Chapter Twenty-Two“What is this place?” Scott asked reverently as they entered what appeared to be a 1920 speakeasy.From the brass pulls to the burnished tin ceiling, every effort was made to have the same appeal of the hideaway establishments that were so popular during the prohibition.Alyssa ran her hand across the maple wood bar. “This was my father’s favorite room, for obvious reasons. He loved the ingenuity of the people that lived in the early days of our country. He was extremely proud to be an American citizen.”Scott heard the pride and sorrow in her voice when she spoke of her parents. Taking a chance, he approached her and wrapped her in his arms. For the briefest of moments, he worried she would pull away.However, she surprised him by melting into his arms. It had been meant as an embrace of comfort. Scott didn’t know how to promise her that she would never be alone. That he would be there. It w

Chapter Twenty-FourThird Trimester – As your baby continues to grow and develop, they will begin to open their eyes and gain more weight. Congratulations to you, Mom! You and your body are preparing for delivery. Soon you will see your baby face-to-face.  A wave of nausea awakened Kim in the middle of the night on her 274th day of pregnancy. At first, she thought nothing of it. Being roughly the size of a whale, Kim was used to all of the crazy shenanigans that pregnancy had surprised her with. For example: swollen ankles, crazy dreams, acne, leaky breasts, and more.But a reprisal of her morning sickness? It just seemed unnecessarily mean.Getting up from bed, Kim waddled into the bathroom to pee. Before-pregnancy Kim maybe got up once in the night to use the bathroom. In recent days she’d been getting up four or five times a night—another blessing of pregnancy.All the baby had to do was pres

Chapter Twenty-SixAlyssa stared at the man who had single-handed attempted to destroy her life. “Why?” she asked at last. “What is so important to you that you killed our family and who knows how many others?”Frank frowned. “What does that matter?”“I think I deserve that much,” she said with far more confidence than she truly was feeling. “After all, I know you arranged the deaths of my grandparents and parents. I saw you slit that man’s throat. It’s clear you have no qualms with murder. I think I deserve to know why.”Frank eyed her for a moment. “You do know that with your face and my connections we could have had it all.”“That’s the saddest part,” Alyssa replied. “I did have it all, until you took it from me. So why? Was it the money? Drugs?”Frank rolled his eyes and made a flitting gesture with his fingers. “Do y

Chapter Twenty-EightAlyssa awakened to the sharp stinging pain coming from her shoulder. It took just a few moments to remember that the pain was caused by a bullet wound.“Scott?” she called out, trying to clear her fuzzy head.Her head and shoulder pounded in rhythm with her heartbeat. Her body felt weak and sluggish. As the room came into focus, Alyssa realized that she was in Uncle Frank’s home. This was where the nightmare had started for Alyssa.“You’re awake,” a man’s voice noted.Startled, Alyssa turned her head to see a man in his fifties, wearing a white lab coat, coming toward her. He appeared to be a doctor, but Alyssa knew things were never what they appeared to be.“Who are you?” she demanded, shrinking away from him.The doctor raised a brow. “I am Dr. Carmichael, your uncle’s private physician. You’ve had quite the time of it. How are you feelin

Chapter Thirty"That's it?" Kim exclaimed when she saw the statue. "What's so important about this old thing? He's missing his head!" "Likely that makes it worth more," Mandy added, clearly not very impressed with the ancient artifact.Nate and Elliot had successfully retrieved the horse and rider statue the following morning and returned to Nate and Kim's apartment. The time was approaching when the exchange was to take place. "Whatever it's worth, I'd far rather have Alyssa and Scott," Kim replied. "I don't like the FBI using you two as bait. Surely there is a safer way to do this exchange." Elliot kissed Mandy's temple. "They’ll be with us the entire time." "That housekeeper heard that someone in the FBI is crooked," Kim pointed out. "How do we know they aren't setting you two up for something terrible?" Nate squeezed her cold hands. "I promise you. I won't do anything to jeopardiz