CHAPTER 145
The pregnancy test stared back at me from the bathroom counter, two pink lines that changed everything. I sat on the edge of the bathtub in our new safe house in Bangkok, my hands shaking as I processed what this meant for our mission, our relationship, and the dangerous game we'd been playing with Webb's organization for the past six months.
We'd successfully dismantled three of his major facilities, rescued forty-seven girls, and eliminated half of his operational infrastructure. But Webb himself remained elusive, always one step ahead, leaving us gifts like Jennifer Walsh's rescue video to prove he was still watching, still planning.
And now this.
A soft knock on the bathroom door made me jump. "Skylar?" Jax's voice was concerned. "Everything okay in there?"
I quickly wrapped the test in tissue and shoved it into my pocket. "Fine. Just give me a minute."
But I wasn't fine. I was pregnant in the middle of an active operation against one of the most dangerous traffickers in Southeast Asia. Pregnant when any of the three men I loved could be the father. Pregnant when we'd just received intelligence that Webb was planning something big for the American girls he'd been collecting.
I opened the door to find Jax waiting in the hallway, his hair still messy from the nap he'd been taking between surveillance shifts. The concern in his eyes made my chest tight with emotions I couldn't afford to feel right now.
"You look pale," he said, reaching up to feel my forehead. "Are you getting sick? Because if you're coming down with something, Harry's going to insist you sit out tonight's recon mission."
"I'm not sick," I said, which was technically true.
"Then what's wrong? And don't say nothing, because I've seen that exact expression on your face before. Usually right before you do something that terrifies the rest of us."
I wanted to tell him. God, I wanted to tell all of them right now, to share this impossible news and figure out together what it meant for our future. But we had three American college students depending on us to extract them from Webb's compound before they were sold to buyers in Dubai.
"It's just the stress," I said, hating how easily the lie came. "Six months of chasing ghosts while people suffer. Sometimes I wonder if we're actually making a difference or just playing Webb's game."
Jax's expression softened, and he pulled me into his arms. I let myself sink into his warmth for a moment, breathing in the familiar scent of his soap and the gun oil that clung to all our clothes these days.
"We've saved forty-seven girls, Skylar. Forty-seven women who are free because of what we've done. That's not nothing."
"But it's not enough."
"It's never enough. That's what makes you who you are." He pulled back to look at my face. "But you can't save everyone, and you can't do it all at once. Sometimes progress means accepting partial victories and building on them."
Before I could respond, Lucas appeared at the end of the hallway with his laptop under his arm and an expression that meant business.
"We've got movement on the compound," he said. "Three vehicles, heavily armed, heading toward the port. If Webb's moving those girls tonight, this might be our only chance."
My hand instinctively moved to my stomach, a gesture so brief that neither man noticed. But the implications hit me like a physical blow. If we were going into action tonight, I'd be putting not just my own life at risk, but the life of the child I was carrying.
"Where's Harry?" I asked, forcing myself to focus on the mission.
"Weapons check. He'll be ready in ten minutes." Lucas paused, studying my face. "Are you sure you're up for this? You seem..."
"I'm fine," I said more sharply than intended. "Let's just focus on getting those girls out safely."
Twenty minutes later, we were suited up and reviewing building schematics in the back of our surveillance van. The compound Webb had chosen was a converted warehouse on the outskirts of the port district, with multiple entry points but limited escape routes.
"Two-man teams," I said, pointing to the blueprint. "Lucas and Jax take the east entrance, Harry and I go through the loading dock. Primary objective is locating and extracting the three American hostages. Secondary objective is gathering intelligence on Webb's buyer network."
"And if we encounter Webb himself?" Harry asked, checking the action on his rifle.
"We take him alive if possible. Dead if necessary." I met each of their eyes in turn. "But the girls are the priority. If it comes down to a choice between capturing Webb and getting them out safely..."
"We save the girls," they said in unison.
As we approached the compound, I could feel the familiar pre-mission adrenaline starting to flood my system. But underneath it was something new - a protective instinct that went beyond my usual concern for innocent victims. I was carrying a child, and that child's safety had to be factored into every decision I made.
"Skylar," Jax's voice came through my earpiece as we took our positions. "You sure you're feeling okay? Your heart rate is spiking on the monitor."
"Just nerves," I lied, checking my weapon one more time.
"Since when do you get nervous?" Lucas asked.
Since I found out I'm pregnant and realized I might be putting your child in danger, I thought but didn't say.
"Movement in the compound," Harry reported from his position at the loading dock. "I count six guards, automatic weapons. These guys are military trained."
"Webb's not taking any chances," I murmured.
"Neither are we," Jax replied. "Everyone remember - we go in hard and fast, extract the targets, and get out before reinforcements arrive."
As I prepared to breach the compound, I made a decision that would have consequences I couldn't yet imagine. I reached into my tactical vest and turned off my heart rate monitor, the one that would alert the others if I was in distress.
If something went wrong tonight, if I got hurt or killed trying to save those girls, I didn't want them to know about the pregnancy. I didn't want them to spend the rest of their lives knowing they'd lost not just me, but the child we'd created together.
"Teams Alpha and Bravo, you are go for breach," I said into my comm.
But as we moved toward the compound, I felt a familiar cold certainty settling over me. Webb wasn't just expecting us - he was counting on us. And whatever trap he'd set, it was designed to take advantage of the one thing he knew we couldn't resist.
Our need to protect innocent lives, even when it meant walking into certain danger.
The only question was whether my own secret would get us all killed before we could save anyone.
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