, it called to her, had her feet moving of their own accord.

With each step she took, she couldn’t help remembering Missy. She’d had her hands inside another person’s body. She’d shoved Missy’s organs aside, felt the warmth of her blood and her life’s energy through the latex gloves. Most of all, she’d been the first person to touch the baby Missy had carried in her womb. Feeling his little head and shoulders, experiencing the power and opportunity of bringing a life into this world was something she would never forget. Too bad God had already taken that precious boy. But as she slowly approached the pregnant woman, she knew in her heart, in her soul, that He was about to give her another.

“Hey, there,” she said with a smile and stared down at the young woman. “Are you doin’ okay?”

Chloe Young rolled her head to the side and looked up at the woman standing in front of her.

Rainbows and sunshine.

She smiled and loved the way the sunlight spilled around the woman’s curly, blond hair. When the woman’s grin grew, her full cheeks revealed a big set of dimples, and her blue eyes glittered, reminding her of the way the sunlight might dance along the ripples of the bluest oceans.

The woman crouched her plump body in front of her, but kept her large purse slung over her shoulder. “Honey, are you okay?” she asked again, with a hint of a southern drawl.

Chloe was more than okay—for now. Thirty minutes ago, when she’d been forced to take it up the backside by a guy she’d discovered sold heroin, she’d been miserable. The pressure had been too much, and had made the baby inside her squirmy. But after the guy…what was his name anyway— Yes, that was it. Spencer. After Spencer had finished, then given her what she couldn’t afford to buy, she’d been a-okay. The blackness that had been surrounding her for nearly a week had disappeared. The rainbows and sunshine had returned. With as sweet and innocent as the woman in front of her looked, she was expecting unicorns or other magical creatures to suddenly fill the alley and carry her away to a better place. A place where there was no hunger and no baby. A bed would be nice, too.

Rainbows and sunshine
.

“I’m all right,” she finally said, her words thick, her mouth dry. She licked her lips. Damn, she was thirsty.

“You don’t look like you’re okay,” the woman countered, and glanced to Chloe’s stomach. “How’s the baby doing?”

Oh, great. A fucking do-gooder. She tugged at her thin jacket and tried to hide her belly. “It’s fine. Maybe you should go now.”

The woman’s smile didn’t falter. “Maybe you should let me help you. I’ve been pregnant, I can’t imagine sitting on hard concrete is all that comfortable. Why don’t you come with me? Sit in a booth at the diner I saw just down the block. We can have breakfast and—”

Chloe shook her head and eyed the woman’s khaki capris and loose, crew neck, pale pink shirt. Her clothes weren’t anything fancy or expensive, but they looked new and not something bought at a thrift store. “You don’t belong around here. If you’re not careful, someone is going to take that purse from you—maybe worse.” Yeah, she was uncomfortable and hated sitting and sleeping in the alley she’d called home since Roman had booted her out. But there was no way in hell she’d go anywhere with this woman. Although she didn’t like what she had to do to find more H, Spencer had said he’d hook her up with more, maybe tomorrow or the next day. She couldn’t pass up a sure thing, and she couldn’t go see him again if she was confined in a shelter.

“Oh, I’m not worried,” the woman said with another dimpled smile. “God is with me.”

Shit. The woman was a fucking Bible-buster. Fuck that. “Yeah, well, let’s see if you’re singing God’s praises after you get mugged or raped.”

“I can understand why you might turn away from Him.” The woman glanced to her hair, which Chloe knew was filthy and matted. “How long have you been living on the streets?”

“A week.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s a long time to go without shelter, even if you weren’t pregnant. Where were you before that?”

“None of your business.”

“I understand. You don’t know me, and I’m sure it’s hard to trust people when you’ve been living the way you have. I’m Heather.”

“Chloe,” she responded.

“Please, let me help you, Chloe.”

“Nope, you and God can go on your merry way. But thanks for stopping by.”

With sympathy in her eyes, Heather frowned. “If you won’t let me buy you breakfast, maybe you’ll take these.” She set her big purse on the concrete, took out a couple of water bottles, a banana, a granola bar and a small bag of pretzels, then set them in front of her. “I know it’s not much—”

Chloe quickly scooped up the food and water bottles, then shoved them in her backpack. “I’ll take it,” she said, and met the woman’s eyes.

“You’re welcome,” Heather said with a smile and stood.

For the first time in years, her cheeks grew warm with embarrassment. It had been so long since she’d properly thanked anyone for anything, she’d forgotten how to show her appreciation or proper manners. “I…thank you.”

Amusement shown in the other woman’s eyes. “See, maybe you shouldn’t discount God after all. He knew you were thirsty and hungry, and He led me to you.”

Bullshit hovered at the tip of her tongue, but Chloe kept her mouth shut. Heather was kind, maybe a little goofy with all of her talk about God, but she also couldn’t discount the fact she
was
thirsty and hungry. Other than her daily dollar cheeseburger from McDonald’s, she hadn’t eaten anything else. In order to conserve the last few dollars she had left, she hadn’t even bought a pack of cigarettes or the Mountain Dew she’d been craving all week. The food Heather had given her wasn’t much, but more than she could afford.

“Whatever,” Chloe said, and when a car horn blared, she looked down the alley to the street, just as two men started arguing and swearing at each other. When she shifted her gaze back to Heather, she swore if she didn’t stop looking at her as if she were pathetic and sad, the woman was going to chase away her rainbows and sunshine. That couldn’t happen. Not yet. It could be a day or two before Spencer gave her more heroin, and she only had just enough left for one more high. “You better get going. Like I said, this isn’t a place for you.”

Heather let out a gusty sigh. “Then you take care of yourself, Chloe. That baby, too. Do you know when you’re due?”

Her stomach grumbled and the baby kicked. She pulled the pretzels from the backpack and opened them. “Something like August eleventh.”

The woman’s blue eyes glittered again and her dimpled grin returned. “How wonderful. Do you know what you’re having?”

“The doc at the clinic says it’s a boy,” she said, and shoved a couple of pretzels in her mouth.

“A boy,” she gasped. “Boys are so precious. I have five of them.”

Chloe could imagine having to go through pregnancy five times. “That’s crazy.”

“No, it’s a beautiful thing. Babies bring such joy into a home. I wish you luck with yours.” She began walking away, then stopped and turned. “Maybe I can stop by and see you tomorrow. If I do, I’ll bring you more food, or maybe you’ll let me take you to the diner. Will you be here?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” She’d been in the same spot for a week and liked it. Not many people came through the alley, and the diner Heather kept talking about could be an alternate food source should she run out of money. She’d never garbage-picked in her life, but with only a few dollars on her, she might not have a choice.