Read Strong 03 - Twice for Free Online Page B

pulling back from her and patting her still-flat belly. Then, not waiting for her to answer, “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to be running, do you?”
    She bristled a bit, never liking much the suggestion that he knew better than she what should and should not be done.
    “Maybe not, but it’s not even a month yet,” she said with a shrug, moving away from him and heading toward the couch.
    He smiled and said nothing, knowing by now the futility of trying to tell Lydia what to do. He pulled a bottle of water from a small refrigerator under the bar on the far wall of his office and tossed it to her. She pulled it from the air and they sat on the cream chenille sofa arranged to look out onto his spectacular view of downtown Manhattan. She put her feet up on the glass top of the chrome-and-bleached-wood coffee table and hugged a rust-colored pillow to her chest as he filled her in on the rest of the conversation with Eleanor and some of the more relevant details of the earlier case.
    “What about those hairs? Any chance they’re still floating around somewhere? DNA technology has come a long way.”
    He shrugged. “Anything’s possible. I left a message for Ford McKirdy.”
    “So what do you think?”
    He drew in a deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’d like another crack at this,” he said thoughtfully. “There are too many unanswered questions. I know Ford feels the same way. At least, if we get involved, we know we can count on his cooperation.”
    “You really think there was someone else there that night … you know, back then?”
    “I really do. I’m not saying she was entirely innocent. But there was definitely someone else there. There’s more to what happened than we were ever able to piece together. I just have a strange feeling that what happened last night will shed some light on the past.”
    He got up and walked across the elaborately patterned Oriental rug to the window.
    “Just one thing, Lyd. Don’t get pissed.” His voice was tentative as he watched her from across the room.
    “What?” she said, looking up at him with a frown.
    “I only want your brain involved in this. You leave the legwork to the other people on the team.”
    She nodded, since they’d already agreed that she’d do nothing to put herself in danger while she was pregnant and until they had captured Jed McIntyre. But the resentment she felt was already a stone in her heart. It pulled down the corners of her mouth and creased her brow. He walked back over and sat down beside her, putting his arm around her shoulder.
    “I know this is hard for you. But it’s not forever.”
    “Is there any word?” she answered, not wanting to look at him, not wanting to reveal how constantly she wondered where Jed McIntyre was.
    “There’s no sign of him. The FBI has people watching us,watching your grandparents on Kauai. There’s an alert at airports and at bus and train stations. If he makes any kind of a major move, chances are we’ll know about it. He’s going to have to take a risk sometime.”
    She nodded, knowing he was right. But the waiting was like a physical pain, invading her sleep, keeping her from peace and comfort. The sense of something dark and angry at her heels was always with her.
    “How are your grandparents doing?” he said, trying to lighten the subject that was casting a pall over their days.
    “Great,” she said with a forced smile. “They love it there. They’re looking forward to seeing us.”
    They had sent Lydia’s grandparents on a “vacation” indefinitely to Hawaii after their brush with Jed McIntyre early last month. There they would stay under FBI surveillance until Jed McIntyre was behind bars again. Or until he was dead.
    “Did you tell them?” he asked, and she knew he was talking about her pregnancy.
    “No, I’ll tell them when we go to visit in February,” she said, leaning into him. She looked into his eyes and smiled, running her fingers though his