The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 267

Rhys looked at the transfer notification on his phone, finding the number incredibly jarring.

He put the phone away and reached for the suitcase in Simon's hand.

"No, no, I got it," Simon said, shielding the bag. "I wouldn't dare treat Captain Huntington like a porter."

Rhys didn't insist. He turned and led the way.

In the underground garage, a modified Jeep Wrangler was waiting. The body was mud-splattered, but as he had said, it was a private vehicle—sturdy, with heavy-tread tires built for these conditions.

Rhys opened the rear door.

Clara climbed in with the child, while Simon automatically hopped into the passenger seat.

Once inside, Clara pulled Felix's mask down below his nose to help him breathe easier.

Rhys saw it in the rearview mirror but said nothing.

The car was suffocatingly quiet.

While waiting at a red light, Rhys felt the need to break the awkward silence, so he connected his phone to the Bluetooth to play some music.

The next second, a familiar female voice flooded the speakers:

"Hello everyone, I'm 'Unknown'. Welcome to tonight's..."

Clara looked up sharply.

Simon nearly dropped his phone, his eyes darting frantically between Rhys and the stereo system.

Rhys's hand froze. He scrambled to hit pause, his finger swiping the screen several times before he finally managed to kill the audio.

It was a replay of Clara's livestream.

He had forgotten.

Lately, between the stress and the pain from his old injuries, he had been suffering from insomnia. Listening to her replays was the only thing that helped him sleep. His playlist was full of them.

Clara glanced at his phone. "You have a hobby of listening to relationship advice shows? The Tactical Unit must not be very busy."

Rhys kept his eyes on the road. "Just listening. It helps me sleep."

"Oh," Clara responded indifferently. "I've heard of that host. She advises people to break up, not make up. Hardly suitable for sleep aid."

Rhys smiled faintly. "For me, it works best."

He knew absolutely nothing about this child's habits.

Simon turned sideways to look at the mother and son in the back.

Seeing Felix asleep, he lowered his voice. "The route ahead looks red on the map."

"Yeah," Rhys acknowledged.

"How long will we be stuck?"

"Hard to say," Rhys replied. "In this weather, there's bound to be a fender bender ahead."

Simon pouted and reclined his seat. "Fine. You're driving anyway. You'll have to suffer through the traffic too."

Despite his dislike for the man, Simon had to admit Rhys drove steadily. Even in such heavy rain, the car didn't drift an inch.

Silence descended on the cabin again.

Clara watched the curtain of rain outside. A thought circled in her mind, and she decided there was no harm in saying it.

"I heard you and Margot are getting married. Congratulations."