Free Hard to Hold by Incy Black

and I will kill everyone you hold important, starting with your ex-husband.”
    Not for a second did she doubt him. Her tenuous grip on courage slipped completely.
     Wrapping her arms across her chest, she leaned forward and rocked to and fro. “Ohmygod…ohmygod…ohmygod.”
    Antila removed his dark glasses and patted her back.
    Repulsed, she skidded sideways along the bench and would have fallen had he not grasped
     her arm. One look in his lifeless eyes, and Anna didn’t doubt she faced a killer.
    “Stay away from Nick; stay away from my friends.” She hated showing weakness of any
     kind, but she’d swallow her pride and beg if that’s what it took. “Please. What harm
     have they ever done to you?”
    “None, that’s my point. I will not hesitate to kill innocents should they come between
     me and what I want—”
    “Like the poor nurse,” she interrupted with a whisper.
    “An employee of mine who I could no longer trust. She posed a threat. I had her eliminated.
     That is my way, and how I will deal with anyone who dares compromise me.”
    “Jesus. Enough. I’ll do whatever you ask. Just promise me, no more killing.” She hated
     acquiescing to him, but if it meant saving lives…damn it, she was only four months
     pregnant, another five before the birth. Surely, time enough for her to plan a way
     out of this nightmare. And to keep everyone safe, herself and her baby included.
    “That is a promise I cannot give. You need protecting from her, as much as she needs
     protecting from herself. Her family will come, and I must neutralize them. For the
     sake of my son.”
    Her? She? Anna pressed her temple with her thumb and silently questioned whether she’d
     crashed into yet another parallel universe. Nothing made sense. Maybe she’d wake up
     soon. “So you do know who is responsible for the attacks against me?”
    “I know it is none of your business. The baby, my son, must be your sole focus. Heed
     the lesson of what happens to those I deem a threat. If you have doubts, recall the
     photo of your friend, Nurse Abbott. The injuries she sustained before being allowed
     to die.”
    Anna’s stomach heaved. Like she’d ever forget that horrendous image. “You keep saying
     ‘son,’” she said dully. “What if I’m carrying a girl?”
    “That would be most unfortunate. I must have a son.”
    She didn’t give a damn why he “must have a son.” It was her own immediate future and
     that of her baby that scared her. “Yes, but what if he is a she?”
    His poisonous twist of a smile had her wanting to douse herself in disinfectant. “Then
     as the saying goes, Anna—all bets are off. Though you are my preferred choice, there
     are others who could replace you. When I said you were exceptional, my dear. I did
     not mean to imply you are not expendable.”
    …
    Curled tight in her office chair, her legs crossed beneath her, her fingers white
     against the sharp acid-green upholstery of the arms, Anna’s mind was so far past exhausted,
     it had ceased to limp and was crawling on battered hands and knees instead.
    No matter how many mental doors she’d slammed, deaths skulked whichever way she turned.
    She’d never run out of ideas before. Ever. Thinking outside the box, solving the most
     impossible of puzzles, was supposed to be her forte. And she’d never conceded defeat—well,
     except for once. Nick had certainly been her Gordian knot. A failure she’d buried
     deep, too painful to retrieve and examine.
    Now he was back, and his life was in danger. Because of her.
    There had to be a way to protect him. Herself and her baby, too. No one was culling her daughter. And if it was a son, no way would she share him with a monster like Antila…and
     no bloody way was anyone touching her ex.
    Fine, so she didn’t yet have all the answers, but she’d take on Antila and defeat
     him the same way she did everything. One step at a time.
    She glanced at her watch, did a quick calculation in her